The Four of Financial Statements

Financial statements are written reports that provide an indication of an individual’s, organization’s, or business’ financial status. There are four basic types of financial statements: balance sheets, income statements, cash-flow statements, and statements of retained earnings. Typically, financial statements are used in relation to business endeavors.

Financial accounting generates the following general-purpose, external, financial statements:

1.     Income statement (sometimes referred to as "results of operations" or "earnings statement" or "profit and loss [P&L] statement", revenues minus expenses for a given time period ending at a specified date.)
2.     Balance sheet (sometimes referred to as statement of financial position at a given point in time.)
3.     Statement of cash flows (summarizes sources and uses of cash; indicates whether enough cash is available to carry on routine operations.)
4.     Statement of stockholders' equity (also known as Statement of Retained Earnings or Equity Statement.)

Income Statement (Laporan Rugi Laba)

The income statement reports a company's profitability during a specified period of time. The period of time could be one year, one month, three months, 13 weeks, or any other time interval chosen by the company.

The main components of the income statement are revenues, expenses, gains, and losses. Revenues include such things as sales, service revenues, and interest revenue. Expenses include the cost of goods sold, operating expenses (such as salaries, rent, utilities, advertising), and nonoperating expenses (such as interest expense). If a corporation's stock is publicly traded, the earnings per share of its common stock are reported on the income statement.

Balance Sheet (Neraca)

The balance sheet is organized into three parts: (1) assets, (2) liabilities, and (3) stockholders' equity at a specified date (typically, this date is the last day of an accounting period).

The first section of the balance sheet reports the company's assets and includes such things as cash, accounts receivable, inventory, prepaid insurance, buildings, and equipment. The next section reports the company's liabilities; these are obligations that are due at the date of the balance sheet and often include the word "payable" in their title (Notes Payable, Accounts Payable, Wages Payable, and Interest Payable). The final section is stockholders' equity, defined as the difference between the amount of assets and the amount of liabilities.

Statement of Cash Flows (Laporan Arus Kas)

The statement of cash flows explains the change in a company's cash (and cash equivalents) during the time interval indicated in the heading of the statement. The change is divided into three parts: (1) operating activities, (2) investing activities, and (3) financing activities.

The operating activities section explains how a company's cash (and cash equivalents) have changed due to operations. Investing activities refer to amounts spent or received in transactions involving long-term assets. The financing activities section reports such things as cash received through the issuance of long-term debt, the issuance of stock, or money spent to retire long-term liabilities.

Statement of Stockholders' Equity (Laporan Perubahan Modal)

The statement of stockholders' (or shareholders') equity lists the changes in stockholders' equity for the same period as the income statement and the cash flow statement. The changes will include items such as net income, other comprehensive income, dividends, the repurchase of common stock, and the exercise of stock options.