The objectives of financial reporting are crucial because financial reports provide a way to formally report the financial actions of a company to owners, stockholders, governmental tax agencies, and others. Financial reporting is necessary for any company since it provides a consistent way for companies to be more transparent, avoiding any cheating or scams in the fiscal records. Efficient financial reports are mandatory for any organization, whether it is a national level organization or a private company. All these organizations must conform to the standards set by the international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and must follow the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
Assessment of the financial situation, analysis of cash flows, economical health, fiscal potentials, and profits and owners’ capital are all objectives of financial reporting. The proper and accurate assessment of the monetary conditions is one of the most important objectives of financial reporting. It provides the complete and gradual progress of the company in a periodical way. The most renowned and standard way of assessing the economical situation is the balance sheet, including some extra detailed enclosures accompanying it. In balance sheets, the detailed information about the organization’s assets, liabilities, and overall fiscal outcome for the owner are provided.
The cash flows report is an integral part in the production, selling of the services, and the overall running of the business and is one of the objectives of financial reporting. Inflows and outflows measure the firm’s investing and economical activities. Inflows measure the incoming capital and the outflows determine the payments, or dues, cleared by the company. Good and effective cash flows are extremely important from an investment point of view. This means that the investors can analyze the company’s fiscal conditions by looking at their cash flows. The cash flow analysis is one of the key objectives of the financial reporting.
Evaluation of the firm’s profits and losses is an integral part of the overall objectives of financial reporting. The authorities of different departments generate these reports, which are referred to as an income statement. This statement indicates the overall company’s profits, losses, gains, and progress through different periods. Since in the corporate world an agency cannot withstand having greater expenses than the revenues being generated, a calculated and well-managed income statement is necessary to make accurate assessments of the company.
Another major objective of the financial reporting statements is to calculate and measure the capital of the owner, or the shareholder’s earnings. The equity statements indicate the shares, common stockpile, payments, and the earnings. GAAP also requires the companies to indicate their starting and finishing balance within these equity statements.