Critical Concepts to Understand Financial Statements in a For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Organization (Completed)

Balance Sheet and Statement of Activities, Income Statement, and Statement of Cash Flows – The King!
Accountants and finance personnel are schooled in the basics of the concept of financial statements during their educational years. The focus is often on the calculations, format and purposes of the statements. Once professionals enter the working world, they find that the financial statements are truly an integral tool for managing and monitoring the financial health of an organization.

Financial statement varies in context and format in a for-profit entity vs. a not-for-profit entity. This course is focused on discussing the concepts of the primary financial statements utilized in both entities. For-Profit : Balance sheet, income statement, cash flow; Not-for-Profit: Statement of activities, statement of operations and cash flow.

Many professionals feel uncomfortable with trying to read and interpret the financial statements. In reality, if you can read a nutrition label you can learn to read the financial statements. Rather than focus on the computations and tactics of each of the statements, we will cover the important concepts of how the statements interact and relate to each other providing management with the critical information needed to manage financial stability of their organization. It is important professionals recognize that no one statement tells the complete story, but combined they provide a powerful tool for management.

Topics Covered

• Balance Sheet and Statement of Activities
• Income Statement
• Statement of Cash Flows

Learning Objectives

• Describe the variance between the for-profit balance sheet and the not-for-profit statement of activities including components of assets, liabilities and equity and net assets
• Identify what "Balancing" the balance sheet means
• Recognize and apply the relationship of the balance sheet and statement of activities to income statement and statement of operations
• Identify what comprises revenue in a for-profit vs. a not-for-profit
• Differentiate and apply varying types of income statements and statement of operations
• Identify expenditures for each entity
• Recognize net Income/loss and flow through to balance sheet or statement of activities
• Explore why the cash flow statement is King
• Discover what the cash flow statement tells the company
• Recognize how the cash flow statement links to the balance sheet and income statements

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Group: Internet-based

NASBA Field of Study
Accounting (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None