Accounting Analysis Flashcards
what is accounting defined as?
recording, measuring and reporting of economic events or activities to interest parties or in a usable form
what is the role of financial statements?
enable stakeholders to objectively compare the information against previous periods
who is responsible for the preparation of financial statements?
directors are required to prepare them and make other disclosures through periodic reports
what is the statement of financial position/balance sheet?
provides a snapshot of the companies financial position as of a given date. made up of assets, equity and liabilities. assets and liabilities are on opposite sides of the sheet and must match up
what is the income statement?
summarises income or revenue that is earned and expenses earned over the accounting period- referred to as the profit and loss statement
what is a cash flow statement?
identifies how much cash the company generated over the accounting period and how much cash has been spent. divides the source and use of cash into operating, investing and financing activities
what additional financial disclosures can companies provide?
statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and notes explaining policies
what are assets?
items owned/controlled by the company- expected to yield economic benefit in a future period
what are liabilities?
money owed by the company to others i.e., to suppliers, taxes and to lenders
what is equity?
amount invested into the business by its owners and earnings made, not paid out in dividends
what is revenue?
sales made by a company, leading to increase in assets or decrease in liabilities
what are expenses?
the costs of doing business
what is GAAP/
generally accepted accounting principles
what is the IFRS Foundation and what is it made up of?
public interest organisation established to develop disclosure standards. standards are developed by two standard-setting boards IASB (international accounting standards board) and ISSB (international sustainability standards board)
why are group financial statements prepared?
when an investment is so significant that the investing company controls the other company. as long as the parent/subsidiary relationship exists, the parent company should prepare and present them as a set of accounts
how are group financial statements presented?
as if the parent and subsidiaries were a single entity?
what is goodwil?
essentially if the cost of investment into the subsidiary from the parent is more than the net assets of the subsidiary, the excess is considered goodwill and will appear as an asset on the consolidated financial statement (as the investment into the subsidiary will provide income in the future- so this asset will yield economic benefit in future periods)
what are non-controlling interests?
when the parent company owns a majority of the shares but not all, there will be other non-controlling interests. reflected by detailing to what extent the net assets and income belong to the non-controlling interests
what are tangible non-current assets?
those that have physical substance such as land or machinery, initially recorded at their cost, to reflect that they will provide a benefit for the business, they are required to be depreciated.
what are intangible non-current assets?
assets that are expected to generate economic benefits over a number of accounting periods but are without physical substance e.g., intellectual property
what are non-current investments?
investible assets such as equity investments or investments in debt in other companies that won’t mature within the next year or be sold
what are current assets?
those that are purchased with the intention of resale or conversion into cash, usually within a 12 month period e.g., stocks, finished goods debtor balances, any short-term investments held
how are current assets typically listed in the statement of financial position?
in ascending order in terms of liquidity
what is depreciation?
applied to tangible, non-currents assets. assets wear out over time and this reflects that- doesn’t apply to freehold land and non-current investments which are not usually depreciated due to having a limited economic life
what is amortisation?
applying the principle of depreciation but to intangible non-current assets such as licenses and patents
what is straight line depreciation and how is it calculated?
spreads out the depreciation amount equally over the economic life of the asset
straight line depreciation+ (cost - disposal value)/useful economic life in years
what is share capital?
nominal value of equity and preference share capital the company has to issue and has called up
what is capital reserves?
revaluation reserves and the share premium account (this arises when the company issues shares at a price above their nominal value)- not distributable to company’s shareholders in the form of dividends, can be converted into bonus issue
what are revenue reserves?
accumulated retained earnings of the company, accumulation of the company’s distributable profits
how is equity calculated?
equity = share capital + reserves
what are non-current liabilites?
company’s borrowing not repayable within the next 12 months
what are provisions/
obligation to make a payment but the exact amount or timing of the expenditure has yet to be established
what are current liabilities?
amount the company owes, fall due for payment within 12 months
what is the income statement?
summarises income earned and expenditure incurred- referred to as profit and loss statement. Bottom line of this shows earning per share.