The elements of financial statements — AccountingTools (2024)

What are the Elements of Financial Statements?

The elements of financial statements are the general groupings of line items contained within the statements. These groupings will vary, depending on the structure of the business. Thus, the elements of the financial statements of a for-profit business vary somewhat from those incorporated into a nonprofit business (which has no equity accounts).

Examples of the Elements of Financial Statements

The main elements of financial statements are as follows:

  • Assets. These are items of economic benefit that are expected to yield benefits in future periods. Examples are accounts receivable, inventory, and fixed assets.

  • Liabilities. These are legally binding obligations payable to another entity or individual. Examples are accounts payable, taxes payable, and wages payable.

  • Equity. This is the amount invested in a business by its owners, plus any remaining retained earnings.

  • Revenue. This is an increase in assets or decrease in liabilities caused by the provision of services or products to customers. It is a quantification of the gross activity generated by a business. Examples are product sales and service sales.

  • Expenses. This is the reduction in value of an asset as it is used to generate revenue. Examples are interest expense, compensation expense, and utilities expense.

Of these elements, assets, liabilities, and equity are included in the balance sheet. Revenues and expenses are included in the income statement. Changes in these elements are noted in the statement of cash flows.

Related AccountingTools Courses

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The Interpretation of Financial Statements

The elements of financial statements —  AccountingTools (2024)

FAQs

What are the elements of financial statements? ›

5 Elements of Financial Statements. There are five elements of a financial statement: Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Income, and Expenses.

What are the five elements of the financial statements PDF? ›

5 Main Elements of Financial Statements: Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenues, Expenses.

What are the elements of SFP? ›

It is possible to summarize the three elements which, as a whole, generate the balance sheet for a company as the following:
  • Assets.
  • Liabilities.
  • Shareholders' Equity.

What financial statement is most important? ›

Typically considered the most important of the financial statements, an income statement shows how much money a company made and spent over a specific period of time.

What do the 4 financial statements consist of? ›

But if you're looking for investors for your business, or want to apply for credit, you'll find that four types of financial statements—the balance sheet, the income statement, the cash flow statement, and the statement of owner's equity—can be crucial in helping you meet your financing goals.

What are the five elements of financial management? ›

The key elements of financial management identified in the paper are planning, budgeting, forecasting, and monitoring. The paper provides an overview of financial management, including concepts such as profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow, work in progress, inventory, cost of goods, and key ratios.

What is the 5 financial statement? ›

For-profit primary financial statements include the balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flow, and statement of changes in equity. Nonprofit entities use a similar but different set of financial statements.

What are the 5 basic financial statements explain briefly? ›

They are: (1) balance sheets; (2) income statements; (3) cash flow statements; and (4) statements of shareholders' equity. Balance sheets show what a company owns and what it owes at a fixed point in time. Income statements show how much money a company made and spent over a period of time.

What are the five financial statements and their definitions? ›

- The Income Statement (pointing out if the company made a profit, also called Profit & Loss Statement) - The Shareholder's Equity Statement (Net Worth, or Capital statement) - Cash Flow Statement (states whether the company generated cash) - Balance Sheet Statement (quick overview of company's health)

What are the elements of accounting? ›

The accounting elements are Assets, Liabilities, Owners Equity, Capital Introduced, Drawings, Revenue and Expenses. Each account we have is one of these elements. On early task you must master is to be able to allocate each account to its accounting element.

What are the three components of the financial statements? ›

The income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows are required financial statements. These three statements are informative tools that traders can use to analyze a company's financial strength and provide a quick picture of a company's financial health and underlying value.

How to make a financial position? ›

The statement of financial position follows the basic accounting equation of Assets = Liabilities + Equity. Therefore, the resulting figure shown at the end of the statement will be the difference between the company's assets and liabilities.

What are the golden rules of accounting? ›

What are the Golden Rules of Accounting? 1) Debit what comes in - credit what goes out. 2) Credit the giver and Debit the Receiver. 3) Credit all income and debit all expenses.

What is more important P&L or balance sheet? ›

To stay on top of your company's financial performance, it's important to use both the P&L and the balance sheet. What's the relevant time frame? If you want to know how your company is doing right now, then use the balance sheet. If you want to see how your company has performed over the past year, use the P&L.

How to calculate net income? ›

It's calculated by subtracting expenses, interest, and taxes from total revenues. Net income can also refer to an individual's pre-tax earnings after subtracting deductions and taxes from gross income. Internal Revenue Service.

What are the 6 qualitative characteristics of financial information? ›

What makes a financial statement useful? FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board) lists six qualitative characteristics that determine the quality of financial information: Relevance, Faithful Representation, Comparability, Verifiability, Timeliness, and Understandability.

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