income statement and statement of financial position Flashcards
how can private sector businesses be structured
- partnerships
- limited liability companies
- sole traders
what are sole traders businesses
owned by a single person
- no legal formalities involved and all profits go to the owner
what are the advantages and disadvantages of having a sole traders business
advantage: any accounts that are prepared are only provided to the owner and the tax authority
disadvantage:
it is hard to raise finance and since such a business has no separate legal personality, the owner has unlimited liability
- anyone owed money by a sole trader can recover the sum not only from the business but the owner of the business
what are partnerships businesses
similar to sole trader but there is more than one owner
what are the advantages and disadvantages of having a partnership business
advantage:
- difficulty in raising finance is mitigated to the degree that more owners have access to more capital
- no legal requirements to provide accounts except for the tax authorities
disadvantage
- partners are ‘jointly and severally’ liable for the debts of the business if business is unable too meet the debts of the business
what is a limited liability company
company has its own ‘legal personality’
- owners are shareholders who appoint directors to manage the business
what is a limited liability company
company has its own ‘legal personality’
- owners are shareholders who appoint directors to manage the business
what are the advantages and disadvantages of having a limited liability company
advantage
- owners (shareholders) have limited liability - anyone owed money by such a business can only recover the sum owed from the company itself - cannot recover debt from the shareholders
disadvantage:
- director have a legal obligation to produce accounts containing specific information to be sent to the shareholders and to companies house within a specified time limit === anyone can download those accounts ========the activities, performances and state of affairs of the company are in the public domain and no longer private
what is the purpose of the 3 main financial statements
to report the business’s financial performance and position to external users of the accounting info
what are the 3 main financial statements
- statement of financial position (SOFP)/ balance sheet
- income statement (IS)
- cash flow statement (CFS)
what does the statement of financial position show
the financial position of the business at a single point in time
- shows assets, liabilities and equity or the finance provided by the owners or shareholders
what does the income statement show
the financial performance of the business in the past accounting period ( usually 1 year) so that profits can be determined
- shows revenue or sales or turnover of the business less its expenses = which is the profits
what does a cash flow statement provide
provides a better understanding of the position and performance of the business in terms of the availability and generation of the cash
- prepared on a cash basis and shows the inflows and outflows of cash during the year
- used to demonstrate sources and application of funds over the accounting period
- provides info on the liquidity of the business — cuz it explains what has happened to cash balance from one SOFP to the next
what is an asset
resource controlled by the enterprise as a result of past transactions or events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the enterprise
what are current and non current assets
current assets
- cash or other assets which are expected to become cash within one year
non-current assets
- assets which are not acquired with the intention to sell them and are expected to be held for more than one year