Financial Reporting Flashcards
Financial Reporting
The way companies show their financial performance to investors, creditors, and other interested parties by preparing financial statements
Financial Statement Analysis
Use the information in a company’s financial statements, along with other relevant information, to make economic decisions
Balance Sheet
Reports the firm’s financial position at a point in time
- Assets: resources controlled by the firm
- Liabilities: amounts owed to lenders and other creditors
- Shareholders’ Equity: residual interest in net assets of an entity that remains after deducting liabilities
Statement of Comprehensive Income
Reports all changes in equity except for shareholder transactions (issuing, repurchasing, paying dividends)
Income Statement
Reports the financial performance of the firm over a period of time
- Revenues: inflows from delivering goods and services
- Expenses: outflows from delivering or producing goods or services
- Other Income: gains that may or may not arise in the ordinary course of business
Statement of Changes in Equity
Reports the amounts and sources of changes in equity investors’ investments in the firm over a period of time
Statement of Cash Flows
Reports the company’s cash receipts and payments
Operating Cash Flows
Cash effects of transactions that involve the normal business of the firm
Investing Cash Flows
Resulting from the acquisition or sale of property, plant and equipment, of a subsidiary or segment, of securities and of investments in other firms
Financing Cash Flows
Resulting from the issuance or retirement of the firm’s debt and equity securities (include dividends paid)
Footnotes
Disclosures that provide further details about the information summarized in the financial statements. Improve assessment of amount, timing and uncertainty of estimates
Management’s Commentary (MD&A)
Management discusses nature of the business, management’s objectives, company’s past performance, performance measures used, company’s key relationships, resources and risks
Audit
Independent review of an entity’s financial statements (fairness and reliability)
Standard Auditor’s Opinion
- Auditor has performed an independent review
- Reasonable assurance financial statements contain no material errors
- Statements prepared in accordance with accepted accounting principles and estimates are reasonable
Unqualified Opinion
Auditor believes the statements are free from material omissions and errors (clean opinion)
Qualified Opinion
Statements make exceptions to the accounting principles. Auditor report explains exceptions
Adverse Opinion
Statements are not presented fairly or are materially nonconforming with accounting standards
Disclaimer of Opinon
Auditor is unable to express an opinion (scope of limitation)
Going Concern Assumption
Assumption that the firm will continue to operate for the foreseeable future, despite probable material loss (cannot be reasonably estimated)
Internal Controls
Processes by which the company ensures that it presents accurate financial statements (responsibility of management)
Proxy Statements
Issued to shareholders when there are matters that require a shareholder vote (election of board members, compensation, management qualifications, issuance of stock options)
Earnings Guidance
Released prior to financial statements, conference call after where senior management discusses earnings
Financial Statement Analysis Framework
- Objective and Context
- Gather Data
- Process the Data
- Analyze and Interpret the Data
- Report the Conclusions or Recommendations
- Update the Analysis
Standard-Setting Bodies
Professional organizations of accountants and auditors that establish financial reporting standards (FASB and IASB)
Regulatory Authorities
Government agencies that have the legal authority to enforce compliance with financial reporting standards (SEC)
International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
- Protect investors
- Ensure fairness, efficiency and transparency or markets
- Reduce systemic risk
Form S-1
Registration statement filed prior to the sale of new securities to the public
Form 10-K
Required annual filing including information about business and management, audited financial statements and disclosures
Form 10-Q
Filed quarterly with updated financial statements, do not have to be audited. Disclose legal proceedings or changes in accounting policy
Form DEF-14A
Company prepares a proxy statement for its shareholders prior to annual meeting or other shareholder vote
Form 8-K
Companies file to disclose material events including significant asset acquisitions and disposals, changes in management or corporate governance
Form 144
Company can issue securities to certain qualified buyers without registering the securities with the SEC
Forms 3, 4 and 5
Beneficial ownership of securities by company’s officers and directors
Convergence
Developing one universally accepted set of accounting standards
Relevance
Financial statements are relevant if the information in them can influence users’ economic decisions or affect users’ evaluations of past events or forecasts of future events
- Predictive Value
- Confirmatory Value
- Materiality
Faithful Representation
Complete, neutral (non-biased), free from error
Comparability
Financial statements should be consistent among firms and across time periods
Verifiability
Independent observers using same methods should obtain similar results
Timeliness
Information is available to decision makers before the information is stale
Understandibility
Users with a basic knowledge of business and accounting who make a reasonable effort to study the financial statements should be able to readily understand the information
Assets
Resources controlled as a result of past transactions expected to provide future economic benefits
Liabilities
Obligations as a result of past events that are expected to require an outflow of economic resources
Equity
Owners’ residual interest in the assets after deducting the liabilities
Income
Increase in the economic benefits, either increasing assets or decreasing liabilities in a way that increases owners’ equity
Expenses
Decreases in economic benefits, either decreasing assets or increasing liabilities in a way that decreases owners’ equity
Measurement Base
Determines the amounts at which items are reported in the financial statements
Historical Cost
The amount originally paid for the asset
Amortized Cost
Historical cost adjusted for depreciation, amortization, depletion and impairment
Current Cost
Amount the firm would have to pay today for the same asset
Net Realizable Value
Estimated selling price of the asset in the normal course of business minus the selling costs
Present Value
Discounted value of the asset’s expected future cash flows
Fair Value
Price at which an asset could be sold, or a liability transferred, in an orderly transaction between two willing parties
Accrual Accounting
Financial statements should reflect transactions at the time they actually occur, not necessarily when cash is paid (revenue recognize when earned, expenses recognized when incurred)
Going Concern
Assumes the company will continue to exist for the foreseeable future
Fair Presentation
Faithfully representing the effects of the entity’s transactions and events according to the standards for recognizing assets, liabilities, revenues
Going Concern Basis
Financial statements are based on the assumption the firm will continue to exist unless its management intends to liquidate it
Consistency
How items are presented and classified between periods, with prior-period amounts disclosed for comparison. Also across geographic areas and companies
Materiality
Financial statements should be free of misstatements or omissions that could influence decisions of users
Aggregation
Similar items grouped, dissimilar items separated
Offsetting
Assets can’t be offset against liabilities or income against expenses unless a certain standard permits it
Classified Balance Sheet
Shows current and non-current assets and liabilities
Minimum Information
Required on the face of each financial statement and in the notes (must show specific items)
Reconciliation Statement
Showing what financial results would have been under an alternative reporting system
Transparency
Full disclosure and fair presentation reveal underlying economics
Comprehensiveness
All types of transactions that have financial implications should be part of the framework
Valuation
Some measurement bases require little judgement and may be less relevant
Principles Based Approach
Relies on a broad framework
Rules Based Approach
Gives specific guidance about how to classify transactions
Objectives Based Approach
Combination of principles and rules based
Measurement
Properly valuing the elements at one point in time and properly valuing the changes between points in time (asset/liability approach vs revenue/expense approach)
Net Revenue
Revenue less adjustments for estimated returns and allowances
Expenses
Cost of goods sold, operating expenses, interest and taxes. Grouped by nature or by function
Net Income
revenues - ordinary expenses + other income - other expenses + gains - losses
Noncontrolling Interest
Pro rata share of the subsidiary’s income not owned by the parent is reported in parent’s income statement (minority interest). Subtracted when arriving at net income
Single Step Income Statement
All revenues are grouped together and all expenses are grouped together
Multi-Step Income Statement
Revenues - COGS to get gross profit and then net income
Gross Profit
Amount that remains after the direct costs of producing a product or service are subtracted from revenue
Operating Income
Subtracting operating expenses (selling, general and administrative expenses) from gross profits
Net Income
Subtracting interest expense and income taxes from operating profit (bottom line)
Revenue Recognition: Sale of Goods
- Risk and reward of ownership transferred
- No continuing control or management over goods sold
- Revenue reliably measured
- Probable flow of economic benefits
- Cost reliably measured
Revenue Recognition: Services Rendered
- Amount of revenue reliably measured
- Probable flow of economic benefits
- Stage of completion measured
- Cost incurred and cost of completion reliably measured
SEC Revenue Recognition
- Evidence of an arrangement between buyer and seller
- Product has been delivered or service rendered
- Price is determined or determinable
- Seller reasonably sure of collecting money
Unearned Revenue
Firm receives cash before revenue recognition is complete. reported on the balance sheet as a liability. Liability is reduced in the future as cash is earned
Percentage of Completion Method
Outcome of a long term contract can be reliably estimated. Revenue, expense, profit recognized as work is performed (total cost incurred to date divided by total expected cost of the project)
Completed Contract Method
If the firm can’t reliably measure the outcome of the project, revenue is recognized to the extent of contract costs. Costs expensed when incurred and recognized only at completion (loss must immediately be recognized)
Installment Sale
Occurs when a firm finances a sale and payments are expected to be received over an extended period of time
Installment Method
Used when collectibility cannot be reasonably estimated. Profit is recognized as cash is collected. Profit equal to cash collected during period multiplied by total expected profit as percentage of sales
Cost Recovery Method
Collectibility is highly uncertain. Profit is recognized only when cash collected exceeds costs incurred
Barter Transaction
Two parties exchange goods or services without cash payment. Recognized at fair value can use historical experience to determine
Round Trip Transaction
Sale of goods to one party with the simultaneous purchase of almost identical goods from the same party
Gross Revenue Reporting
Selling firm reports sales revenue and cost of goods sold separately (sales higher than in net revenue reporting)
- Primary obligor under contract
- Bear inventory and credit risk
- Choose its supplier
- Reasonable latitude to establish price
Net Revenue Reporting
Only the difference in sales and cost is reported
Contract
Agreement between two or more parties that specifies their obligations and rights (collectibility must be probable)
Performance Obligation
Promise to deliver a distinct good or service (customer benefits from good or service on its own or with other readily available resources, promise to transfer is separately identifiable from other promises)
Matching Principle
Expenses to generate revenue are recognized in the same period as revenue
Period Costs
Expenses that cannot directly be tied to revenue generation (administrative expenses). Expensed in period incurred
Specific Identification Method
Identify exactly which items were sold and which items remain in inventory
FIFO
First item purchased is assumed to be the first item sold. Cost of inventory acquired first used to calculate cost of goods sold for the period. Cost of most recent purchases used to calculate ending inventory
LIFO
Last item purchased is assumed to be the first item sold. Cost of inventory most recently purchased assigned to cost of goods sold for the period. Costs of beginning inventory and earlier purchases assigned to ending inventory
Weighted Average Cost
Makes no assumption about the physical flow of the inventory. Used to determine COGS and ending inventory (between LIFO and FIFO)
Long Lived Assets
Expected to provide economic benefits beyond one accounting period
Depreciation
Allocation of cost over a tangible asset’s life
Depletion
Allocation of cost over a natural resource’s life
Amortization
Allocation of cost over an intangible asset’s life
Straight Line Depreciation
Recognizes an equal amount of depreciation expense each period (assets generate more benefits in early years –> accelerated depreciation)
Accelerated Depreciation
Speeds up the recognition of depreciation expense in a systematic way to recognize more depreciation expense in the early years of the asset’s life and less in later years
Declining Balance Method
Applies a constant rate of depreciation to an asset’s declining book value each year
Double Declining Balance
Applies two times the straight-line rate to the declining balance
Discontinued Operations
Operation management has decided to dispose of, but has not yet done so, or disposed in current year after the operation had generated income or losses
Measurement Date
Date when the company develops a formal plan for disposing of an operation
Phaseout Period
Time between the measurement period and the actual disposal date
Unusual or Infrequent Items
Gains or losses from sale of assets of part of a business, impairments, write-offs, write-downs, restructuring costs
Extraordinary Items
Material transaction or event that was both unusual and infrequent (no longer allowed)
Change in Accounting Principles
Change from one GAAP or IFRS method to another
Retrospective Application
After change in accounting principle, all prior period financial statements currently presented are restated to reflect the change
Change in Accounting Estimate
Result of a change in management’s judgment, usually due to new information (prospective, no restating prior statements)
Prior Period Adjustment
Change from an incorrect accounting method to one that is acceptable under GAAP or IFRS or correction of accounting error in previous statements (restate prior periods in current statement, disclosure required)
Earnings per Share
Corporate profitability performance measure for publicly traded firms (only for shares of common stock)
Simple Capital Structure
Contains no potentially dilutive securities. Contains only common stock, nonconvertible debt, nonconvertible preferred stock
Complex Capital Structure
Contains potentially dilutive securities such as options, warrants or convertible securities (report basic and diluted EPS)
Weighted Average of Common Shares
Number of shares outstanding during the year weighted by the portion of the year they were outstanding
Stock Dividend
Distribution of additional shares to each shareholder in an amount proportional to their current number of shares
Stock Split
Division of each old share into a specific number of new shares (proportional ownership unchanged)
Dilutive Securities
Stock options, warrants, convertible debt, convertible preferred stock that would decrease EPS if exercised or converted to common stock
Antidilutive Securities
Stock options, warrants, convertible debt, convertible preferred stock that would increase EPS if exercised or converted to common stock
Treasury Stock Method
Assumes that funds received by the company from the exercise of options would be used to hypothetically purchase shares of the company’s common stock in the market at the average market price
Common Size Income Statement
Expresses each category of the income statement as a percentage of revenue (standardizes)
Effective Tax Rate
Tax expense when expressed as a percentage of pretax income
Gross Profit Margin
Ratio of gross profit (Revenue - COGS) to revenue (sales)
Net Profit Margin
Net income to revenue. Profit generated after considering all expenses
Retained Earnings
At the end of each accounting period, net income of the firm is added to stockholders’ equity through this account
Comprehensive Income
Includes all changes in equity except for owner contributions and distributions
Available for Sale Securities
Investment securities that are not expected to be held to maturity or sold in the near term. Reported on the balance sheet at fair value
Other Comprehensive Income
Not included in net income
- Foreign currency translation gains and losses
- Adjustments for minimum pension liability
- Unrealized gain and losses from cash flow hedging derivatives
- Unrealized gains and losses from available for sale securities
Liquidity
The ability to meet short term obligations
Solvency
The ability to meet long term obligations
Classified Balance Sheet
Reporting current assets and noncurrent assets, and current liabilities and noncurrent liabilities (evaluate liquidity)
Liquidity Based Format
Present assets and liabilities in order of liquidity (IFRS)
Current Assets
Include cash and other assets that will likely be converted into cash or used up within one year or one operating cycle (whichever is greater). Order of liquidity
Operating Cycle
Time it takes to produce or purchase inventory, sell the product and collect the cash
Current Liabilities
Obligations that will be satisfied within one year or one operating cycle (settlement dates, held for trading purposes)
Working Capital
Current assets minus current liabilities (indicates liquidity)
Noncurrent Assets
Will not be converted to cash or used up within one year or operating cycle. Firm’s investing activities
Noncurrent Liabilities
Provide information about firm’s long term financing activities
Cash Equivalents
Short term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to cash and near enough to maturity that interest rate risk is insignificant (T bills, commercial paper, money market funds)
Marketable Securities
Financial assets traded in a public market and whose value can be readily determined (T bills, notes, bonds, equities)
Accounts Receivable
Financial assets that represent amounts owed to the firm by customers for goods or services sold on credit
Contra Account
Used to reduce the value of its controlling account (allowance for doubtful accounts)