Chapter 1:

Financial Accounting

Kevin S. Matthews, Ed.D, CPA, SHRM-CP, MBA,

MAcc, MST
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1-1 Recognize the information conveyed in each of the four basic

financial statements and the way that it is used by different
decision makers (investors, creditors, and managers).

1-2 Identify the role of generally accepted accounting principles

(GAAP) in determining financial statement content and managers’,
directors’, and auditors’ responsibilities for ensuring the accuracy of
the financial statements.
Understanding the Business

Sources of Financial Resources

Stockholders Creditors

Potential Return for Potential Return for

Stockholders: Creditors:
• Dividends • Interest
• Higher future stock prices

Both groups estimate future performance, in part, based on

information in the company’s financial statements.
Exhibit 1.1
The Accounting System and Decision Makers

Accounting System

Financial Accounting Reports Managerial Accounting Reports

Periodic financial statements Detailed plans and continuous
and related disclosures performance reports

provided to

External Decision Makers Internal Decision Makers

Evaluate the company Run the company

Creditors Investors Managers

Creditors: ©Anton Violin/Shutterstock; Investors: ©Pressmaster/Shutterstock; Managers: ©kzenon/123RF
Business Activities

Financing
Activities

Investing
Activities

Operating
Activities
Why Study Financial Accounting?

Decision makers rely on financial information:

 Investors
 Creditors
 Managers within the firm such as:
 Marketing managers
 Credit managers
 Supply chain managers
 Human resource managers
Your Goals for Chapter 1
Focus your attention on learning the:
 Content: the categories, or elements, reported on
each of the four statements.
 Structure: the equation that shows how the
elements within the statement are organized and
related.
 Use: how the information is used by stockholders
and creditors to make investment and lending
decisions.
Note: Rather than trying to memorize the definitions of
every term used in this chapter, try to focus your
attention on learning the general content, structure,
and use of the statements.
Learning Objective 1-1

1-1 Recognize the information conveyed in each of the four basic

financial statements and the way that it is used by different
decision makers (investors, creditors, and managers).
The Four Basic Financial
Statements: An Overview
BALANCE SHEET – reports the financial position (amount of assets,
liabilities, and stockholders’ equity) of an accounting entity at a point in
time.

INCOME STATEMENT – reports the revenues less the expenses during

the accounting period.

STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY – reports the changes in each

of the company’s stockholders’ equity accounts, including the change in
the retained earnings balance caused by net income and dividends,
during the reporting period.

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS – reports inflows and outflows of cash

during the accounting period in the categories of operating, investing,
and financing.

The notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

Financial Statement Time Period
& Structure
The four basic financial statements can be prepared at
any point in time such as:
 End of the year (for the year ended, annual reports)
 Quarterly (for the quarter ended, quarterly reports)
 Monthly (for the month ended, monthly reports)

The financial statement heading includes:

 Name of the entity (Company name)
 Title of the statement (e.g., Balance Sheet)
 Specific date of the statement (e.g., At December 31,
2020)
 Unit of measure (in millions of dollars)
 Balance Sheet
Assets
Cash
Short-Term Investments
Accounts Receivable Elements of the
Notes Receivable Balance Sheet
Inventories Liabilities
Supplies Accounts Payable
Prepaid Expenses Accrued Expenses
Long-Term Investments Notes Payable
Equipment Taxes Payable
Buildings Unearned Revenue
Land Bonds Payable
Intangibles

Stockholders’ Equity
The Balance Sheet is a Common Stock
financial snapshot at a Retained Earnings
specific point in time.
Exhibit 1.2 - Balance Sheet
The Basic Accounting Equation

The basic accounting equation refers to a company’s financial position:

the economic resources that the company owns and the sources of
financing for those resources.
Interpreting the Balance Sheet

 Creditors and shareholders analyze assets to determine if the

company has sufficient resources available to operate. Assets can
be sold for cash if the company goes out of business.
 Creditors and shareholders are concerned about whether the
company has sufficient sources of cash to pay its liabilities (debts).
If a company does not pay its creditors, the creditors can force the
sale of assets.
 Stockholders’ Equity is considered a protective “cushion” to
creditors because the creditors’ claims legally come before those
of the owners. If the company goes out of business and its assets
are sold, the creditors are paid back before the shareholders
receive any money.
Income Statement

Revenues
Cash and promises received
from delivery of goods and Elements of the
services. Income Statement

Examples:
Sales Revenue Expenses
Service Revenue Resources used to earn
Rental Revenue period’s revenues.
Interest Revenue
Examples:
Cost of Goods Sold
Wages Expense
The Income Statement is a Rent Expense
measure of performance of Depreciation Expense
the business. Insurance Expense
Repair Expense
Income Tax Expense
The Income Statement Equation

Revenues − Expenses = Net Income

Resources earned Resources Revenues earned

from delivery of used minus expenses
goods and (incurred) to incurred.
services earn period’s
revenue Also called “profit”,
“net earnings”, or
“the bottom line.”

If total expenses exceed total revenues, a net loss is reported.

Exhibit 1.3 – Income Statement
Interpreting the Income Statement

 Investors and creditors closely monitor a firm’s net income

because it indicates the firm’s ability to sell goods and services for
more than they cost to produce and deliver.
 Investors buy stock when they believe that future earnings will
improve and lead to dividends and the ability to sell their stock for
more than they paid.
 Lenders rely on future earnings to provide the resources to repay
loans. The income statement helps investors and creditors estimate
the company’s future earnings.
Statement of Stockholders’ Equity

Common Stock
Amounts invested in the Elements of the
business by stockholders. Statement of
Stockholders’
Beginning Common Stock Equity
+ Stock Issuance
Ending Common Stock
The Statement of
Retained Earnings Stockholders’ Equity reports
Past earnings not distributed the change in each
to stockholders. stockholders’ equity account
during the period.
Beginning Retained Earnings
+ Net Income
− Dividends
Ending Retained Earnings
Exhibit 1.4 –
Statement of Stockholders’ Equity
Interpreting Retained Earnings

 Reinvestment of earnings, or retained earnings, is an important

source of financing for companies.
 Creditors closely monitor a firm’s statement of stockholders’
equity because the company’s policy on dividend payments affects
its ability to repay its debts.
 Every dollar the company pays to stockholders as a dividend
is not available for use in paying back its debt.
 Investors examine retained earnings to determine whether the
company is reinvesting a sufficient portion of earnings to support
future growth.
Exhibit 1.5
• Relationship Among LeNature’s Statements
Statement of Cash Flows (1 of 2)

+/− Cash Flows from Operating Activities (CFO)

+/− Cash Flows from Investing Activities (CFI)
+/− Cash Flows from Financing Activities (CFF)
Change in Cash
+ Beginning Cash Balance
Ending Cash Balance

Note that each of the three cash flow

+/ - sources can be positive (net cash inflow)
or negative (net cash outflow)
 Statement of Cash Flows (2 of 2)

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

Cash flows directly related to earning income, such as cash Elements of the
collected from customers less cash paid for operating expenses, Statement of Cash
such as cash paid to suppliers and employees. Flows

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

Cash flows related to acquisition or sale of the
company’s plant and equipment and investments.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

Cash flows directly related to the financing of the enterprise, such as the
receipt or payment of money to investors and creditors (except suppliers)

The Statement of Cash Flows reports inflows and

outflows of cash during the accounting period.
Exhibit 1.6 – Statement of Cash Flows
Interpreting the Cash Flow Statement

Analyze operating cash flow to check the company’s ability to:

 Pay back bank debt

 Expand the company
 Distribute cash dividends to shareholders

The Operating Activities section is thought to be the most important

because it indicates the company’s ability to generate cash from sales
to meet its current cash needs.
Notes (or Footnotes)

“The notes are an integral part of these financial statements.”

Did you notice this sentence at the bottom of each financial

statement?

All financial statements should be accompanied by notes that provide

the reader with supplemental information to help the reader better
understand the financial statements.
Financial Statement
Include the monetary unit
sign ($) beside the first dollar
amount in a group of items
Formats and by group total

Assets are listed on the

balance sheet by ease of
conversion to cash.

Liabilities are listed by the

maturity (due date).

Place a single underline below

the last item in a group before
a total or subtotal, and a
double underline below the
group totals.
Exhibit 1.7 – Summary of the
Four Basic Financial Statements

1-29
© McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.
Learning Objective 1-2
1-2 Identify the role of generally accepted accounting principles
(GAAP) in determining financial statement content and managers’,
directors’, and auditors’ responsibilities for ensuring the accuracy of
the financial statements.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

The rules that determine the

content and measurement rules
of the statements are called
generally accepted accounting
principles, or GAAP.
How are GAAP Principles Determined?
Congress created the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
and gave it broad powers to determine measurement
rules for financial statements for publicly traded companies.

The SEC has worked closely with accountants and other interested
parties to work out the detailed rules that become GAAP principles.

Today, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

has the responsibility to formulate GAAP.
The official pronouncements of the FASB are called the
FASB Accounting Standards Codification.
What Concepts Guide the Setting of
Accounting Standards?
The FASB relies on a conceptual framework to provide a
structure for developing specific accounting standards.

Exhibit 1.8 Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting

Why is GAAP Important to Managers
and External Users?
Companies incur the cost of preparing the financial statements and
bear the major economic consequences of their publication, which
include:

 Effects on the selling price of a company’s stock.

 Effects on the amount of bonuses received by
management and other employees.
 Loss of competitive information to other companies.

Because of these and other concerns, changes in GAAP are

actively debated, political lobbying often takes place, and final
rules are a compromise among the wishes of interested parties.
International Perspective
Financial accounting standards and disclosure requirements are adopted by national
regulatory agencies.

Since 2002, 144 jurisdictions have adopted International Financial Reporting

Standards (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
Examples of jurisdictions requiring the use of IFRS:

• European Union (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium,

Poland, etc.) and United Kingdom
• Australia and New Zealand
• Hong Kong (S.A.R. of China), Malaysia, and Republic of Korea
• Israel and Turkey
• Brazil and Chile
• Canada and Mexico

In the U.S., the SEC now allows foreign companies whose stock is
traded in the United States to use IFRS.
Ethical Conduct
Intentional misreporting of financial statements is unethical and illegal.
However, many situations are less clear-cut and required individuals to
weigh one moral principal (e.g., honesty) against another (e.g., loyalty
to a friend).

Three-Step Process for Making Ethical Decisions

1. Identify the benefits of a decision (often to the manager or

employee involved) and who will be harmed (other employees,
owners, creditors, the environment).

2.Identify alternative courses of action.

3.Choose the one you would like your family and friends to see
reported on your local news. That is usually the ethical choice.
 Consequences of Unethical Behavior

After it was determined that the financial

statements for Le-Nature’s Inc. were misleading,
the consequences for the defendants were severe.

What if the numbers

are wrong?

Crime clearly did not pay for Podlucky and his co-conspirators.
The auditors who missed the fraud agreed to pay $50 million to the creditors.
Wachovia Capital Markets, which marketed the loans, agreed to pay $80 million.
Responsibility and the Need for Controls
Companies should take three important steps to assure investors that the
company’s records are accurate:
1. Maintain a system of internal controls over the records and assets of
the company.
2. Hire external independent auditors to audit the fairness of the financial
statements.
3. Form a committee of the board of directors to oversee the integrity of
these other safeguards.
Supplement A: Types of Business Entities

Sole Proprietorship: unincorporated business owned by a single individual

Partnership: unincorporated business owned by two or more individuals
Corporation: business incorporated under the laws of a particular state.
Ownership is represented by shares of stock that can be bought and sold
freely and operates separately from its owners

Advantages of a Corporation:
Stockholders have limited liability
Continuity of life
Ease in transferring ownership (stock)
Opportunity to raise large amounts of money by selling
shares of stock to a large number of people
Disadvantage of a Corporation:
May be subject to double taxation (income taxed when earned
and again when distributed to stockholders as dividends)
Supplement B: Employment in the
Accounting Profession Today
Career Opportunities PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS

Practice of Public Accounting

Audit or Assurance Services CPA
Management consulting or Advisory services CMA
Tax services CIA

Employment by Organizations
Internal accounting such as management, cost accounting, profit planning,
information systems management, internal auditing and more.
External reporting
Tax planning
Many other functions

Employment in the Public and Not-for-Profit Sector

 Not-for-Profit hospitals and universities
 Government agencies such as the SEC, GAO, and FCC
Questions?