What are the components of the financial statements?
The financial statements typically consist of the following components:
- Balance sheet (or statement of financial position): This statement presents the financial position of an entity at a specific point in time, by showing its assets, liabilities, and equity.
- Income statement (or statement of comprehensive income): This statement presents the results of an entity's operations for a period of time, by showing its revenues, expenses, gains, and losses.
- Cash flow statement: This statement presents the inflows and outflows of cash and cash equivalents during a period of time, by showing the entity's cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities.
- Statement of changes in equity: This statement presents the changes in an entity's equity during a period of time, by showing the effects of transactions and other events on the entity's equity.
In addition to these four components, financial statements may also include accompanying notes that provide additional information about the entity's financial position and performance, as well as management commentary or management discussion and analysis (MD&A) that provides insights into the entity's strategic direction, risks and opportunities, and outlook for the future.
Overall, the financial statements provide important information about an entity's financial position, performance, and cash flows, and they are a key tool for stakeholders in making investment, credit, and other decisions.