Financial Reporting

Ex.1. Read and translate the text.

Financial Reporting

Financial reporting involves the collection and presentation of data for use in financial management and accounting. The two major forms of financial statement for companies are the balance sheet and the profit and loss account. The balance sheet represents a summary of a firm’s financial position at the end of an accounting period (usually a year). The profit and loss account is a statement of a company’s expenditure and income over an accounting period of time, almost always one calendar year, showing whether the company has made a profit or loss. The balance sheet shows the state of a company’s finances at a certain date; the profit and loss account shows the movements which have taken place since the last balance sheet.

Jackson plc

Balance sheet at 31 December 2003

ASSETS	LIABILITIES
$ 000	$ 000
Fixed assets	Capital
Buildings 550	Share capital 50
Plant and equipment 253
Transport 102
Assets leased to third parties 12

Current assets	Current liabilities
Stock 43	Creditors 45
Debtors 116	Loans 10
Bank balance 34	Overdrafts 86
Cash 25
Investments 20	Taxation 27
T8otal 1155	Total 21

A balance sheet is in two parts: a) on the left-hand side, assets, and b) on the right-hand side, liabilities. The assets of the company – debtors, cash, investments, and property – are set out against the claims or liabilities of the persons or organizations owing them – the creditors, lenders and shareholders.

The principal of double-entry book-keeping is the accounting system in which every business transaction gives rise to two entries, a debit and a corresponding credit, traditionally on opposite pages of a ledger. Since every debit entry has an equal and corresponding credit entry, it follows that if the debit and credit entries are added up they will come to the same figure, i.e. balance. While this is basically true, in the very long run, the profit or loss over a short period of time is measured by selecting from ledger balances items of income and expenditure which are then used to produce a profit and loss account.

Jackson plc

Profit and Loss Account at 31 December 2003

INCOME	EXPENDITURE
$ 000	$ 000
Sales 837	Raw material purchases 255
	Depreciation 28
	Salaries and wages 37
	Transport expenses 43
	Distribution 15
	Administrative expenses 58
	Tax 127
	Dividend on ordinary shares 20
	Total 583

Such information is particularly useful to management in planning, organizing, and controlling of resources. It is not only the management who are interested in the financial information of individual businesses; the following institutions and people also need such information.

- The State requires public companies to be accountable and to present their accounting information in a standardized form according to the requirements of the Companies Acts 1948-1981. They state that all public companies must present to Companies House a balance sheet, a profit and loss account, a director’s report, and notes on the accounts where necessary. There is some relaxation of these requirements for smaller businesses, but only relating to the extent of information provided. As well as stipulating the various accounts to be presented the law also determines what must be disclosed. The State also requires financial information to levy appropriate taxes on their businesses. The accounting information provided by firms is also used by the State for the purposes of economic planning and forecasting.

- Investors need the information to make informed judgments about future investments, as well as for protection, of their existing investments.

- Employees may need the information, especially if they are involved in a profit-sharing or share ownership scheme. Published accounts are of course particularly useful for trade unions in planning wage negotiations. In more general terms, a company concerned to involve its employees in the running of the enterprise may see the disclosure of financial information as an important element of the participation process.

- Creditors such as banks and suppliers are naturally concerned with the firm’s liquidity and need to assess the risk involved in offering credit and of course to safeguard against fraud.

VOCABULARY:

financial statement double-entry book-keeping

profit and loss account entry

assets ledger

liabilities depreciation

fixed assets stipulate

current assets disclosure

current liabilities levy

overdraft fraud

Ex.2. Answer the questions.

What are the two major forms of financial statement for companies?
What kind of financial statement is a balance sheet?
What kind of financial statement is a profit and loss account?
What are the two main parts of a balance sheet?
What institutions are particularly interested in financial information of individual businesses?
Why employees need the financial information of a company?

Ex.3. Find in the text English equivalents of the following Russian word combinations.

Фінансова звітність; звітний період; особи або організації, які їм винні; ділова операція; в основному вірно; в кінцевому рахунку; захистити себе від обману.

Ex.4. Substitute the following definitions with the words in the box.

fraud	balance sheet	double-entry book-keeping
ledger	depreciation	profit and loss account
to levy	balance	profit-sharing

amount to be put in one of the columns of an account to make the total debits and credits equal;
statement which provides detail of a firm’s income and expenditure throughout the accounting period;
making money by deceit;
to demand and collect payment of a tax or extra payment (usually by a government);
summary of a firm’s financial position at the end of an accounting period;
book which records a company transactions in accounts;
arrangement where workers get a share of the profits of the company they work for;
decreased value of the equipment;
accounting system in which every business transaction gives rise to two entries, a debit, and a corresponding credit.

Ex.5. Fill in the blanks with the words from the text.

_______________ is a statement of the wealth of a business, other organization or individual on a given date, usually the last day of the financial year; not to be confused with the ___________, which records changes in the company’s wealth over one year. In ____________ there are two entries, a _____________ and a corresponding _____________. The ______________ entry records are the sources of finance, e.g. shareholders’ capital, funds acquired from third parties or generated through current operations; the ____________ entry records the use to which that finance is put, e.g. acquisition of fixed assets, stocks, financing of debtors and current operating expenses, etc.

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