Financial Statement

A financial statement (or financial report) is a formal record of the financial activities of a business, person, or other entity. In British English—including United Kingdom company law—a financial statement is often referred to as anaccount, although the term financial statement is also used, particularly by accountants.

For a business enterprise, all the relevant financial information, presented in a structured manner and in a form easy to understand, are called the financial statements. They typically include four basic financial statements, accompanied by amanagement discussion and analysis:^[1]

1. Statement of Financial Position: also referred to as a balance sheet, reports on a company's assets, liabilities, and ownership equity at a given point in time.
2. Statement of Comprehensive Income: also referred to as Profit and Loss statement (or a "P&L"), reports on a company's income, expenses, and profits over a period of time. A Profit & Loss statement provides information on the operation of the enterprise. These include sale and the various expenses incurred during the processing state.
3. Statement of Changes in Equity: explains the changes of the company's equity throughout the reporting period
4. Statement of cash flows: reports on a company's cash flow activities, particularly its operating, investing and financing activities.