مدیریت مالی 20

فرمت : WORD                 تعداد صفحه:22

Chapter 2 introduces you to the basic financial statements used to communicate a company's financial information to outsiders - parties other than the company's directors and managers, who are the "insiders."

What is a financial statement? What does it tell us? Why should we care?
T hese are good questions and they deserve an answer. 

A business is a financial entity separate from its owners. Each business must keep financial records. A number of federal and state laws require this. But even if there were no laws, it would still be a good idea anyway.  Businesses provide vital goods and services to those living in the community. They provide jobs for people, and tax dollars that improve our roads, parks and schools. It is in everyone's best interest that our community's businesses be successful.

B usiness owners take a risk. What if no one wants to buy their goods or services? The owner has spent time and money to start a business, purchased land, buildings and equipment, hired people to work in the business.... all this done with the hope that the business will be successful. And if the business is NOT a success, the owner may have lost his or her life's savings, workers must find jobs, and creditors may go unpaid.

F inancial information may not make a business successful, but it helps the owner make sound business decisions. It can also help a bank or creditor evaluate the company for a loan or charge account. And the IRS will be interested in collecting the appropriate amount of income tax. So financial information will serve many purposes. 

F inancial information comes in many forms, but the most important are the Financial Statements. They summarize relevant financial information in a format that is useful in  making important business decisions. If this were not possible, the whole process would be a waste of time. Too much information may be equally useless. Financial statements summarize a large number of Transactions into a small number of significant categories. To be useful, information must be organized.

Quick Quiz
The financial statements of a business entity: 
 A) Include the balance sheet, income statement, and income tax return. 
 B) Provide information about the profitability and financial position of the company. 
 C) Are the first step in the accounting process. 
 D) Are prepared for a fee by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. 
Click for answers

Financial statements have generally agreed-upon formats and follow the same rules of disclosure. This puts everyone on the same level playing field, and makes it possible to compare different companies with each other, or to evaluate different year's performance within the same company. There are three main financial statements:

1. Income Statement
2. Balance Sheet
3. Statement of Cash Flows

Each financial statement tells it's own story. Together they form a  comprehensive financial picture of the company, the results of its operations, its financial condition, and the sources and uses of its money. Evaluating past performance helps managers identify successful strategies, eliminate wasteful spending and budget appropriately for the future. Armed with this information they will be able to make necessary business decisions in a timely manner.
 

The accounting process in a nutshell:
1) Capture and Record a business transaction,
2) Classify the transaction into appropriate Accounts,
3) Post transactions to their individual Ledger Accounts,
4) Summarize and Report the balances of Ledger Accounts in financial statements.
 

There are 5 types of Accounts.
1) Assets
2) Liabilities
3) Owners' Equity (Stockholders' Equity for a corporation)
4) Revenues
5) Expenses

All the accounts in an accounting system are listed in a Chart of Accounts. They are listed in the order shown above. This helps us prepare financial statements, by conveniently organizing accounts in the same order they will be used in the financial statements. 

Financial Statements
The Balance Sheet lists the balances in all Asset, Liability and Owners' Equity accounts. 

The Income Statement lists the balances in all Revenue and Expense accounts.

The Balance Sheet and Income Statement must accompany each other in order to comply with GAAP. Financial statements presented separately do not comply with GAAP. This is necessary so financial statement users get a true and complete financial picture of the company. 

All accounts are used in one or the other statement, but not both. All accounts are used once, and only once, in the financial statements. The Balance Sheet shows account balances at a particular date. The Income Statement shows the accumulation in the Revenue and Expense accounts, for a given period of time, generally one year. The Income Statement can be prepared for any span of time, and companies often prepare them monthly or quarterly.

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