Russian commercial enterprises are required by law to create documents that make up the financial statements. The key sources of this type include the company's balance sheet, as well as a report on its financial results.
Both documents can be extremely valuable sources of data on the economic situation of the company. What is the specifics of their compilation? How can the analysis of data presented in the relevant sources be carried out?
Why do I need a balance sheet and financial report?
So, the balance sheet drawn up by the accountant and the report on financial results relate to the key varieties of financial statements, which can be formed both by virtue of legislative requirements and in accordance with the provisions of local sources of law approved at a particular enterprise.
The first document includes information about the assets of the company, its liabilities, as well as the amount of equity of the company. In the balance sheet is a grouping of assets and liabilities of the organization in monetary terms. The statement of financial results reflects the results of the company’s activities for the reporting period by bringing the company's recorded revenues and expenses. We study the features of the structure and content of the documents in more detail.
Balance sheet: structure
The balance sheet of the company consists of 3 main parts: assets, liabilities, and capital indicators. As a rule, the various types of financial information reflected in this document are presented in a sequence corresponding to their liquidity.
The most important criterion for drawing up the correct balance is the equality of the amount assets and liabilities (including equity). The essence of the first indicator is in reflecting the amount of cash used by the enterprise. Liabilities of the company, as well as equity reflect what sources develop the business. If we talk about the optimal ratio of other key balance sheet items, it is worth noting that the total amount of claims of creditors of the company, as well as its owners, should be equal to the indicator reflecting the size of assets.
The main data source for filling the balance sheet is double-entry registers.
It can be noted that the document in question does not reflect the features of the movement of funds, as well as the facts of certain business operations, but allows interested parties - managers, owners, government bodies - in cases provided for by law to assess the financial condition of the company at a particular point in time.
Report on financial results: document structure
Let us now consider what constitutes a statement of financial performance in terms of its structure. The document in question reflects:
- the amount of revenue from the sale of goods or services of the company;
- cost of sales indicators;
- gross profit margin;
- data on commercial, administrative costs;
- profit or loss upon sales;
- income received from participation in the activities of third-party businesses;
- the amount of interest to be received or paid.
Also, the document may record data on other income and expenses of the company (for example, arising from exchange differences in the value of currencies).The statement of financial performance may include data on the amount of corporate income tax and other permanent obligations of the company to the state budget. The document may also record the size of the company's net profit.
Balance sheet: nuances
Having studied what are the balance sheet and the report on financial results, the features of their structure, we consider the features of the preparation of relevant documents in practice. Let's start with the study of the specifics of working with the balance sheet.
In practice, the document in question most often looks like a table with 2 groups of data - about assets, as well as liabilities and capital. In each row of the corresponding table - that is, on the balance sheet accounts, the name of the accounting object, as well as its value, is indicated.
The balance sheet as an independent reporting document should be compiled based on the results of a specific reporting period. For example, a month, quarter, or year. When compiling the document in question, the most important thing is to comply with the principle that any transaction with assets must correspond to that recorded in the area of liabilities.
Reporting on financial results: nuances
Now consider what the nuances of compiling a document such as a report on the financial results of the organization. When forming the appropriate source, the calculation of revenue, income and expenses in the general case is carried out using the accrual method. Namely: the proceeds are calculated at the time the customers or customers of the company incur obligations to transfer payments for the delivered products or services. As a rule, this moment is determined upon the fact of the shipment of goods or the actual provision of services to the consumer, which are documented by one or another justifying source.
Formal balance sheet and report
How exactly should the report on financial results look like? The form of the relevant document is approved by law - by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 66n, adopted on 02.07.2010. This NLA also includes a balance sheet form that must be used by reporting entities.
Analysis of financial indicators of the company
Various financial balances of the company - including accounting, a statement of financial performance can be sources through which an analysis of the economic situation of the company can be carried out. This procedure can be initiated by managers, owners, creditors, potential investors of the company. How is the analysis of the report on financial results, as well as the balance sheet?
In practice, there are quite a few schemes for solving this problem. Among the most common - an approach that involves:
- comparison of data on the balance sheet and the report between different reporting periods;
- a comparison of planned indicators for the financial activities of the company and actual that are recorded in the documents under consideration;
- the study of the structure of income, expenses, assets and liabilities of the company in order to identify patterns regarding the formation of a particular indicator.
Analysis of financial indicators: what to look for?
The main task of the financier, analyzing the report on financial results, as well as the balance sheet, is to correctly study indicators of volume, content, structure, as well as the dynamics of various financial indicators in relation to the sources of their formation.
Upon completion of the analysis of the documents under consideration, it is important to come to specific conclusions regarding the identified patterns in the business processes of the company.So, the financier, analyzing the report on financial results or the balance sheet, can first of all pay attention to factors that determine the specific value of the profit from the sale of goods in the profit structure. If it decreases, this may indicate that the quality of profit falls due to the fact that this indicator is the financial result of the core business of the company. That is, it to a certain extent affects the formation of the company's revenue, and it is necessary to pay special attention to it when studying the effectiveness of business management.
The way in which the analysis of data on the considered sources of financial reporting can be carried out can be determined at the level of the firm’s leadership, taking into account the recommendations of the owners, opinions of experts involved in the relevant work.
Summary
So, we examined the basic information about the key documents of the financial statements of the company - the balance sheet, as well as the report on the financial results of the company. The documents under consideration can be compiled both in accordance with the requirements of the law, and by virtue of the provisions of local standards adopted by the company. Thus, users of these reports can be government agencies or private individuals. For example - managers, owners, creditors, investors of the company.
The balance sheet - a source that reflects the structure of assets and liabilities of the company. The report on financial results captures data on the company's income and expenses. Both documents under consideration are equally important for the management of the company, since they reflect the actual dynamics of key business indicators, and can be used as a valuable data source for optimizing business management methods.
