What Is A Balance Sheet?
Balance sheet is a critical financial statement that offers a snapshot of a business’s financial health, revealing the company’s assets and liabilities during a specific period. It is essential because it helps stakeholders, such as investors and creditors, understand a company’s financial health.
It typically includes three main sections — assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity. Assets can be things like cash, buildings, and inventory. Liabilities are debts and obligations. Shareholders’ equity represents the owner’s interest in the company.
The balance sheet is prepared by a company’s accountants or financial professionals. They gather financial data and organise it into the balance sheet format.
What Are The Uses Of A Balance Sheet?
A balance sheet has several uses. It helps potential investors assess a company’s financial health before investing. It also guides creditors in deciding whether to lend money to a company. Internally, it helps management track the company’s financial progress.
What Is A Financial Statement?
A financial statement is a document that provides a summary of a company’s financial activities and performance. The main types of financial statements are balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, and statements of changes in equity.
How Are Balance Sheets Different From Financial Statements?
While both financial statements and balance sheets are crucial for understanding a company’s finances, they serve different purposes. A balance sheet provides a snapshot of a company’s financial position at a specific moment, focussing on assets, liabilities, and equity.
In contrast, financial statements include various reports that cover a broader range of financial activities over a specific period, such as revenue, expenses and cash flows.
What Is An Income Statement?
An income statement, also known as a profit and loss statement, is a financial statement that shows a company’s revenues, expenses, and net income (or loss) over a specific period, like a month, quarter, or year. It helps assess a company’s profitability by comparing revenue and expenses.
