Unit 3 The Users of Financial Information

3.1 The Need for Financial Statements

There are various groups of people who need information about the activities of a business. Why do businesses need to produce financial statements? If a business is being run efficiently, why should it have to go through all the bother of accounting procedures in order to produce financial informa-tion？

The International Accounting Standards Board states in its document Framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements（which we will examine in detail later in this Study Text）：

International Accounting

Standards Board國際會(huì)計(jì)準(zhǔn)則理事會(huì)

‘The objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, performance and changes in financial position of an entity that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions.’

財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)表的目標(biāo)：提供與企業(yè)財(cái)務(wù)狀況、經(jīng)營業(yè)績(jī)和財(cái)務(wù)狀況變動(dòng)等相關(guān)的信息，有助于報(bào)表使用者做出經(jīng)濟(jì)決策。

In other words, a business should produce information about its activities because there are various groups of people who want or need to know that information. This sounds rather vague, so to make it clearer, we will study the classes of people who need information about a business. We need also to think about what information in particular is of interest to the members of each class.

3.2 Users of Financial Statements and Accounting Information

The following people are likely to be interested in financial information about a large company with listed shares.

·Managers of the company are appointed by the company's owners to supervise the day-to-day activities of the company. They need information about the company's financial situation as it is currently and as it is expected to be in the future. This is to enable them to manage the business efficiently and to make effective decisions.

企業(yè)的管理人員

· Shareholders of the company（i. e., the company' owners）want to assess how well the management is performing. They want to know how profitable the company's operations are and how much profit they can afford to withdraw from the business for their own use.

股東

·Trade contacts include suppliers who provide goods to the company on credit and customers who purchase the goods or services provided by the company. Suppliers want to know about the company's ability to pay its debts; customers need to know that the company is a secure source of supply and is in no danger of having to close down.

供應(yīng)商、顧客

·Investors and creditors provide the money a business need to get started. When a company opened its first store, the company had no track record. To decide whether to help start a new venture, potential investors evaluate what income they can expect on their investment. This means analysing the financial statements of the business. Before deciding to invest in a company, for example, you may examine the company's financial statements. Before making a loan to the company, banks evaluate the company's ability to meet scheduled payment.

投資人、債權(quán)人

· The taxation authorities want to know about business profits in order to assess the tax payable of the company, including sales taxes.

稅務(wù)部門

·Employees of the company should have a right to information about the company's financial situation, because their future careers and the size of their wages and salaries depend on it.

企業(yè)職工

·Financial analysts and advisers need information for their clients or audience. For example, stockbrokers need information to advise investors; credit agencies want information to advise potential suppliers of goods to the company; journalists need information for their reading public.

財(cái)務(wù)分析師、財(cái)務(wù)顧問

·Government and their agencies are interested in the allocation of resources and the activities of business entities. They also require information in order to provide a basis for national statistics.

政府機(jī)關(guān)

·The public. Entities affect members of the public in a variety of ways. For example, they may make a substantial contribution to a local economy by providing employment and using local suppliers.

社會(huì)公眾

·Other users. For example, labour unions demand wages that come from the employer's reported income. Another important factor is the effect of an entity on the environment, for example as regards pollution.

其他報(bào)表使用者

Accounting information is summarised in financial statements to satisfy the information needs of these different groups. Not all will be equally satisfied.