How to make a financial report?

Within any company, it is extremely necessary that there is accurate and detailed information about what happens within it, in order to show society, in its various areas or sectors How are the operations and processes, as well as everything relevant that can be used to make decisions around this, is information that helps internally since based on this, shareholders will have a broad view of their current capital, as well as the performance that is being obtained, and based on this make informed decisions regarding the future of the company.

A financial report is a compilation of information in which an analyst, through the use of comments, explanations, suggestions, drawings, graphs, etc., makes accessible to his clients, the concepts and amounts contained in the financial statements that were the object of his previous study. The content of this report is made up of a notebook or notebook, which in turn is made up of two covers and an indefinite series of sheets where it exposes the aforementioned structured in different ways to teach specific and necessary information.

Companies cannot proclaim themselves as independent bodies; only the analysis of internal financial data is sufficient to forge adequate and timely interventions on the financial situation and profitability of a business, this analysis can be complemented with specific information regarding the conditions that are maintained within the company, as well as the analysis of the conditions that prevail outside the business, and on which the company it has no jurisdiction.

Preparation of the financial report to the business management

The report from the material organizational point of view can adopt the following parts

Report cover

The front outer part of the covers is intended for:

• Company
• Denomination, in the case of a work on the interpretation of financial statements or the corresponding topic in it.
• The date or period to which the financial statements correspond.

Background in the report

This part of the report is where the analysis and research work is based, and is generally intended for the following:

• Details and scope of the work done.
• Brief history of the company, from its inception to the date of the most recent report.
• Brief description of the commercial, financial and legal characteristics of the company.
• Objectives that the elaborated work seeks.
• Signature of those responsible for creating the report.

Financial statements

In this section of the report, all the financial statements that the company has in the previously established period are presented, generally in a synthetic and comparative way, ensuring that the terminology is totally clear, legible and accessible to those who will have the right to the information presented.

Charts in a financial report

Generally, financial reports usually contain a diverse series of graphs that further facilitate the accessibility of the concepts and the amounts shown in the content of the financial statements, it is up to the analyst to decide the necessary number of graphs and the form of these.

Comments, suggestions and conclusions

It is here where the report ends and where the various comments that it could reach are grouped in an orderly, concise and accessible manner. formulate the analyst responsible for the report; Likewise, the suggestions and conclusions are self-conscious and with knowledge of the facts, this is where any problem or detail presented during the preparation of the report is specified, as well as the final result of this in comparison with previous reports.

Types of financial reports

Internal Report

All the Public Limited Companies with Variable Capital, under the responsibility of those who manage it, they must present to the annual, quarterly or monthly shareholders' meeting, a financial report that includes at least in the:

• A report from the administrators on the progress of the company in the year, as well as the policies followed by administrators and, failing that, on the main existing projects. A report detailing and explaining the main accounting policies and criteria taken into account, complementing the financial information.
• An income statement that shows, with its proper classification and expression, the results of the company.

The internal report It is carried out for administrative purposes and the administrator of the company clearly has direct contact with the important files, has access to the accounting books and in general all the sources of financial information that the business has, are at their free disposal.

The results of your work are more complete because the internal analyst is well informed of movements and peculiarities that the business can present.

External Report

The external analysis, for its part, it differs because it is carried out outside the company, either by an investment advisor, a credit analyst, or anyone who is interested in learning more about how fruitful a company is being. For external purposes and for the public to have knowledge of the truthful information within the fifteen days following the approval of the information by the owners of the company.

In the external report, the analyzer often does not have contact with the company and the only solid information available is that which said company considers pertinent to provide to the auditor. For a proper analysis of Financial Statements it takes considerable time, as well as money and effort.

For a Correct report must make an adequate presentation, in such a way that it captures the reader's attention, therefore, the report must have the following characteristics:

Full report

Presentation of both favorable and unfavorable information.

Logically developed report

The analysis must be divided into stages, marked in an index at the beginning of the document, each one reflecting the development of the following topics in a logical and natural way, the problem and the basis of the solution come first, clearly the conclusions at the end.

The report must be clear and price

The facts must be established very clearly, with their pertinent conclusions and timely and fair recommendations, the solutions must be varied depending on the problem.

Report must be concrete

It refers to the fact that it must not contain material foreign to the problem, and that it must refer to specific cases of the company. Care should be taken to avoid abstractions and generalizations.

Report must be timely

The essential usefulness of a report depends highly on how recent the data obtained is, the information must always be timely, since an untimely report causes a false situation and great problems within the company due to deception and alterations.

It depends on the purpose of the report, the characteristics of this may vary, then some of the most popular.

Extracts for executive purposes

This type of report is made in order to answer the main questions of any executive interested in the company, among the people who may be interested are:

• Shareholders have a very particular interest in constantly evaluating the performance of management. In turn, they are interested in knowing the results during their management, paying special attention to accounting information. Shareholders will have to decide whether to sell their shares or to buy more.
• The Investor advisers will analyze financial information obtained to provide better service to its customers.
• The credit analysts will study the accounting information of the applicants in the report to select those who will be granted credit.
• La Secretary of the Treasury will constantly compare the profits obtained, as detailed in the financial statement, with the global income that is presented in the tax return.
• Unions will review accounting information, emphasizing that the distribution of profits to workers is based on the global income of the tax declaration.
• La Stock Market constantly requires that all corporations whose shares are listed on the Stock Market present truthful information. periodically.

Detailed report for specific purposes

This type of reports are prepared for a specific project or purpose, such as a project acquisition of machinery, capital investment, issuance of shares, capital increases, obtaining financing, among others. For this reason this report must contain:

• A clear vision of the profits to the established period.
• A suggested plan for maintaining a balance between the factors of profit, that is, sales volume, gross margin, and operating expenses.
• Obtain higher profitability than the company currently has, through its Employees, Inventories, Clients and Capital from loans and other sources.
• Profit optimization.

Financial statements based on parameters

Are those income statements where specific parameters are taken into consideration, the most frequently used analysis methods are the following:

• Standard reasons
• Comparative states
• Simple reasons
• Percentages
• Funds and cash flows
• Trend

Conclusion

Financial reports are made according to the people who will use itThese can be internal or external. The internal will be for the owners and members of the company from the highest to the lowest level where they can use it for the better and increase profits and production.

It will then be the one directed to the administration of the company, its main objective being to evaluate the operations of the company, detecting the weak and strong points of it, as well as, based on this, establish corrective measures to those points that affect the operations .
The external character, will be the one required third-party companies such as the Government, potential investors, credit analysts and in short for the general public, which can be used for various purposes to better understand the profits of a company.

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