Comparative financial statements
Comparative financial statements are the complete set of financial statements that an entity issues, revealing information for more than one accounting period. The financial statements that may be included in this package are:
Another variation on the comparative concept is to report information for each of the 12 preceding months on a rolling basis. Comparative financial statements are quite useful for the following reasons:
It is customary to issue comparative financial statements with additional columns containing the variance between periods, as well as the percentage change between periods.
The Securities and Exchange Commission requires that a publicly held company use comparative financial statements when reporting to the public on the Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.
Comparative Financial Statements Example
The following is an example of a balance sheet that is presented on a comparative basis.
ABC International Balance Sheet
as of 12/31/20X3 |
as of 12/31/20X2 |
as of 12/31/20X1 |
|
Current assets |
|
|
|
Cash |
$1,200 |
$900 |
$750 |
Accounts receivable |
4,800 |
3,600 |
3,000 |
Inventory |
3,600 |
2,700 |
2,300 |
Total current assets |
$9,600 |
$7,200 |
$6,050 |
Total fixed assets |
6,200 |
5,500 |
5,000 |
Total Assets |
$15,800 |
$12,700 |
$11,050 |
|
|
|
|
Current liabilities |
|
|
|
Accounts payable |
$2,400 |
$1,800 |
$1,500 |
Accrued expenses |
480 |
360 |
300 |
Short-term debt |
800 |
600 |
400 |
Total current liabilities |
$3,680 |
$2,760 |
$2,200 |
Long-term debt |
9,020 |
7,740 |
7,350 |
Total liabilities |
12,700 |
10,500 |
9,550 |
Shareholders’ equity |
3,100 |
2,200 |
1,500 |
Total liabilities and equity |
$15,800 |
$12,700 |
$11,050 |
2 videos|51 docs|19 tests
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1. What are the different techniques used in financial statement analysis? |
2. How does ratio analysis help in financial statement analysis? |
3. What is trend analysis in financial statement analysis? |
4. How does vertical analysis assist in financial statement analysis? |
5. What is the importance of cash flow analysis in financial statement analysis? |
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