One of the important roles of any member of the financial team. Including the controller, may be involvement in the preparation of the company’s financial statements. Even if that responsibility falls within the office of the CFO, the controller and other finance personnel must understand how their transitions recorded impact the financial statements. Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity.
Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to understand. They typically include four basic financial statements accompanied by a management discussion and analysis:
A balance sheet or statement of financial position reports on a company's assets, liabilities and owners’ equity at a given point in time.
An income statement may have varying names including profit and loss report (P&L report), statement of comprehensive income, or statement of revenue & expenses. These report on a company's income, expenses, and profits over a stated period. A profit and loss statement provides information on the operation of the enterprise. These include sales and the various expenses incurred during the stated period.
A statement of changes in equity or “statement of equity” also called “statement of retained earnings” reports on the changes in equity of the company over a stated period.
A cash flow statement reports on a company's cash flow, particularly its operating, investing and financing activities over a stated period.
A balance sheet represents a single point in time, where the income statement, the statement of changes in equity, and the cash flow statement each represent activities over a stated period. For large corporations, these statements may be complex and may include an extensive set of footnotes to the financial statements, management discussion and analysis and supplementary information. The notes typically describe each item on the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement in further detail. Notes to financial statements are considered an integral part of the financial statements.
DESIGNED FOR
Anyone who performs audit or other attest services
BENEFITS
- Describe the potential impact of risks faced by public accountants when performing audit and other attest services
- Explain the results of the findings and recommendations made by the Center for Audit Quality and PCAOB as an outcome from quality control reviews
- Recall common peer review deficiencies in all types of attest engagements
- Apply best practices for ensuring professional, technical, regulatory and ethical standards for various audit and other attest services
HIGHLIGHTS
- Applying professional skepticism to ensure quality work
- Meaningful risk assessment when designing work programs for various levels of services
- Proper planning and supervision of all engagements
- Accountant responsibilities for evaluating internal control
- Strengthening analytic procedures to support conclusions
- Complying with the Code of Professional Conduct and quality management standards
PREREQUISITES
None
ADVANCE PREPARATION
None