Examine the value of financial reporting for meeting organizational objectives and growth

Sat Oct 10, 2020 | Alan Lefkowitz | Business, Cash Management, Financial Reporting

What Is the Objective of Financial Reporting?

If you own or invest in a business, you know that companies produce financial reports at least once a year. But do you know what they’re telling you? Different types of reports exist that can tell you other things. However, the overall objective of financial reporting is to provide information about the finances of a company while complying with regulations.

Financial reporting is vital for private and public companies because it reveals an organization’s strengths to business owners and investors. It also keeps interested parties apprised of weaknesses in business and alerts them to other possible business troubles.

What is Financial Reporting?

Financial reporting provides information about a company’s financial health. Accountants and finance personnel produce these reports following generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Depending on your business, auditors sometimes review the financial reports before reporting finance positions to owners and stockholders.

Publicly-held companies must also file these financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which regulates and monitors the securities market for the government.

Definition of Financial Statements

There are three primary types of financial statements: Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Statement of Cash Flows. All three contain helpful information and must meet specific accounting standards and principles. 

These statements also serve as a company’s financial record, which a stakeholder or lender can analyze and compare to similar organizations in your industry to understand the health of your business or even to decide if they want to lend you money or invest in your company.

Cash Flow Statement Objectives

The Statement of Cash Flows shows the inflows and outflows of cash within an organization. In particular, it breaks down activities, by type, that bring in money and activities that use cash.

For example, this statement tells an investor the amount of cash generated and spent during the operations of a business over a set time. Using this information, you can see how much money comes from sales and commissions and how much a company pays for supplies and other types of expenses.

This information can reveal problems in how someone is running their business and can give clues as to where improvements can be made.

This financial statement’s other categories typically separated are investing and financing activities.

Balance Sheet Objectives

This financial statement is a snapshot-in-time of a business’s assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity. The balance sheet tells investors where a company stands at a particular period in time. This information is helpful to see what the company has in assets and liabilities and for comparison purposes from prior periods.

Another objective of the balance sheet is for investors and owners to know what the company is worth.

To understand this document, you have to know a basic accounting principle: “assets equal liabilities plus owner’s equity.”

Remember, this statement covers only where a company stands at a particular time.

Income Statement Objectives

You can’t define financial statements without mentioning this critical financial report. The income statement shows revenues and expenses over a financial accounting period.

One of the objectives is to show net gains and losses resulting from business operations and activities over a set date range. Most companies prepare an income statement monthly. 

This statement is one of the most widely used forms of financial reporting for investors.

Remember that using this statement to make business decisions without looking at the other financial reports is a mistake many people make. Since the objectives of financial statements differ depending on the information, it’s best to analyze them all before investing.

Objectives of Financial Reporting

The main objective of financial accounting and reporting is to give information about a company’s financial performance and position. Management will use this information to analyze the company and plan for the future.

Investors can also use this information to decide if the company might be a good investment and determine if a business is in financial trouble. Since financial accounting requires companies to use accounting standards to generate these reports, they have consistency across industries.

Why Financial Reporting is Important

Financial reporting is essential for owners, employees, and investors alike. Without financial accounting and financial reports, you would have no way of knowing the well-being of your business, nor would you have a way to grow effectively. As a result, without these practices, you wouldn’t see the early signs of trouble.

In addition, investors would have no way of knowing if they might or might not be making a sound investment with their money.

Besides the company’s health and investment benefits to financial reporting, here are some other reasons why it’s essential. Financial reporting:

• It helps the government regulate companies and practices
• It opens the door for easy auditing
• Assists in financial analysis and planning
• Shows how well management is performing and the strength of your team
• It gives a clear business picture to obtain contracts and win bids

Once you understand how the reports can help you learn about a business, you can read any financial report from any company because they are standardized.

Information You and Your Investors Need

There are many reasons why the best accounting standards and practices are essential in financial reporting for a company. Whether you are an investor or an owner of a business, the systematic and standard analysis of financial reports is a must. They provide information that’s vital to you and your stakeholders.

These periodic documents serve specific purposes in analyzing, regulating, investing, growing, and planning for all businesses, big and small. Once you understand financial statements, you will be able to use them to make better-informed decisions.

Contact Us at CFO Strategies

If you’re having trouble making sense of your financial statements, we at CFO Strategies can help. We are a team of certified public accountants (CPAs) and other financial experts who can assist you in understanding your company’s health.

Our team can enable you to make educated decisions based on accurate data and steer your company in the right direction. Call us at CFO Strategies today at (855) 732-7861.

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