E. INTERPRET FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS Flashcards
Stakeholders.
Stakeholders. Anyone with an interest in a business; they can either affect or be affected by the business.
Stakeholder interests in Financial statements:
Management.
Management. They may be set performance targets and use the financial statements to compare company performance to the targets se, often with a view to achieving bonuses. Also, may use them to aid them in important strategic decisions.
Stakeholder interests in Financial statements:
Employees.
Employees. They are concerned with job stability and may use corporate reports to better understand the future prospects of their employer. They also want to feel proud of the company that they work for and positive financial statements can indicate a job well done.
Stakeholder interests in Financial statements: Lenders and suppliers.
Lenders and suppliers. They are concerned with the credit worthiness of an entity and the likelihood that they will be repaid amounts owing. Also, interested in the future direction of a business to help them plan whether it is likely that they will continue to be a business partner of the entity going forward.
Stakeholder interests in Financial statements: Customers.
Customers. They may want to know that products and services provided by an entity are consistent with their ethical and moral expectations. They typically want to feel that they are getting good value for money in the products and services they buy.
Stakeholder interests in Financial statements: Government.
Government. Often uses financial statements to ensure that the company is paying a reasonable amount of tax relative to the profit it earns. Also, to collect information and statistics on different industries to help inform policy making.
Stakeholder interests in Financial statements: Local community.
Local community. May want to know about local employment opportunities. Also, may be interested in the company’s social and environmental credentials.
Stakeholder interests in Financial statements: Present and potential investors.
Present and potential investors. Existing investors will assess whether their investment is sound and generates acceptable returns. Potential investors will use the financial statements to help them decide whether or not to buy shares in a company. They will want to understand more about the types of products the company is involved in and the way in which the company does business, which will help them make ethical investment decisions.
Performance measures.
Performance measures. Traditional financial performance measures preferred by shareholders remain important, but there is an increasing focus on alternative performance measures, such as Economic Value Added and non-financial measures such as employee’s well-being and the environmental impact that entity has.
Financial indicators of performance
Financial indicators of performance are useful for comparing the results of an entity to:
Prior year(s) Other companies operating in the same industry Industry averages Benchmarks Budgets or forecasts
Ratio analysis process (for exam).
Ratio analysis process (for exam).
If comparing two years, state whether the ration has improved or deteriorated. If comparing two companies, state which company’s ratio is better.
State why the ratio has increased/decreased or is better/worse – avoid generic reasons; use reasons in the scenario.
Conclude – explain the longer-term impact on the company and make a recommendation for action where appropriate.
Profitability.
Return of capital employed (ROCE). Return on equity (ROE). Gross profit margin. Operating profit margin. Net profit margin.
Return of capital employed (ROCE).
Return of capital employed (ROCE). Measures how efficiently a company uses its capital to generate profits. A potential investor or lender should compare the return to a target return or a return on other investments/loans.
ROCE= (Profit before interest and tax)/(Capital employed)=(Profit before interest and tax)/(Total assets less current liabilities)
Return on equity (ROE).
Return on equity (ROE). While ROCE looks at the overall return on the long-term sources of finance, ROE focuses on the return for the ordinary shareholders.
ROE= (Profit after tax and preference dividends)/(Ordinary share capital+reserves)%
Gross profit margin.
Gross profit margin. Measures how well a company is running its core operations.
Gross profit margin= (Gross profit)/Revenue x100
Operating profit margin.
Operating profit margin. PBIT is used to remove distortion between differently financed companies (loans vs shares). How well company is controlling its non-production overheads.
Operating profit margin= PBIT/Revenue x100
Net profit margin.
Net profit margin. Extra consideration interest and tax.
Net profit margin= (Profit for year)/Revenue x100
Efficiency.
Asset turnover.
Total asset turnover.
Non-current asset turnover.
Asset turnover.
Asset turnover. Shows how much revenue is produced per unit of capital invested. Therefore, how efficiently the entity is using its capital to generate revenue.
Asset turnover= Revenue/(Capital Employed)= Revenue/(Total assets less current liabilities)
Total asset turnover.
Total asset turnover. Is an indication of how efficiently the entity is using its assets to generate revenue.
Total asset turnover= Revenue/(Total assets)
Non-current asset turnover.
Non-current asset turnover. Examines the productivity of non-current assets in generating sales (suitable for a capital-intensive entity.
Non-current asset turnover= Revenue/(Non-current assets)
Reasons for changes in profitability and efficiency ratios.
ROCE and asset turnover ratios.
ROCE and asset turnover ratios.
Type of industry (manufacturing typically have higher assets and lower ROCE/asset turnover than services)
Age of assets (old asset=low carrying amount=low capital employed and high ROCE/asset turnover)
Leased versus owned assets
Revaluations (increased capital employed=lower ROCE/asset turnover, increased depreciation=lower ROCE)
Timing of purchase (at year end=increased capital employed but no time to affect PBIT/revenue)
Reasons for changes in profitability and efficiency ratios.
Gross profit margin
Gross profit margin
Changes in sales price, sales mix,
Changes in purchase price and/or production costs
Inventory obsolescence (written off through COS)
Reasons for changes in profitability and efficiency ratios.
Operating profit margin
Operating profit margin One-off non-recurring expenses Rapid expansion Relocation Efficiency savings (economies of scale)