Financial statements are documents that publicly traded companies use to communicate financial data to a governing body called the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Financial statements contain information about assets owned by a company, debt owed by a company, revenue, expenses, and information about financing provided by shareholders. The financial statements contain line items that express a numerical value on each item listed. Notes to the financial statements contain detailed information on the accounting decisions made by accountants during the creation of the financial statements as well as explanations of important factors that impact line items.
The economic fuel price per gallon sensitivities3 provided in the table below assume the relationship between Brent crude oil and refined products based on market prices as of April 18, 2024. The Company’s initiatives, which include the estimated benefit of network changes, are expected to contribute between $1.0 billion and $1.5 billion in 2024 year-over-year pre-tax profits, compared with its initial plan of roughly $1.5 billion. The estimated value has been updated for first quarter actual performance, development market adjustments, and capacity changes in the second half of the year. Furthermore, the Company will continue to evaluate its network and work on its robust set of new strategic initiatives, including revenue generating opportunities.
Financial Statements Outline
A complete set of financial statements includes an income statement, a balance sheet, a statement of cash flows, and a statement of retained earnings or equity. Additionally, accompanying footnotes provide essential contextual information and explain the basis of presentation and accounting policies. The standard requires a complete set of financial statements to comprise a statement of financial position, a statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, a statement of changes in equity and a statement of cash flows. The income statement is a crucial financial statement that reflects a company’s financial performance over a specific accounting period.
A LAS company also records all revenue and expenses every month instead of on a quarterly or annual basis. In addition to an annual report, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires public companies to produce a longer, more detailed 10-K report, which informs investors of a business’s financial status before they buy or sell shares. If you’re new to the world of financial statements, this guide can help you read and understand the information contained the notes to the financial statements: in them. Usually, the first notes in the series explain the “basis for accounting”—if cash or accrual rules were used to prepare the documents—and the methods used to report amortization/depreciation expenses. Revenue, also known as sales or income, represents the total amount of money a company earns from its operations. Revenue can be generated from various sources, such as product sales, rendering services, or interest and dividend income from investments.
They provide owners with a snapshot of profitability
In this section, we will explore various methods of analysis, focusing on financial ratios, trends, and comparisons. Footnotes to the financial statements serve as a way for a company to provide additional explanations for various portions of their financial statements. Footnotes to the financial statements thus report the details and additional information that is left out of the main financial statements such as the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. Pick up any financial report and you’ll always find references to the footnotes of the financial statements. The footnotes describe in detail the practices and reporting policies of the company’s accounting methods and disclose additional information that can’t be shown in the statements themselves. In other words, footnotes expand on the quantitative financial statements by providing qualitative information that allows for a greater understanding of a company’s true financial performance over a specified time period.
- The date at the top of the balance sheet tells you when this snapshot was taken; this is generally the end of its annual reporting period.
- Accounting for depreciation and inventory is usually addressed in whichever note gives a summary of accounting policies.
- Retained earnings are the portion of net income that is retained by the company rather than being distributed as dividends.
- Financial statement notes are used to provide shareholders and other interested parties with detailed information about the accounting decisions and extraneous factors that impact the financial positioning of an organization.