Acc 290 Week 1 Financial Statement Analysis

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Financial Statements ACC/290 January 16, 2012 Financial Statements Accounting is the practice of summarizing, recording, analyzing, and reporting financial transactions. Accounting plays a vital role in assisting the progress of economic activity in an organization. The financial statements show a great deal about a company's performance with the reporting of accounting activity. In this paper I will identify the four basic financial statements and describe the purpose of each. I will also discuss how financial statements are useful to internal users such as employees and managers as well as external users such as creditors and investors. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) develops the United States standards,…show more content…
This equation must always be in balance; the assets equaling the sum of liabilities and stockholder's equity. Assets are what a company owns that have value. This could mean products or services that can be sold or used by the company. Assets include physical property, plant, equipment, cash, patents, and trademarks. Liabilities are creditor claims, debts, and obligations a company must pay or settle by transferring assets or services. Some common types of liabilities are accounts payable, notes payable, unearned revenues, taxes, salaries, wages, and interest. Stockholder's equity is the claims of owners composed of common stock and retained earnings. When the company sells new shares of stock, common stock results; retained earnings is the net income kept in the company (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2011). Creditors use the balance sheet to determine the likelihood they will be repaid. Employees or managers use the balance sheet to determine if the cash available is sufficient for immediate…show more content…
Retained earnings are the amount of net income not paid to investors as dividends. Retained earnings are used to reinvest in the company for various projects or to increase growth. Creditors use the retained earnings statement to monitor dividend payments a company pays out, as this reduces its ability to repay its debts. Investors use the retained earnings statement to see how much money has been put into the business in previous years and seek out companies who either pay high dividends or reinvest earnings in company growth (Kimmel, Weygandt, & Kieso, 2011). Managers can use the retained earnings statement to determine if they are using shareholder's money wisely. If the company is using all of its earnings to reinvest in itself and is not seeing high growth, it may be better served to issue dividends to

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