Accounting Basics and Financial Statements
Ever wondered how businesses keep track of their money? The accounting cycle follows six key steps: analyzing source documents, recording transactions in journals, transferring entries to ledgers, preparing trial balances, creating financial statements, and analyzing those statements. Bookkeepers typically handle the first three steps, while accountants manage the rest.
Financial statements tell different stories about a business. The balance sheet shows a company's overall health at a specific moment by comparing assets versus liabilities. The income statement covers a period of time and reveals where money comes from, while the statement of cash flows tracks everyday money movement.
The fundamental accounting equation Assets=Liabilities+Owners′Equity is the backbone of all accounting. Assets can be current (convertible to cash within a year), fixed (permanent items like buildings), or intangible non−physicalitemslikepatents. Liabilities are either current (due within a year) or long-term, while owners' equity represents stakeholders' ownership in the company.
Pro Tip: When reviewing a company's financial health, always check both GAAP reports (required by government) and non-GAAP reports (prepared for shareholders with certain information removed) to get the complete picture.