What are Financial Reports?
Financial reports are the periodic reports of information on financial statements of a company, including its financial position and performance, for the use of management or an external party. The four primary financial reports in business are the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and statement of shareholders’ equity.
The Purpose of Financial Reports
Financial reports have two primary purposes:
They assist management in effective decision making regarding the objectives of the company and its overall strategies. The information provided by the reports can help the management to determine the strengths and weakness along with the financial health of the company.
They deliver important information about the financial condition and undertakings of the company to its investors along with its shareholders, consumers, analysts and government regulators.
Limitations of Old Financial Reporting Systems
The greatest limitation of old financial reporting systems is that they are highly vulnerable to both accidental human error and intentional manipulation of stats and figures to distort economic performance. (more…)