Financial Statement Analysis

Financial statement analysis involves a number of steps. The first step is to understand the financial statements and their trends. If a trend is evident, the company needs to make changes to its operations. For instance, if the accounts receivable amount increases by 50% in the past year, it may need to investigate the reasons for the increase. This might indicate that the company is extending credit to customers more easily than it expected or it is not collecting quickly on outstanding accounts receivable.

The next step in financial statement analysis is to compare the information for the current period with the previous period. In this way, you can evaluate whether or not a company has made changes in any line item. If you notice a sharp rise in cost of goods sold, but no change in sales, that could indicate that you need to switch suppliers. A sharp increase in net profit, on the other hand, may indicate that the company’s quality of raw materials has improved.

You should also calculate financial ratios to compare different companies. These are useful tools for quick analysis but be aware that different companies may aggregate the same information differently. Therefore, the information you receive may not be accurate and you may be interpreting the data incorrectly. This is why financial ratios are so important. They can tell you a lot about a company’s health. If you are looking to obtain a loan, this is the best time to take this step.

A comprehensive financial statement analysis will include multiple years of data. This analysis will use vertical analysis to isolate and compare performance metrics across the statements. The results will be compiled into reports that can be used in many ways. Some metrics to consider include asset turnover, quick ratio, days to sales, debt to equity, and cash flow. Another tool is the dividend discount model, which values stocks based on the theory of discounted future dividends. Most financial statement analyses are performed with spreadsheet software.

Financial analysts are experts in analyzing financial statements and look at trends over several reporting periods to make projections. Another important part of financial analysis is the use of proportions. A high debt-to-equity ratio, for example, may indicate that a company is taking on too much debt. Internal stakeholders also use financial statement analysis to monitor company finances, develop budgets, and make pay scale decisions. They use financial statements to evaluate their needs.

Financial statement analysis can help you make sound decisions about your business. However, you should be aware that this method isn’t a perfect science. There are often factors missing from the numbers. The numbers can be based on projections and they may not reflect the whole picture. The main benefit of financial statement analysis lies in the data contained in the financial statements. These data can be used to calculate financial ratios, compare companies, and track performance over time.