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3
An Introduction to
Business Financial
Statements

I n this chapter, we build on the basic knowledge of how businesses

are financed by looking at how firms organize and report financial
information. This understanding of financial statements relates to economic
development finance in several ways. First, it is critical for assisting individ-
ual businesses to secure financing. A careful reading of a firm’s financial
statements reveals how it has financed its activities and helps identify the
appropriate financing to address its fiscal needs. Second, financial statement
analysis is central to evaluating a firm’s capacity to repay debt or generate
the return required by equity investors. Third, financial statements provide
insight into common financing issues faced by similar firms, such as those
in the same industry, at the same stage of development, with similar owner-
ship, or in the same size class. For all these reasons, development finance
practitioners need to be literate with financial statements.
To develop this literacy, this chapter covers three topics. It begins
by introducing several important concepts that underlie accounting and
financial statements and explains the difference between accrual and cash
accounting. Next, it explains the three major financial statements used
to summarize businesses, the balance sheet, the income statement, and the
cash flow statement and defines the major categories of financial informa-
tion included on these reports. Future chapters build on this knowledge of
financial statements to develop skills in evaluating a business’s capacity to
support new capital and in structuring appropriate financing.

___________ Accounting Concepts and Accrual Accounting

Robert N. Anthony, David F. Hawkins, and Kenneth A. Merchant in their
classic introduction to accounting, Accounting: Text and Cases, identify 11
basic concepts that guide accounting practice.1 While all eleven concepts are
important, three concepts are especially helpful in highlighting how financial
statements are prepared and clarifying the nature of accrual accounting. The
first principal is called the dual aspect concept, which is summarized by a

41
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42 THE BASICS OF BUSINESS FINANCE

simple equation that is the foundation for the balance sheet. This equation,
assets = equities, indicates that everything that is owned by a firm (its assets)
is claimed by someone, either its creditors (whose claims are called liabilities)
or its owners (whose claims are called owner’s equity). This concept is com-
mon sense; all of a firm’s possessions must belong to someone. As discussed
in the previous chapters, creditors have a first claim on a firm’s assets while
the owners have a residual claim.
An important corollary to the dual aspect concept is that every financial
transaction of a business must impact at least two accounts of the firm. For
the dual aspect equation to remain true, when a transaction increases an
asset account, then either another asset account must decrease or an equity
account must increase. Accountants use a system of debits and credits to
keep the asset and equity aspects of a firm’s financial accounts in balance.2
For every transaction, the total of debit entries must equal the total of credit
entries to ensure that assets will equal equities after the transaction is
recorded. Accounting is referred to as a dual entry record-keeping system
due to the balancing of debits and credits for each transaction.
Two additional concepts, the realization concept and matching concept,
are used to determine when revenue and expenses3 are recognized (i.e.,
recorded as such in the firm’s accounts). Under the realization concept,
revenue is recognized and credited to a firm’s accounts when goods are
shipped or services are rendered. Note that revenue is not recognized when
payment is made for the goods or services. This is central to accrual account-
ing in which revenue is recorded when it is earned (i.e., when goods or
services are provided), not when payment is received. Under the matching
concept, which governs how expenses are allocated, expenses are recognized
in the same period when the revenues associated with those costs are
recorded. By matching expenses with the recognized revenue for a given
period, financial statements provide an accurate representation of the eco-
nomic results of the sales occurring during the period. Note, as with revenue,
that expenses are not recorded based on when payment is made. Since some
costs are not directly related to producing goods or services but are general
costs of the firm (e.g., insurance or salaries for the accounting staff), these
expenses are recognized in the period for which they are associated.
Insurance costs and accounting department salaries for October would be
recorded as an expense in the October accounting records.
The realization and matching concepts are central to accrual basis
accounting, which is required under generally accepted accounting princi-
pals (GAAP), the standards for all private sector financial statements. To
understand accrual accounting, it is helpful to compare it to cash basis finan-
cial reporting. Under cash basis reporting, transactions are recorded based
on the receipt and expenditure of cash. Cash basis revenue is recorded when
the payment for goods and services is received and expenses are recognized
when cash payments are made. Cash basis reporting presents the impact
of business activities on a firm’s cash flow and cash position, but it has a
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An Introduction to Business Financial Statements 43

serious pitfall. With cash basis financial reports, the income received during
a period is not linked with the associated costs, and there is no determi-
nation of whether the business was profitable during a given time period.
Accrual accounting, on the other hand, does not follow the cash. Instead, it
seeks to accurately present a firm’s “earned income,” the actual economic
results of its activities over a period. Accrual accounting statements answer
the question: What were a business’s financial results for a period based on
the revenue generated and the associated costs in that period, independent of
when payment is received and bills are paid.
In differentiating accrual from cash accounting, it is useful to distinguish
between revenue, the accrual concept, and receipt, the cash activity. Revenue
refers to income generated by the provision of goods or services to a
customer. Revenue is a function of the delivery of goods and services in a
period, and its financial reporting is unrelated to the timing of any payment.
Receipt refers to the collection of cash: it records when a customer makes a
payment, which may differ from when the customer actually receives goods
or services. A similar distinction exists between expense, the accrual concept,
and expenditure, the cash transaction. Expenses refer to the costs incurred
during a period that are related to either the generation of revenue in that
period or a general business cost for the period. Expenses are recorded
in financial statements independent of any cash outlays for the period.
Expenditure, on the other hand, refers to the outlay of cash, whether or not
that outlay is tied to revenue-generating activities during that period.
To see the difference in financial reports based on cash and accrual
accounting, consider the following activities of College Books, a mail order
bookstore during the month of September 2002. During this month, College
Books shipped $2,000 in books to customers. These customers paid for the
books in October, after their receipt. College Books acquired the inventory
of books sold in September during the months of June, July, and August,
paying $1,200 over these 3 months. General business costs for College
Books are monthly rent payments of $200 paid on the first day of each
month and monthly salaries of $500, paid on the last day of each month.
Both a cash basis and accrual basis income statement for College Books
are presented in Exhibit 3.1. In the cash basis statement, no revenue is
recorded in September since College Books did not receive any payment in
this month. Similarly, no deduction is made for the cost of the books shipped
in September since the firm paid for these books in the prior 3 months. The
only cash payments in September were $700 for its rent and salaries.
Consequently, the cash basis statement for College Books shows a loss of
$700. The accrual income statement reports income of $2,000 correspond-
ing to the sales price for the books shipped that month. The cost of these
books is matched to the revenue and reported as a $1,200 expense. The
other $700 in monthly costs also are deducted as September expenses, show-
ing a final net income of $100. Although the cash statement shows that
College Books’s bank account declined by $700 during September, it does
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44 THE BASICS OF BUSINESS FINANCE

Exhibit 3.1 Cash and Accrual September Income Statements for College Books

Cash Statement Accrual Statement

Revenue $0 $2,000
Cost of Goods Sold $0 ($1,200)
Rent ($200)a ($200)
Salaries ($500) ($500)
Net Income ($700) $ 100

NOTE:
a. A figure shown in parentheses in financial statements represents a negative number, either
a deduction or a loss.

not show the economic results of College Books’s activities for the month
(i.e., whether or not the firm earned a profit from its September sales). The
accrual statement provides a more complete and accurate picture of the
store’s financial results.

Financial Statements: The Balance Sheet ______________

Accounting systems function to generate reports that provide an accurate
picture of a business’s financial condition and performance. There are
two standard financial reports prepared by businesses: the balance sheet
and the income statement (also called a profit and loss statement or a
statement of revenues and expenses). For the firm’s owners and managers,
these reports inform decisions about the firm’s management, operations,
and capital spending. Economic development professionals use this infor-
mation to make decisions about whether to provide debt or equity financ-
ing to a firm. Practitioners also use financial statement analysis in their
technical assistance work, to identify weaknesses and management issues
that firms need to address to improve their performance and access
financing. Although the balance sheet and income statement are separate
reports, they are closely linked and should be analyzed together to under-
stand a firm’s finances. A third financial report, the cash flow statement,
details how the firm’s activities affect cash flow. While a cash flow state-
ment is included in audited financial statements prepared by independent
accounting firms, firms without audited statements often do not prepare
this key financial statement themselves. Thus, the steps to construct a
cash flow statement from the balance sheet and income statement are
detailed below.
The balance sheet is a snapshot of a business’s financial position at a
single point in time. It organizes financial information about the firm’s assets
(things of value that it owns), liabilities (its financial obligations), and share-
holder’s equity on a specific date. Exhibit 3.2 presents the balance sheet
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An Introduction to Business Financial Statements 45

for a fictional firm, American Biotechnology Company (ABC). Note that

the balance sheet includes a date, June 30, 2002, which is the date for which
the report applies. The asset and liability values listed in the report are for
that specific date. Since ABC may undertake transactions that significantly
change its financial position on the next day, this static picture is an impor-
tant limitation of the financial information in a balance sheet. As the name
implies, the balance sheet must balance; that is, the total assets must equal
the total liabilities and shareholders’ equities, per the dual aspect principle
and the dual entry accounting method. ABC’s total assets and total liabilities
and shareholders’ equity both equal $81.8 million.

Exhibit 3.2 American Biotechnology Company Balance Sheet—June 30, 2002

ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash and Cash Equivalents $410,000
Marketable Securities 3,000,000
Accounts Receivable, net of allowance 16,065,000
Inventory 16,178,000
Prepaid Expenses 779,000
Total Current Assets 36,432,000
Investments 3,343,000
Property Plant and Equipment, less accumulated depreciation 21,905,000
Purchased Technology and Goodwill 19,310,000
Other Assets 810,000
TOTAL ASSETS $81,800,000

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current Liabilities
Accounts Payable $7,148,000
Income Taxes Payable 12,000
Accrued Expenses 3,973,000
Deferred Income 985,000
Current Portion of Long-Term Debt 1,367,000
Total Current Liabilities 13,485,000
Deferred Income 361,000
Long-Term Debt, less current portion 5,022,000
Total Liabilities 18,868,000
Shareholders’ Equity
Common Stock Issue, par value $.01 per share
Authorized 40,000,000 shares,
Issued 23,305,000 shares 233,305
Additional Paid-in Capital 110,198,695
Accumulated Deficit (47,500,000)
Total Equity 62,932,000
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY $81,800,000
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46 THE BASICS OF BUSINESS FINANCE

There are two common interpretations of the balance sheet.4 The first
interpretation is a statement of the firm’s resources and the claims against
those resources. Assets correspond to the resources owned by the firm while
the liabilities and shareholders’ equity are the claims against those assets.
Liabilities are the claims of suppliers, lenders, and other outside parties while
shareholders’ equity represents the claims of the firm’s owners. Thus, one
immediate piece of information that the balance sheet provides is the relative
size of the claims of outside creditors versus those of the firm’s owners. In
ABC’s case, owner’s claims, at $62.9 million, are over three times those of
outsiders, at $18.9 million. A second interpretation of the balance sheet is a
statement of the firm’s sources and uses of funds. The liabilities and share-
holders’ equity represent the sources of funds while the assets show how the
firm used these funds. This view is very useful since it tells us how the firm
has financed itself and what assets it has acquired with this financing. For
ABC, shareholders’ equity provided the primary source of funds, and the
largest uses of these funds have been for property, plant, and equipment
($21.3 million) and purchased technology and goodwill ($19.3 million).
Financial information in the balance sheets is reported under specific cat-
egories. While the categories in each firm’s balance sheet can vary some-
what,5 Figure 3.2 includes the major categories listed on most balance
sheets. Figures on the balance sheet reflect the original cost paid for items,
not their current market value.6 “Book value” is often used to refer to this
cost valuation of a firm’s assets on its financial statements. Assets are
grouped into two types: current assets and noncurrent assets. Current assets
are those assets that are normally converted into cash within 1 year or, in
some cases, within the normal operating cycle of the business. For example,
since large aircraft take longer than 1 year to manufacture, the inventory of
an aircraft manufacturer represents the materials that would be converted to
cash under their normal production and sales cycle, rather than over 1 year.
Assets are listed in a specific order, with those most easily converted into
cash (referred to as more “liquid” assets) listed first followed by less liquid
assets. Thus, current assets are listed before noncurrent assets, and cash is
the first item listed.
The current asset categories on ABC’s balance sheet are cash, marketable
securities, accounts receivable, inventory, and prepaid expenses. Cash refers
to both cash that is in the firm’s direct possession and funds held in ABC’s
bank accounts that are immediately available for its use. Marketable securi-
ties are investment securities with maturities of 1 year or less that can be
readily redeemed or sold. Firms often have more cash than they need for
near term expenditures, and they invest these funds in certificates of deposit,
commercial paper, treasury bills, or other short-term investment instruments
to increase interest income earned on these funds. Accounts receivables are
the uncollected bills for goods and services that ABC has shipped or ren-
dered. Since most businesses do not operate on a cash sales basis, accounts
receivable are usually a large and important part of a firm’s current assets.
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An Introduction to Business Financial Statements 47

ABC’s accounts receivables total $16 million, almost one fifth of its total
assets. Inventory refers to goods held by the firm in one of three forms:
(1) raw materials and supplies that are used in the firm’s business; (2) unfin-
ished goods-in-progress that the firm is still in the process of manufacturing;
and (3) finished products. Some firms list inventory under these three
separate categories on their balance, but others, like ABC, consolidate all
three types of inventory into one figure. Inventory is a major asset for some
business, such as manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers, but is of little
significance to service businesses. Prepaid expenses, the final current asset
category, are costs that the business has paid for but that are not yet treated
as expenses based on the matching concept. Businesses often pay in advance
for expenses recognized in future periods. For example, a firm may pay for
an annual insurance policy in advance of the policy period. This advance
payment is an asset, something of value that the firm acquired that will
be used in the future course of its business. The prepaid expense amount will
be reduced each month of the period covered by the policy, as the business
“uses” its insurance policy. An accounting entry will be made to record a
business expense equal to the reduction in the prepaid expense asset.7
ABC’s noncurrent assets, those with a life longer than 1 year, include prop-
erty, plant, and equipment; purchased technology and goodwill; and other
assets. Property, plant, and equipment represent the land, buildings, and
equipment owned by the business. These items are often listed under the term
fixed assets since they are, with the exception of noninstalled equipment,
immovable. Since property, plant, and equipment have a limited useful life,
firms reduce the value of their fixed assets each year to account for the
implicit costs associated with their wearing out and replacement over time.
The term for this reduction in value of fixed assets is depreciation. Thus,
ABC’s $21.9 million of property, plant, and equipment is listed net of accu-
mulated depreciation: the figure represents the original cost of these assets less
the cumulative depreciation deductions taken. Other firms list the original
cost, accumulated depreciation, and the net value as separate items on their
balance sheet. When a business depreciates the value of its fixed assets, it
enters a corresponding accounting entry as a depreciation expense on the
income statement. Purchased technology and goodwill represents the value of
other firms and technology acquired by ABC. When a firm acquires the assets
of another firm, it may pay more than the stated book value of its assets.
Accountants use goodwill to account for this excess of the acquisition price
over the book value. Goodwill may relate to acquired assets that have real
value to firms, such as brand names, customer lists, experience, and relation-
ships, but that cannot be directly valued. Goodwill also can reflect the differ-
ence between a firm’s book value and its market value at the time of
acquisition. Other assets is a catchall category for other things owned by the
firm that do not fit into other categories or do not warrant a separate listing.
The equities side of the balance sheet is divided into two sections, liabili-
ties and shareholders’ equity. As with assets, liabilities to be paid within
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48 THE BASICS OF BUSINESS FINANCE

either 1 year or the business’s normal operating cycle are listed first under
current liabilities. ABC’s balance sheet includes the typical current liabilities
categories: accounts payable, income taxes payable, accrued expenses,
deferred income, and current portion of long-tem debt. Accounts payable are
ABC’s unpaid bills for goods and services that it received as of June 30,
2002. Accounts payable and accounts receivable are two sides of the same
transaction. One firm’s account receivable is another’s account payable. An
account receivable is the vendor’s uncollected invoice for goods or services
rendered; an account payable is the customer’s unpaid bill for goods or ser-
vices received. Income taxes payable are ABC’s unpaid portion of its tax lia-
bility on its net income from the prior period. Depending on the applicable
state and local taxes, a firm may have additional tax liabilities for property,
excise, and other taxes. Accrued expenses is a concept similar to prepaid
expenses. It refers to expenses that have been recognized for accounting pur-
poses but have not yet been billed or paid. With the matching of revenue and
expenses under accrual accounting, costs are recognized as expenses for
a period if they are directly tied to goods or services delivered during that
period or are general expenses for the period. When such a cost is recognized
as expense in a period but has not yet been billed or paid, there is an asso-
ciated liability for that expense item. Interest payments are a good example
of accrued expenses. Some debt contracts require interest payments every
quarter or 6 months, but the firm is incurring an interest payment obligation
each month. The interest obligation will be deducted as an expense each
month. This interest expense is not paid monthly but builds up, or accrues,
as an obligation to be paid at a future date. Accrued expenses can also be
viewed as the opposite of prepaid expenses. For prepaid expenses, a firm
generates an asset by paying for expenses in advance of their “use.” With
accrued expenses, a firm creates a liability by “using” an expense before it
has been billed or paid. Deferred income refers to an obligation to provide
goods or service for which ABC received advance payment. For example,
ABC may have entered into research and development contracts and
received up front payment for some of these activities. If ABC needs to
acquire facilities and equipment and hire scientists before it can begin the
research, it might be paid for some costs in advance. Although ABC has
received cash, it cannot recognize this payment as revenue, since under the
realization concept it has not provided these services yet. Thus the advance
payment is offset by a deferred income liability for the same amount. The
deferred income liability will be reduced as the company completes the
research and development services and recognizes the revenue for these
activities. Note, in Figure 3.2, that ABC has a second deferred income lia-
bility that is not listed under current liabilities. This means that ABC received
advance payment for obligations that extend beyond 1 year. The portion of
the advance payment for research activities over the next year is listed under
current liabilities while the balance is listed as a noncurrent liability. Current
portion of long-term debt, the last current liability listed on ABC’s balance
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An Introduction to Business Financial Statements 49

sheet, is the portion of ABC’s total outstanding debt that must be repaid over
the next year. As with deferred income, the balance sheet divides debt
liabilities into two portions: the amount payable over the next year and the
amount payable beyond 1 year. Only the principal component of debt is
listed on the balance sheet. Interest payments are an expense included on the
income statement. To calculate ABC’s total debt service for a given year
from its financial statements, one needs to sum the interest expense from the
income statement for that year (interest payments) and the current portion
of long-term debt from the balance sheet for the end of the prior year (prin-
cipal payments).
Shareholders’ equity completes the equity side of the balance sheet. The
presentation of shareholders’ equity can be confusing since it includes three
parts: (1) par value; (2) additional paid-in capital; and (3) accumulated
retained earnings or deficit. Par value is a stated value for the stock that is
legally required. It does not have any relationship to the stock’s actual mar-
ket value. Since the par value is the lowest value at which a share of stock
can trade, it is usually set at one cent ($.01). Thus, the balance sheet lists
the stock’s par value as the number of issued shares of stock times the par
value. The first line of shareholder’s equity for ABC in Figure 3.2 reads as
follows:

Common stock issue, par value $.01 per share

Authorized 40,000,000 shares,
Issued 23,305,000 shares 233,305

This line means that ABC is legally authorized to sell up to 40 million

shares of common stock, but had issued only 23.305 million of these shares
as of June 30, 2002. With a par value of $.01, the total par value of the
issued shares is $233,305. However, firms do not sell their stock at par
value. Instead, they receive a higher amount of money when their stock is
sold to shareholders. This difference between the actual funds raised from
stock sales and the listed par value is shown on the balance sheet as addi-
tional paid-in capital. For ABC, additional paid-in capital is $110,198,695.
The total amount that ABC raised from its stock sales is $110,432,000, the
sum of par value and additional paid-in capital. The final component of
shareholder equity, retained earnings, represents the increase in equity value
from the accumulated reinvestment of the company’s profits (net income).
When a business earns a profit, it can distribute some or all of these profits
to its shareholders as dividends. The portion that is not paid out as dividends
is reinvested in the company and called retained earnings. Since net income
represents the firm’s residual income after all expenses, it belongs to the
firm’s owners and any portion retained by the businesses represents an
increase in shareholders’ equity. Another way to think about this accounting
relationship is that when net income is reinvested in a business, it increases
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50 THE BASICS OF BUSINESS FINANCE

the company’s assets. Since no external party provided the funds to increase
these assets, there is no increase in liabilities to external parties. Conse-
quently, the owners must have a claim on the increased assets, and the own-
ers’ equity account increases to balance the increase in assets.
In ABC’s case, the balance sheet shows an accumulated deficit of
$47.5 million rather than accumulated retained earnings. This means that the
company has generated more losses over its life than profits. Its accumulated
losses, after deducting any accumulated net income, total $47.5 million. ABC
invested its equity to fund research and development and other activities
that have not yet generated sufficient revenues to earn sustained profits. Its
up front investment to acquire technology and develop new products has
exceeded its cumulative profits. This is a common situation for biotechnology
companies, which have long lead times, often 10 years or longer, before a new
product is developed, tested, and approved for use by regulators. These accu-
mulated losses serve to reduce the book value of the shareholder equity in the
same manner that retained earnings increase it. Accumulated losses diminish
the firm’s assets, which must be consumed to cover the excess of expenses
over revenues.8 Since assets have declined without any reduction in liabilities,
the value of the shareholders’ claim has been reduced. ABC’s losses reduced
the book value of shareholders’ equity from $110.4 million to $62.9 million.
It is important to recognize that this book value for shareholder equity is
not the same as the market value of the firm’s stock. ABC’s stock price
may have increased, despite the accumulated losses, if investors believe that
the company has good future earning prospects.

Financial Statements: The Income Statement ___________

The second major financial statement produced by firms is the income
statement, also referred to as a profit and loss statement or a statement of
revenue and expenses. While the balance sheet presents a firm’s financial
position at one point in time, the income statement shows the financial
results from a business’s activities over a period of time. It summarizes
the two parts of a company’s financial flows that determine its profits:
revenues and expenses. By relating a firm’s expenses to its revenue over a
period of time, the income statement presents the economic results of the
firm’s activities for that period (i.e., its profits).
Exhibit 3.3 presents American Biotechnology Company’s income statement
for the year ending June 30, 2002. Note that the income statement specifies
the time period that it covers. Revenue is listed on the top of the income state-
ment with expenses listed below and net income (profit) presented at the bot-
tom. Beyond this general format, firms use many different presentations of
revenue and expenses for their income statement. The main variation occurs
in how expenses are separated to present different subtotals before the final net
income line. For ABC, income before interest and taxes (known as IBIT or
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An Introduction to Business Financial Statements 51

Exhibit 3.3 American Biotechnology Company Income Statement for the

12 Months Ending June 30, 2002

Revenue
Product sales 5,013,000
Research and development revenue 7,675,000
Interest income 239,000
Total Revenues 12,927,000
Expenses
Cost of goods sold 4,967,000
Research and development expenses 2,077,000
Sales, general and administrative expenses 2,908,000
Depreciation 1,000,000
Total Expenses 10,952,000
Income before interest and taxes 1,975,000
Interest expense (119,000)
Provision for income taxes (102,000)
Net income 1,754,000
Less cash dividends 0
Retained earnings 1,754,000
Accumulated deficit at beginning of year (49,254,000)
Plus retained earnings for year 1,754,000
Accumulated deficit at end of year (47,500,000)

EBIT—for earnings before interest and taxes) is presented as a separate item

before the final net income figure is calculated. This allows the reader to see
the firm’s profits without financing and tax costs. Another common format
calculates a gross margin before deducting selling, general, and administrative
costs, which helps in understanding the firm’s core profitability from opera-
tions before administrative, sales, and overhead costs are considered.
ABC lists three sources of income: product sales, research and develop-
ment, and interest income. Product sales and research and development
revenue account for the revenue realized during the 12 months from each
respective activity. Interest income is revenue earned from the company’s
investment of surplus cash in marketable securities. Since the income state-
ment presents separate expense figures for manufactured products and
research and development activities, it is possible to determine a gross profit
for each activity. Gross profit (also known as gross margin) is the difference
between revenue and the direct costs involved in producing goods or deliv-
ering services. Costs of goods sold is the name used for the direct expenses
incurred by ABC to make its products, including materials, labor, energy,
and other items. The gross margin for ABC’s product sales is calculated by
subtracting the costs of goods sold from product sales:

Gross margin for products = 5,013,000 − 4,967,000 = 46,000

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52 THE BASICS OF BUSINESS FINANCE

Gross margin for research and development is calculated in the same

manner by subtracting research and development (R&D) expenses from
R&D revenues:

Gross margin for R&D = 7,675,000 − 2,077,000 = 5,598,000

From these figures, it is clear that ABC’s R&D activities are more
profitable than its manufacturing business, by a factor of over 100! Looking
only at ABC’s bottom line net income masks this difference. A useful way
to present gross margin is as a percentage of sales. ABC’s gross margin
percentage for each activity is

47,000
Gross margin percentage on product sales = = 0.9%
5,013,000

5,598,000
Gross margin percentage on R&D = = 72.9%
7,675,000

ABC’s next expense item is selling, general, and administrative costs, or

SGA expense. SGA includes all the indirect expense of the firm, including the
salaries for executives, salespeople, the accounting department, and other
general overhead such as insurance and real estate costs for administrative
offices. The following expense item is depreciation, which we touched upon
in the discussion of fixed assets. Depreciation is a noncash expense that
accounts for the diminution in an asset’s value over time. Depreciation is
deducted as an expense to represent this economic cost to a business, but it
has no impact on ABC’s cash flow. ABC never writes a check or makes a
payment for its depreciation expense.
After SGA and depreciation expenses, ABC reports its income before
interest and taxes. This earnings amount is often referred to as operating
profits since it measures a firm’s earnings from all its operations before the
impact of financing, taxes, or other nonoperating expenses are considered.
Like gross margin, operating profit is more informative when expressed as a
percentage of total revenue. ABC’s operating profit percentage was 15.3%
of revenue in fiscal year 2002.9 The final net income figure is listed after
deducting interest expenses on ABC’s debt and a provision to cover expected
tax payments. ABC’s net income in FY2002 was $1,754,000, or 13.6% of
sales. Thus, interest and taxes had only a small impact of ABC’s net income,
reducing it by less than 2 percentage points.
The final part of the income statement reports dividend payments to
shareholders and retained earnings. In ABC’s case, there were no dividend
payments in this year. All of its $1,754,000 in net income was retained for
reinvestment in the business. In the final lines of the income statement,
retained earnings for the current year are added to the retained earnings at
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An Introduction to Business Financial Statements 53

the beginning of the year to calculate ABC’s final retained earnings as of

June 30, 2002. Since ABC has generated cumulative losses during its lifetime,
it has “negative retained earnings” which is called an accumulated deficit.
The $1,754,000 in retained earnings for FY2002, therefore, reduced its
accumulated deficit from $49,254,000 to $47,500,000. These last three lines
of the income statement formally connect the income statement to the bal-
ance sheet. Referring back to ABC’s June 30, 2002, balance sheet in Figure
3.1, note that the accumulated deficit under shareholders’ equity is
$47,500,000, matching the income statement’s figure for accumulated
deficit at year end.

Connecting the Balance

_________________________ Sheet and Income Statement
Thus far, we have only touched on the interrelationship between the
balance sheet and income statement. However, these two financial state-
ments are closely connected, with two ways to view their interaction. In
the first view, two balance sheets and the intervening income statement
provide a full picture of a firm’s financial performance and change in
financial condition for a given period. The beginning and ending balance
sheets for a year show the changes in assets, liabilities, and owners’ equity
whereas the income statement shows how revenue and expense flows
contribute to these balance sheet changes over that year. One direct con-
nection is that retained earnings from net income on the income statement
increases shareholders’ equity on the balance sheet. Another direct con-
nection occurs when an expense item on the income statement is coupled
with a decrease in an asset account (e.g., when a depreciation expense on
the income statement is matched with the depreciation of fixed assets). In
this manner, decreases in an asset account, such as prepaid expenses,
inventory, and fixed assets are often connected to an increase in expenses.
On the other hand, sales generate an increase in accounts receivable, an
asset account. The change in accounts receivable from one balance sheet
to another is a function of two things: new accounts receivables created by
sales and the conversion of accounts receivables into cash through their
collection. Finally, the sale of an asset can result in revenue on the income
statement. When the asset is sold for more than its book value, it yields
income called capital gains. Conversely, when the firm sells an asset for
less than its book value, it has a capital loss. By relating income statement
items to the balance sheet, we gain a deeper understanding of what
accounts for balance sheet changes.
A second way to view the interrelationship of the balance sheet and
income statement is through the lens of cash flow (i.e., how both contribute
to a firm’s cash flow). The income statement generates cash flow through
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54 THE BASICS OF BUSINESS FINANCE

the excess of revenue over expenses. To the extent that revenue and
expenses are fully converted into cash transactions, net income is a good
proxy for cash flow. However, since financial statements are not based on
cash transactions, they need to be adjusted to present their contribution to
cash flow. One type of adjustment corrects for noncash expenses such as
depreciation. A second type of adjustment captures the impact of balance
sheet changes on cash flow. For example, the cash flow from sales is
affected by the collection of accounts receivable. When accounts receivable
increase over a year, this reduces the cash flow realized from sales. Net
income must be reduced by this increase in accounts receivable to show
actual cash flow for the period. An increase in other asset accounts, such as
inventory or fixed assets, results from the firm converting cash into other
assets. Thus, the general rule is that increases in asset accounts are a use of
cash (i.e., decrease cash flow). Increases in liability accounts are a source of
cash that increase cash flow. A clear example of this is when a firm secures
new debt; it receives cash from the debt proceeds as the liability for out-
standing debt increases. When accounts payable increase, this represents an
increase in the firm’s unpaid bills, which means that some of the expenses
shown on the income statement were not converted into cash outlays. Thus,
an addition to net income is made equal to the increase in accounts payable
to show actual cash flow. These examples demonstrate that both the
income statement and balance sheet must be analyzed to determine a firm’s
cash flow over a period.

Financial Statements: The Cash Flow Statement ________

As indicated above, the cash flow statement details how a firm’s income
statement and changes to its balance sheet accounts contribute to cash flow
for a specific period. It may seem surprising that cash flow statements are
prepared since earlier in this chapter it was argued that accrual financial
statements provide a more accurate picture of a firm’s economic perfor-
mance than cash basis statements. If accrual statements are more accurate,
why bother with cash flow analysis? The answer is twofold. First, a com-
pany needs cash flow to pay its bills and make debt service payments.
Although accrual statements provide a better picture of a business’s eco-
nomic profits than a cash flow statement, a firm does not pay its bills with
profits. We need to know the firm’s actual cash flow to determine whether
it can meet the payments for a proposed loan. Second, cash flow statements
provide insight into how a firm generates and uses cash flow, which can
indicate areas for improved management and operations. For example, if
a profitable company experiences cash flow problems due to large increases
in its accounts receivables, then it needs to change its credit policies and
collection practices. Another argument against preparing a cash flow state-
ment is that a business’s net cash flow for a period is revealed by the change
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An Introduction to Business Financial Statements 55

in the balance sheet cash account for that period. By definition, the change
in cash from one period to another is the firm’s net cash flow. Why under-
take the tedious work of constructing a cash flow statement when net cash
flow is already known? Although net cash flow is significant, it is more
important to understand what contributed to this end result. A firm that
loses money from its core business, but has positive cash flow from the one-
time sale of assets, is quite different from one with positive cash flow from
its core operations and after other costs. Moreover, we do not know how the
firm’s cash flow related to its level of debt payments. A firm with $40,000
in net cash flow and $30,000 in annual debt service is a better credit risk
than a business with the same net cash flow but debt payments of $250,000.

Constructing a Cash Flow Statement

A statement of cash flows is included in the standard audited financial
statements prepared by a firm’s independent accountants. Since many pri-
vately held companies, and most small businesses, do not produce audited
financial statements, practitioners need to know how to prepare a cash
flow statement for a specific period. To prepare a cash flow statement, the
balance sheets for the beginning and end of the period and the income state-
ment for the period are necessary. Two types of adjustments are made to
the income statement to determine cash flow: (1) noncash expense items
(e.g., depreciation) are added back; and (2) cash flows from changes in
balance sheet accounts are incorporated.
When preparing a cash flow statement, it is helpful to divide the statement
into three sets of activities that affect cash flow: operations (purchasing, pro-
duction, and sales activities); investment activities (purchase of plant and
equipment to support operations); and financing activities (securing or retir-
ing debt and equity). Beyond showing the relative impact of operations,
investment, and financing on a firm’s cash flow, this format simplifies the
calculation of debt service coverage ratios. It highlights the cash flow avail-
able to make debt service payments (i.e., the cash flow prior to financing
activities) and the principal and interest payments for the period. For these
reasons, the following explanation and example organizes the cash flow
statement into these three components: cash flow from operations, cash flow
from investments, and cash flow from financing. This is not the only way to
present a cash flow statement, but it is well suited to analyzing a business’s
borrowing capacity. Exhibit 3.4 summarizes the steps to prepare this cash
flow statement format.
The first step in cash flow analysis is finding the correct starting point
from the firm’s income statement. Since we need to compare cash flow to
debt payments, the starting figure should exclude the interest expense.
Therefore, begin with net income before interest and tax payments, which
many firms list as a separate line on the income statement as income (or
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56 THE BASICS OF BUSINESS FINANCE

Exhibit 3.4 Steps to Prepare a Three-Part Cash Flow Statement

Part One: Cash Flow From Operations

Step 1: Begin with income before interest and taxes from the income statement.
Step 2: Subtract taxes.
Step 3: Add back in noncash expenses from the income statement (e.g., depreciation and
amortization).
Step 4: Adjust cash flow for balance sheet changes from operations:
calculate changes in asset accounts (accounts receivables, inventory, prepaid expenses,
and other noninvestment or financing accounts). A decrease in an asset account
produces a cash inflow (positive) and an increase in an asset account produces a cash
outflow (negative).
Calculate changes in liability accounts (accounts payables, accrued expenses, deferred
income, and other noninvestment or financing liability accounts). An increase in a
liability account produces a cash inflow (positive) and a decrease in a liability account
produces a cash outflow (negative).
Step 5: Calculate net cash flow from operations by summing these figures.

Part Two: Cash Flow After Investing Activities

Step 6: Adjust cash flow for changes in balance sheet investment accounts (fixed assets,
equipment, patents, goodwill, marketable securities, investments, etc.). An increase
indicates a cash outflow (negative) while a decrease is a cash inflow (positive). Base
calculations on gross amounts before any depreciation or amortization.
Step 7: Calculate net cash flow after investing activities by summing and adding these changes
to net cash flow from operations. This figure is used to calculate the debt service
coverage ratio.

Part Three: Cash Flow After Financing Activities

Step 8: Adjust cash flow for changes in balance sheet and income statement financing
accounts (from the balance sheet: current and long-term portions of debt and changes
in outstanding stock; from income statement: interest expense and dividend payments).
A balance sheet increase indicates a cash inflow (positive) while a decrease is a cash
outflow (negative). Income statement items are cash outflows.
Step 9: Calculate net cash flow after financing activities by summing and adding these changes
to the net cash flow after investing activities.
Step 10: Net cash flow after financing activities is the final net cash flow. Check to see that it
agrees with the change in balance sheet cash account.

earnings) before interest and taxes (IBIT). Next, subtract the tax payments
(or allowance for taxes) from the IBIT amount. When IBIT is not listed as a
separate line on the income statement, begin with the final figure for net
income after interest and taxes and add back the interest payment amount.
Once net income after taxes and before interest payments is determined, the
second step is adding back noncash expense items, which are accounting
items that were subtracted from revenues as an economic expense but do not
involve a real cash outflow. Depreciation is the most common noncash item,
but amortization of patents, goodwill, and other costs is a second example.
Third, incorporate the cash flow impact from balance sheet changes related
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An Introduction to Business Financial Statements 57

to operating activities, for both assets and liabilities/owners’ equity. The

relevant asset accounts are accounts receivable, inventory, prepaid expenses,
and other noninvestment related accounts. Liability accounts for this portion
of the cash flow analysis are accounts payable, accrued expenses, deferred
income, other payable accounts, and other liability accounts that are not
debt or equity financing items. An increase in an asset account is a cash
outflow (use of cash) that is a negative entry on the cash flow statement.
Conversely, a decrease in an asset account is a cash inflow (source of cash)
treated as a positive entry on the cash flow statement. Consider accounts
receivable to see the relationship between asset accounts and cash flow. An
increase in accounts receivable means that uncollected sales are higher,
which reduces the cash flow received from the sales revenue shown on the
income statement. If accounts receivable decrease, cash collections from
sales exceed the sales revenue on the income statement, generating a cash
flow increase. Liability accounts have the opposite effect on cash flow: a
decrease in a liability account is a cash outflow, whereas a liability account
increase is a cash inflow. For example, when deferred income increases, the
firm has received additional cash that is not included in the period’s revenue
on the income statement but needs to be added to represent true cash flow.
If deferred income decreases, the business recognized some deferred income
as revenue on its income statement in the period, although the associated
cash inflow occurred in a prior period. Thus, a cash outflow deduction from
net income is made to reflect the cash effect of the deferred income change.
Once the cash flow impact of these balance sheet accounts is determined,
they are summed up and added to the earlier figure for net income before
interest payment plus noncash expenses. The resulting sum is net cash flow
from operations. It indicates whether the firm is generating positive or neg-
ative cash flow from its core purchasing, production, and sales activities. A
negative cash flow may indicate management problems, such as carrying too
much inventory or slow accounts receivable collection. However, it may also
indicate a well-managed firm that is expanding its inventory and accounts
receivables as its sales grow, using internal cash flow to finance them.
In the second part of the cash flow analysis, the cash impact from invest-
ment activities is calculated. Investment activities include the purchase of
long-term assets to support the firm’s operations and expand sales. These
investments are shown on the balance sheet as increases in fixed asset
accounts (plant and equipment), patents or purchased technology, and good-
will (intangible assets from the purchase of other businesses). A second type
of investment activity is using excess cash to acquire marketable securities
or other financial investments. Changes in any of these asset accounts are
included in the investment activity part of the cash flow analysis. As with the
operating assets, increases in these accounts are a cash outflow while
decreases represent a cash inflow. In this case, it is intuitive that when a busi-
ness purchases new equipment, for example, it uses cash; and when a fixed
asset account declines, the firm is selling the asset and generating cash. These
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58 THE BASICS OF BUSINESS FINANCE

changes must be calculated based on the gross value asset accounts before
any depreciation or amortization. The change in gross value represents the
actual cash transaction without the confusion of noncash deductions.
Calculate the cash flow impact from changes in each investment-related
account and then add these figures to the net cash flow from operations. The
resulting figure is net cash flow after investing activities. This figure is used
to determine the debt service coverage ratio, since it represents the firm’s
cash flow prior to its debt service payments and other financing activities.
The final step incorporates the impact of the firm’s financing transactions
(i.e., new borrowing and stock sales, the repayment of debt, interest pay-
ments, and dividend payments) on cash flow. For this analysis, include both
balance sheet and income statement items. From the balance sheet, calculate
changes in debt accounts and total proceeds from stock sales. Since debt is
divided into two accounts, current portion of long-term debt and long-term
debt, the change in the sum of these two accounts must be calculated to
determine the change in total debt. When this sum increases, there is a cash
inflow from additional borrowing. On the other hand, when the sum of the
current and long-term portions of debt declines, it represents a cash outflow
from the firm to pay-down of debt. Debt-related cash flow also includes
interest payments, which are obtained from the interest expense item on the
income statement. For equity financing, cash flow from stock issuance
equals the change in the total shareholders’ paid-in capital. Total paid-in
capital is the sum of stock par value and additional paid-in capital from the
shareholders’ equity section of the balance sheet. Note that retained earnings
are excluded since they were already counted within the firm’s net income.
If the change in retained earnings is added, it will double count this portion
of net income. An increase in total paid-in equity capital represents cash
inflow from additional stock sales. A decrease indicates the use of cash to
buy back stock. The final item included in cash flow from financing activi-
ties is the deduction of dividend payments itemized on the income statement.
For the final net cash flow calculation, sum the cash flow changes from all
the financing accounts and add them to net cash from after investing activ-
ity. This final figure, cash flow after financing activities, is the firm’s net cash
flow. To check the accuracy of the cash flow analysis, compare this net cash
flow figure to the change in the balance sheet cash account for the period.
The two figures should be identical.

Using Financial Statements __________________________

This chapter provided an introduction to the language, presentation, and
organization of business financial statements. With this knowledge, the
reader is prepared to develop skills in analyzing business financial statements
to inform economic development finance decisions. Although information in
financial statements can be used for a variety of purposes, the primary goal
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An Introduction to Business Financial Statements 59

of economic development practitioners is to evaluate the firm’s financial

health, its capacity to productively use new debt or equity, and the appropri-
ate structure for any new financing. The next chapter provides a framework
and financial tools to undertake this type of analysis.

__________________________________________ Endnotes
1. These 11 principles are money measurement, entity, going concern, cost, dual
aspect, conservatism, time period, realization, matching, consistency, and material-
ity. They are first introduced on page 26 and then further discussed in Chapters 2
and 3 of Anthony, Hawkins, and Merchant (1999), Accounting: Text and Cases.
2. Debit entries increase asset accounts and decrease liabilities and owners’ equity
while credit entries have the opposite effect—they increase a liability or owner’s
equity account while decreasing asset accounts.
3. Accountants distinguish between costs and expenses. Costs involve any use of
resources by a business whereas expenses are costs that are deducted from revenue
for a particular accounting period. Some costs, such as the purchase of equipment or
inventory, are not expenses but rather add to business assets. See, Anthony,
Hawkins, and Merchant, pp. 59–64, for a more detailed discussion of costs and
expenses.
4. These two interpretations are drawn from Anthony, Hawkins, and Merchant
(1999), pp. 32–35.
5. Different firms also use different names for the same category. For example,
“marketable securities” is sometimes listed as “investments” or as “certificates of
deposit.”
6. One exception is financial assets, such as marketable securities, for which a
market value is easily determined. These assets are listed at the lesser amount of their
cost or market value.
7. In terms of credits and debits, the reduction in the prepaid asset account is a
debit and the insurance expense is a credit.
8. This is the definition of a loss. Profit is when revenues exceed expenses.
9. This percentage was calculated by dividing the difference between total
revenue and total expenses before interest, depreciation, and taxes (1,975,000) by
total revenue (12,297,000).