Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Introduction
- Part I Introduction to Part I
- 1 A guided tour of the financial statements
- 2 The need for financial information
- 3 Keeping track of economic activity
- 4 Summary of the foundations of accounting
- Part II Introduction to Part II
- Appendix 1 Glossary of accounting terms
- Appendix 2 Further reading
- Index
1 - A guided tour of the financial statements
from Part I - Introduction to Part I
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Introduction
- Part I Introduction to Part I
- 1 A guided tour of the financial statements
- 2 The need for financial information
- 3 Keeping track of economic activity
- 4 Summary of the foundations of accounting
- Part II Introduction to Part II
- Appendix 1 Glossary of accounting terms
- Appendix 2 Further reading
- Index
Summary
A guided tour of the financial statements
This chapter will introduce you to the financial statements. The idea at this stage is to give you an overview, and to keep it simple. By the end of this chapter, you will know what you are looking at when confronted with a balance sheet, an income statement, or a cash flow statement. You will understand the basic information that these statements provide, and you will be equipped with some of the key questions that typically arise when reading these statements.
Our approach will be to consider the fictional case of Albert, who has set up a small business, which comprises a single employee making furniture. You will be presented with the financial statements for Albert's business, and we will go through the information that these provide. We will adopt a similar approach in the next chapter, using the fictional case of a consultant called Sarah. In her case, we will adopt a much deeper and more questioning approach, for example exploring the reasons why the financial statements are designed as they are, and the ways in which each of the financial statements links with one another.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Short Introduction to Accounting , pp. 13 - 26Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011