Financial statements report the business activities and financial performance of a company. Learn how they are used by executives, investors, and lenders.

A balance sheet provides a snapshot of a company's assets, liabilities and equity at a specific point in time, while an income statement summarizes its revenues and expenses over a period to show ...

A balance sheet displays what a company owns, what it owes, how it's financed, and its shareholders' equity at a particular point in time. An income statement displays the company's revenues and ...

Understanding how the income statement affects the balance sheet is not that difficult. The two concepts fit together like pieces of a dynamic puzzle. In this case, the puzzle is the financial ...

Accountants with businesses big and small normally compile financial statements each quarter. The statements paint a picture of all of the company's transactions. First, the company will record the ...

If you're interested in investing, you've probably read quite a few articles that say "do your homework" before buying a stock. Reading and understanding a balance sheet is part of that homework.

Tips to help with budget planning and figuring your net worth Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor tax expert. She has been in the accounting, audit, and tax ...

The ending balance of a cash-flow statement will always equal the cash amount shown on the company's balance sheet. Cash flow is, by definition, the change in a company's cash from one period to the ...

A vertical analysis is used to show the relative sizes of the different accounts on a financial statement. For example, when a vertical analysis is done on an income statement, it will show the top ...

The balance sheet is a snapshot of the company's financial standing at an instant in time. The balance sheet shows the company's financial position, what it owns (assets) and what it owes (liabilities ...