When you start a business, one of the first tasks you’ll need to do is create a financial statement. Financial statements are usually prepared once a year; however, some companies may prepare them quarterly or even monthly. The financial statement should provide a concise summary of the company’s assets and liabilities as well as how much cash was earned or spent over the past period. There are several different types of financial statements that can be used by businesses:
10-K
A 10-K is a legal document required by the SEC that contains information about the company’s business, assets, liabilities and capital structure. It must be filed annually with the SEC within 90 days of your fiscal year end.
A sample 10-K is available for free download at [link to sample 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/%7B25f001198e4b918a5c6655f3cc2a80a%7D001000055_10k_form_990__final_ver002_020316v1_.htm).
10-Q
The 10-Q is a quarterly report that must be filed within 45 days of the end of each quarter. The 10-Q requires information about the company’s financial performance for the quarter and nine months ended, including revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities.
Balance sheet
A balance sheet is a snapshot of the business’s assets, liabilities and equity. Assets are things you own, like cash, inventory and buildings. Liabilities are things you owe, like accounts payable and loans. Equity refers to the value of all of your stockholders’ stakes in the company–it’s what remains after subtracting all liabilities from all assets.
Cash flow statement
The cash flow statement is a financial statement that shows the net amount of cash and cash equivalents generated by a company’s operating, investing and financing activities during a period. It also shows how this change in cash balances compares with changes in other balance sheet accounts. The format for presenting this information is prescribed by U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
It should not be confused with another financial statement called Statement of Cash Position (SCP), which presents data about current assets and liabilities only, without showing how those items were affected by operations or financing activities during the reporting period
Corporate governance statement
- Corporate governance statement
The corporate governance statement is a document that explains the company’s corporate governance practices. It is required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and must include information about:
- The board of directors, including its size, structure and independence from management;
- Committees of the board (and their memberships);
- Management’s roles and responsibilities;
- The company’s code(s) of conduct for employees;
and other matters related to your organization’s governance structure.
Earnings per share statement
Earnings per share, also known as EPS, is a common metric for measuring the performance of a company. It’s calculated by dividing net income by the total number of outstanding shares.
EPS is used to assess both current performance and value. When comparing two companies with similar businesses, you can compare their earnings per share to see which one has performed better over time. You can also use it to compare companies that are in different industries or have different capital structures (for example, one might be debt-free while another has large amounts of debt).
Federal income tax return.
You can also find sample tax forms online. The IRS has a large selection of them on their website, as does the state of California. You can use these samples as a starting point for your own financial statement and then make changes to suit your needs.
You can get free sample financial statements for your business at the SEC website.
You can get free sample financial statements for your business at the SEC website.
The SEC has a number of sample financial statements, including:
- Non-public company sample financials–for private companies whose securities are not traded on an exchange or OTC market
- Publicly traded company sample annual reports–for public companies that file with the SEC (and thus must meet certain disclosure requirements)
Now that we have covered the basics of what financial statements are and why they’re important, it’s time to learn how to create them. The first step is to gather all of the information needed in order to complete each statement. This includes looking at previous years’ numbers and projecting out future earnings so that you can project your cash flow needs as well as determine how much money should be invested back into growth or expansion plans (i.e., investing in new equipment). After gathering data from these sources, subtract any outstanding liabilities from assets so that you know exactly how much equity exists within each business at any given moment in time!
