The Four Most Important Financial Statements Essay Example for Free

The Four Most Important Financial Statements Essay What are the four most important financial statements? Briefly describe each Much success in today’s business world is tied in with numbers in the form of accounting and financial statements. Being able to understand and properly read these statements is a critical component in truly knowing a business and properly assessing its overall financial performance. Financial reporting is the issuance of written documents in the form of the financial statements by the companies to the shareholders, stakeholders and other interested parties. The objective of these financial statements is to provide information about the reporting entitys financial performance and position that is useful to the wide range of users for assessing the stewardship of the entitys management and for making economic decisions. To be useful, this information must be represented faithfully, should be complete, prudent and free from material errors at least. The purpose of imposing regulations on accounting practices and setting standards is to fulfil the objectives of financial statements. In the accounting world there are several financial statements but the four main financial statements that are universally understood and prepared for most publically traded companies and many small and medium sized businesses are the income statement, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, and the statement of retained earnings (sometimes referred to as shareholders’ equity). A fundamental ability to properly interpret the information these statements contain allows internal and external users to make a wide array of decisions affecting company operations and decisions on whether or not to invest. Users of financial statements look to the income statement to learn and assess a company’s performance over a set period of time, often a month or a year. This statement depicts the company’s revenues and expenses with the difference reflecting the net income (or loss) resulting from the firm’s business activities. The revenue will be broken down by the category from which it derived with expenses broken down in a similar fashion. Those most interested in a company’s income include shareholders, potential investors, banks (for the purpose of assessing past performance and potential loan risk), creditors, and executives charged with ensuring profitability for the business. The complexity of an income statement will vary based on that of the company from whence it derives and the depth of its business activities (www.accountingcoach.com). In larger corporations an accrual basis of  accounting is commonly used where revenues are recorded when the money is actually earned, as opposed to cash being received. Income Statement A firms revenues, gains, expenses and losses are listed on the income statement. Revenue is money earned from a company’s normal business operations. The expenses on the income statement are the costs associated with earning the revenue. When a company sells one of its assets, it can experience a capital gain or loss. Revenues minus expenses, plus gains minus losses, equal net income or net loss. The dollar amount of net income listed on the income statement is also found on the cash flow statement under the operating activities section. Balance Sheet The balance sheet includes the elements of the accounting equation: assets equal liabilities plus shareholders’ equity. The assets on a balance sheet are classified as either current or fixed assets. Current assets are the most liquid, meaning they easily convert to cash. Fixed assets are long-termed assets. Similar to assets, liabilities are also classified as current or long-term. Current liabilities include money owed to creditors in less than a year. Long-term liabilities are due in one year or later. Shareholders’ equity is the total amount of equity in the firm. The shareholders’ equity section of the balance sheet is explained in further detail on the statement of shareholders’ equity. Cash Flow Statement The cash flow statement shows the amount of cash within a company. Items that affect the cash balance are listed on the statement. The first section of the cash flow statement is operating activities, which shows the cash flowing in and out of the company in relation to its business operation. The operating activities section also includes net income and the change in dollars of certain accounts listed on the balance sheet. The next section, investing activities, shows cash the company received and spent on a companys capital investments. The financing activities section shows the inflows and outflows of cash related to the company’s issued financial securities, which is also listed on the balance sheet and statement of shareholders equity. Statement of Shareholders’ Equity This statement shows the changes in the shareholders’ equity account. The first line item is the beginning balance for common stock. The amount of newly issued common stock is added to the beginning balance to get the ending balance. The same goes for preferred stocks. Listed next is the beginning balance to retained earnings, which is also listed on the balance sheet. The net income listed on the income statement is added to the beginning retained earnings balance and the amount of dividends paid out to shareholders is subtracted to get the ending balance. The ending balance for common and preferred stock and the ending balance for retained earnings is added together to get the total of the shareholders’ equity.

Popularity - Writing To Reflect :: essays research papers

I want to talk about the thing that strives many teens have to be popular in schools. It seems as though that popularity is a main issue to teens. The need to feel accepted by others in order to be the center of attention, and the need to be distinguished greatly from everyone else is a strong force that exposes itself to nearly all teens at school. We spend most of our years at school, and begin well-known can almost seem to complete an emptyness that we feel. Popularity may not always in fact be as fulfilling as it may seem. I do agree that we all have the need to feel wanted yet when is enough, enough? Personally, I’ve seen many situations when the elevation of popularity brought upon many other issues. Popular students usally have to create a certain personality that is diverse from their own, and they must always have that particular personality all the time to keep up their prevalent focus from others. This can be usually seen as the popular athletic team captain or the optimistic cheerleader. During the process in becoming more recognized, some end up hurting others for their own means of reaching that point. I remember a time a few years back when I had a group of fairly close friends. We would always hang out with eachother and we would await the day at which we were to enter high school together. When we finally reached high school, there where now a whole new group of people that were older than I. I still had my group of friends, but gradually I started to lose one of them. My friend was going against my other schoolmate, and before I knew it I was hurling the same insults as they were. It was all part of a process; a process, I thought, was going to make me popular. I thought that if I could make someone look lower than I was, I would gain self-confidence and become more popular. As it turned out it was not the case. I had lost a good friend, all for a selfish reason to get a good reputaion at school. In the end I ended up only hurting myself. I couldn’t carry the baggage I had, knowing I had hurt someone who was close to me. There shouldn’t be a need to become popular, there may be a few benefits, but it never lasts for long.

Business Administration Essay

You should use this file to complete your Assessment. †¢ The first thing you need to do is save a copy of this document, either onto your computer or a disk †¢ Then work through your Assessment, remembering to save your work regularly †¢ When you’ve finished, print out a copy to keep for reference †¢ Then, go to www.vision2learn.com and send your completed Assessment to your tutor via your My Study area – make sure it is clearly marked with your name, the course title and the Unit and Assessment number. Please note that this Assessment document has 8 pages and is made up of 7 Sections. Name: Sophie Griffith-Allen Section 1 – Know the employment rights and responsibilities of the employee and employer 1. Identify four main points that would be included in a contract of employment. If possible, use an example contract to support your answer (feel free to obscure any confidential information). In a contract of employment there are certain details which need to be included about the employer and employee, such as their names. Other information that must be included are about the job itself, such as job title, date of employment, duties and responsibilities that are expected from the employee. At Morrisons a probationary period of 13 weeks is included in a contract of employment and the employees contracted hours of work per week. 2a) List three key points of legislation that affect employers in a business  environment. Health and safety Act 1974 Copyright designs and patents Act 1988- Copyright refers to laws that control the use of the work of a creator, such as an artist or author. For a copyright to apply to a piece of work it must be an original idea of their own that is put to use. Data protection Act 1998 2b) List three key points of legislation that affect employees in a business environment. †¢ Pensions- Are very important for employees as the government think that people aren’t saving enough money towards pensions, as of 2012 pensions will undergo a considerable amount of change. †¢ Pay-there is lots of legislation about employee pay. Some examples include: The Equality Act 2010 which contains measures to protect women from being paid less than men for doing the same job. †¢ The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 an Act that was introduced to prevent very low pay. †¢ Employment rights and responsibilities- ‘Employees are expected to carry out their work in a way that has regard to the safety of others. Employers are expected to abide by a range of requirements governing such aspects as providing safe machinery and equipment, carrying out regular health and safety checks, ensuring the training of employees in health and safety issues, and carrying out a risk assessment to assess the dangers of particular work activities.’ http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/people/rights-and-responsibilities-of-employers-and-employees.html#axzz2ENr4by5I 3. Identify a range of places where a person can find information on employment rights and responsibilities. You should identify at least two internal and two external sources of information. Sources of information where a person can find information on employment  rights and responsibilities are internal sources, such as books and documents held within the organisation, informed colleagues and line managers. Another source of information is external which are found outside of an organisation, such as libraries, the government, equality and human rights commission. 4. Describe how representative bodies can support employees. Representative bodies are one of the ways that employees can receive help and support in the work place. The best known examples of representative bodies are trade unions, which are a large organisation that represent the interests of their membership, they can offer assistance through work based representatives and they will also have regional and national expertise that they can use. Union representatives have a right to paid time to help employees, some of the areas where they can support employees are health and safety, workforce agreement, pensions, information and consultation representation. 5. Briefly describe employer and employee responsibilities for equality and diversity in a business environment. You should give at least two employer responsibilities and two employee responsibilities. If possible, provide relevant equality and diversity procedures from your workplace (or place of study) to support your answer. These documents should be annotated to highlight the relevant sections. In any organisation it is important for everyone to be treated equally. Employees and employers should be treated in a fair way and to be given equal opportunities. This is why there are certain responsibilities to be followed by employees and employers to prevent discrimination, such as people who are doing the same job equally well should all be rewarded fairly. It is morally right to treat people fairly and to avoid unfair discrimination. To prevent discriminatory and unfair behaviour there have  been many laws put in place. Both employers and employees should make sure that inappropriate labelling, stereotyping and prejudice do not influence the way an organisation operates. ‘At Morrisons the issue of equality and diversity are taken very seriously. They recruit, develop and keep the most talented people regardless of gender, race, disability, age sexual orientation, religion and nationality. Morrisons is dedicated to being an equal opportunities employer and support all employees to make the best of their skills’. ‘’Our policy aims to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment. We will treat staff, potential staff and the public fairly and with dignity’’. 6. Briefly explain the benefits of making sure equality and diversity procedures are followed in a business environment. Your answer should include one benefit for the employer, one benefit for the employee and one benefit for the overall organisation. Benefits of making sure equality and diversity procedures are followed in a business environment are: Employer: Reduces the incidence of bullying and harassment. Employee: Employees will want to work harder, they feel valued, happier and more efficient. It will increase the chance of open competition for opportunities. Overall organisation: As employees are treated with equality organisations will be more successful. Helps to maintain morale and motivation of the workforce leading to increased quality of products, overall it will become more of a successful organisation. Section 2 – Understand the purpose of health, safety and security procedures  in a business environment 1. Identify employer and employee responsibilities for health, safety and security. If possible, provide relevant health, safety and security policies / documents from your workplace (or place of study) to support your answer. These documents should be annotated to highlight the relevant sections. Employers and employees in any organisation have a legal duty that the working environments are safe and secure. The health and safety Act should be followed at all times. Employer responsibilities: Are to provide a secure, healthy and safe workplace that is free from hazards recognised by the organisation. Ensure that employees have safe tools, equipment and materials. Ensure that equipment provided is always properly maintained. Employers must report any fatal accidents. Employers must provide employees with accurate training and medical examinations when required. Employees responsibilities: Are to inform employers of any hazards that have accrued in the workplace. Report job-related accidents that result to injuries and illnesses. Follow the regulations of health and safety that are set by the employer. Familiarise and obey with the organisations standards. ‘Morrisons are committed to achieving and maintaining the highest standards of health, safety and security standards across the company. All staff at Morrisons receives regular health and safety training. There are many rules that all staff at Morrisons must follow in order to prevent any harm not only to staff but to their customers as well, such as always checking floor surfaces are clean with no spillages etc. Morrisons makes sure that there are always staff present that are first aid qualified in case of any incidents or accidents that have taken place. If any accidents or incidents  did occur within Morrisons all staff recognise that they must be reported as soon as possible.’ 2. Explain the purpose of following health, safety and security procedures in a business environment. The purpose of following health, safety and security procedures in a business environment include: Ensuring the safety and welfare of the individual and others is kept at all times. Ensuring the business/organisation is following relevant legislation. 3. Describe three different ways of maintaining a safe and secure business environment. Ensuring all employees have the necessary safety equipment. Taking time to find where health, safety and security responsibilities lie. To promote a safe working environment is to make sure that safety equipment used by employees is often maintained. Workers must always wear suitable clothing given for the job. Organisations should require that each new member of staff receive and read a company handbook highlighting all safety procedures, and receive regular health and safety training. Having an employee sign a statement that he/she understands and is willing to follow all safety and regulations at all times.

Tensions in Villette - 1692 Words

Tensions in Villette Villette is a narrative that seems constantly at war with itself, fraught with tensions of reason versus feeling, nature versus art and reality versus imagination, as I will attempt to illustrate. Lucy is anything but a one dimensional character and it throughout the novel, her emotional growth is charted. The important elements in the narrative seem to resist a one-sided reading. Read in context, perhaps Bronte recognizes that in the Victorian world, tensions of the aforementioned impinge upon and are all shaped by one another.[1] Reason/ Feeling In chapter 23, Lucy Snowe penned two replies to Graham’s letter, one under â€Å"the dry stinting check of Reason† and another â€Å"according to the full, liberal impulse†¦show more content†¦Nature/ Art The three couples in the story are all described differently and represent different values with regard to nature and art. Although we hear most about Lucy and M. Paul, what we are told about the other two pairs make Lucy’s tale even more tragic, given that Lucy suffers the most by the end of the novel. Ginevra and Colonel de Hamal, who is tiny in stature and looks like a doll to Lucy, are conceived as almost pseudo art objects. Ginevra is depicted as a butterfly flitting through life, having neither sense nor substance and quite happily so. Most of what we hear about Ginevra is about her outward appearance, thus making her primarily an object of beauty. We hear about her blonde curls, rouge, spangles and sashes, and her habit of often gazing at gaudy polished mirrors. Colonel de Hamal is figured as a dandy, â€Å"so nicely curled, so booted, gloved and crafted† (163). At one point, Polly and Ginevra are even contrasted as works of art or figures in a painting- â€Å"nature having traced all these details slightly, and with a careless hand, in Miss Fanshawes case; and in Miss de Bassompierres, wrought them to a high and delicate finish† (346). On the other hand, Graham and Polly are depicted as nature cultivated by art[3], something between nature and art that Robert Colby likens to sheltered greenhouse plants. Dr John’s features are said to be â€Å"though well cut they were not so chiselled, soShow MoreRelatedThe Perception of Women in the Early 19th Century1184 Words   |  5 Pagesnigger† (22). This shows how Antoinette’s struggle with her place and identity is at the center of her turmoil and at the heart of what Rhys is trying to expose. In Susan Lydon’s article, â€Å"Abandoning and Re-inhabiting Domestic Space in Jane Eyre, Villette, and Wide Sargasso Sea,† she discusses the ways patriarchs fail at providing safe spaces for women. Lydon addresses how both Brontë and Rhys expose the harms of the English patriarch, she writes, â€Å"[In] her modern remaking of Jane Eyre, Jean RhysRead MoreA Dialogue of Self and Soul11424 Words   |  46 Pagesbecause it is he who will initiate her into the mysteries of the ï ¬â€šesh. That both Jane and Rochester are in some part of themselves conscious of the barrier which Rochester’s sexual knowledge poses to their equality is further indicated by the tensions that develop in their relationship after their betrothal. Rochester, having secured Jane’s love, almost reï ¬â€šexively begins to treat her as an inferior, a plaything, a virginal possession – for she has now become his initiate, his ‘mustard-seed,’Read MoreDisneyland analysis8865 Words   |  36 Pagesblunders before and at the time of the opening cultural, financial and economic matters. A capital asset that cannot earn income has no value; it becomes a liability. It did subject Disney Company to some ridicule by the press (Solomon, 1994). The tension between globalization forces that led to it’s expansion in Europe and localization forces, the result of local differences in production and marketing techniques has forced Disney Company to change and adapt it s much prized know-how: for example