A.MeasuringBusinessIncomea.explainwhyfinancialstatementsarepreparedattheendoftheregularaccountingperiod.MajorFinancialStatements:Thebalancesheet:providesa"snapshot"ofthefirm'sfinancialcondition.Theincomestatement:reportsonthe"performance"ofthefirm.Thestatementofcashflows:reportsthecashreceiptsandcashoutflowsclassifiedaccordingtooperating,investmentandfinancingactivities.Thestatementofstockholder'sequity:reportstheamountsandsourcesofchangesinequityfromtransactionswithowners.Thefootnotesofthefinancialstatements:allowusestoimproveassessmentoftheamount,timinganduncertaintyoftheestimatesreportedinthefinancialstatements.Themostaccuratewaytomeasuretheresultsofenterpriseactivitywouldbetomeasurethematthetimeoftheenterprise'seventualliquidation.Business,government,investors,andvariousotherusergroups,however,cannotwaitindefinitelyforsuchinformation.Ifaccountantsdidnotprovidefinancialinformationperiodically,someoneelsewould.Theperiodicityortimeperiodassumptionsimplyimpliesthattheeconomicactivitiesofanenterprisecanbedividedintoartificialtimeperiods.Thesetimeperiodsvary,butthemostcommonaremonthly,quarterly,andyearly.Theinformationmustbereliableandrelevant.Thisrequiresthatinformationmustbeconsistentandcomparableovertimeandalsobeprovidedonatimelybasis.Theshorterthetimeperiod,themoredifficultitbecomestodeterminethepropernetincomefortheperiod.Amonth'sresultsareusuallylessreliablethanaquarter'sresults,andaquarter'sresultsarelikelytobelessreliablethanayear'sresults.Investorsdesireanddemandthatinformationbequicklyprocessedanddisseminated;yetthequickertheinformationisreleased,themoreitissubjecttoerror.Thisphenomenonprovidesaninterestingexampleofthetrade-offbetweenrelevanceandreliabilityinpreparingfinancialdata.Inpractice,financialreportingisdoneattheendoftheaccountingperiod.Accountingperiodscanbeanylengthintime.Firmstypicallyusetheyearastheprimaryaccountingperiod.The12-monthaccountingperiodisreferredtoasthefiscalyear.Firmsalsoreportforperiodslessthanayear(e.g.quarterly)onaninterimbasis.Accountingperiodmustbeofequallength.Financialstatementsarepreparedattheendoftheregularaccountingperiodtoallowcomparisonacrosstime.b.explainwhytheaccountsmustbeadjustedattheendofeachperiod.Why?Mostexternaltransactionsarerecordedwhentheyoccur.Theemploymentofanaccrualsystemmeansthatnumerousadjustmentsarenecessarybeforefinancialstatementsarepreparedbecausecertainaccountsarenotaccuratelystated.Someexternaltransactionsmightnotevenseemliketransactionsandarerecognizedonlyattheendoftheaccountingperiod.Examplesincludeunrecordedrevenuesandcreditpurchase.Someeconomicactivitiesdonotoccurastheresultofexternaltransactions.Examplesincludedepreciationandtheexpirationofprepaidexpenses.Timing:Oftenatransactionaffectstherevenueorexpensesoftwoormoreaccountingperiods.Therelatedcashinfloworoutflowdoesnotalwayscoincidewiththeperiodinwhichtheserevenueorexpenseitemsarerecorded.Thus,theneedforadjustingentriesresultsfromtimingdifferencesbetweenthereceiptordisbursementofcashandtherecordingofrevenueorexpenses.Forexample,ifwehandletransactionsonacashbasis,onlycashtransactionsduringtheyeararerecorded.Consequently,ifacompany'semployeesarepaideverytwoweeksandtheendofanaccountingperiodoccursinthemiddleofthesetwoweeks,neitherliabilitynorexpensehasbeenrecordedforthelastweek.Tobringtheaccountsuptodateforthepreparationoffinancialstatements,boththew...
