Financial statements report the business activities and financial performance of a company. Learn how they are used by executives, investors, and lenders.

Have you been asked to provide a P&L for your business? You may not know what a P&L is right now, but don’t panic! This financial statements tutorial will turn you into a P&L pro in no time! The P&L ...

There are four key financial statements your company may have: a balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement and statement of owners' or shareholders' equity (retained earnings). A balance ...

External audits focus on whether and how well a business's financial statements adhere to generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. The objective of GAAP is to standardize and regulate ...

Financial statements are written records of a business’s financial situation. They include standard reports like the balance sheet, income or profit and loss statements, and cash flow statement. They ...

Financial statements are key to understanding the underlying drivers of a business—i.e., how your business is growing, what the margin profile is, how much cash it is generating and using and from ...

Income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements. If you're running a business, you probably have some knowledge of basic financial statements and how to use them. But do you know why ...

More than just paperwork, audited financial reports show that the numbers for your business add up. Knowing what goes into an audited statement and why it matters can help you gain confidence with ...

But they shouldn't be. Governments and nonprofits take our tax and contribution money to provide valuable services--shouldn't we be making sure that they're making good use of our money? (To get ...

A written report of the financial condition of a firm. Financial statements include the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in net worth and statement of cash flow. The first step in ...

A very common piece of investing advice is that you should conduct your own research and analysis instead of fully relying on somebody else’s recommendations. But how do you do this? When it comes to ...

J.B. Maverick is an active trader, commodity futures broker, and stock market analyst 17+ years of experience, in addition to 10+ years of experience as a finance writer and book editor. Andy Smith is ...