A balance sheet provides a snapshot of a company's assets, liabilities and equity at a specific point in time, while an income statement summarizes its revenues and expenses over a period to show ...

Companies prepare the balance sheet and the income statement periodically at the end of each accounting cycle. While a balance sheet relates to a specific date, or a given point within an accounting ...

Review a company's complete financial history before investing any money in the company. Balance sheets and income statements provide valuable insight into the day-to-day operational and ...

You don’t need to be a CPA to understand your company’s financial health. You just need to know where to look. That starts with the income statement—also known as the profit and loss (P&L) ...

In accounting, every financial transaction is recorded by two entries on the company's books. These two transactions are called a "debit" and a "credit," and together, they form the foundation of ...

A vertical analysis is used to show the relative sizes of the different accounts on a financial statement. For example, when a vertical analysis is done on an income statement, it will show the top ...

The balance sheet and income statement of a bank's financial statements contain unique characteristics that can help you decipher how banks make money.

Take extra care when evaluating a REIT's income and debt -- the standard rules don't all apply. The best way to find out how a company makes its money, how much it makes, and how much debt it has is ...

Financial statements are written records of a business’s financial situation. They include standard reports like the balance sheet, income or profit and loss statements, and cash flow statement. They ...

John Parker is a business writer with 20+ years of experience as a business executive specializing in accounting and finance. Charlene Rhinehart is a CPA , CFE, chair of an Illinois CPA Society ...