Filings & regulation
Financial statements
The audited accounts a company must publish: balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement.
How it works
The three statements connect. Profit flows into equity on the balance sheet; cash movements reconcile the opening and closing cash balance; balance sheet changes explain much of the cash flow statement.
Reading them together, and reading the notes, is what separates analysis from reading a headline earnings figure.
Related terms
- Balance sheetA snapshot of what a company owns and owes at one moment in time.
- Income statementThe statement showing revenue, costs and profit over a period.
- Cash flow statementThe statement tracking actual cash moving in and out, split into operating, investing and financing.
- Annual reportA company’s comprehensive yearly filing, including audited accounts and a discussion of risks.
- Audit opinionThe auditor’s formal statement on whether the accounts fairly present the company’s position.
More in Filings & regulation
- Form 13F
- Insider dealing and disclosure
- Suitability and appropriateness
- Institutional investor
- Regulatory filing
- Investor compensation scheme
- Quarterly report
- Know your customer
All 12 Filings & regulation terms · The full glossary, 433 terms
Educational reference only. Nothing here is investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell anything, and tax treatment depends on your own circumstances and the country you are in.