Every UK business must file a yearly financial report to Companies House, from multinationals to corner stores.
Your reporting responsibilities as a small firm (with an annual sales of less than £10.2m and fewer than 50 workers) are less stringent than for big enterprises, but they are just as important.
Reporting on finances is more than simply a formality. It gives the business owner a chance to get useful, practical insights about your company.
What is financial reporting, and why is it crucial?
Your company’s financial reporting records all of its operations, including money coming in and going out, obligations owing, and assets possessed. Financial reports provide insight into your company’s financial situation in addition to helping you avoid fines by submitting your accounts on time.
Financial statement Types
The balance sheet, cash flow statement, and profit and loss statement are the three primary financial statements that must be included in your yearly reporting.
Balance sheet
A balance sheet is a snapshot of your company’s finances at a certain period. It lists your assets (real estate, machinery, and stock), liabilities (overdraft, loans, and debts), and equity held by shareholders.
A balance sheet is useful because it accurately depicts your company’s financial situation for you, stakeholders, and even prospective investors. You may determine a variety of things, from whether you have enough money to take care of immediate responsibilities to if you would need to sell certain assets from this.
Cashflow statement
A cash flow statement displays the inflow and outflow of funds for your company over a predetermined time frame. In other words, it demonstrates where the money originates and how it is used.
Because it’s a terrific method to keep track of your working capital, a cash flow statement is a crucial component of the overall picture. Three primary actions are covered:
- Operational operations include daily takings (such as sales and dividends) and daily outlays (such as wages, taxes, and supplier payments).
- Investing operations include buying and selling assets, taking out company loans, and earning interest.
- Obtaining and returning loans, issuing shares, and paying dividends are all examples of financing activity.
A cash flow statement, which displays your company’s daily transactions rather than the overall picture for a certain time, provides a more thorough understanding of your short-term financial activity than a profit and loss statement.
Profit and loss statement
The revenue and spending of your organization over a longer time are captured in the profit and loss (P&L) – or income – statement.
Simply deduct your incomings from your outgoings to determine if you earned a profit or loss. You’ve turned a profit if that number is positive. If it’s bad, you’ve lost money.
In contrast to a balance sheet, which we previously defined as a snapshot of financial health at a certain point, the P&L enables you to track it over time.
Financial reporting benefits
Even though it may seem like a hassle, being meticulous in your financial reporting obligations is a very beneficial exercise in controlling your company’s health and may help you become a better business owner. The main advantages of financial reporting include:
Better debt management
Many company owners ignore warning indications of crisis until it is too late. If you carefully review your balance sheet, you may see that your obligations are more than your assets, which indicates that you’re likely to default on a debt. You may then take immediate action to address any problems.
Live monitoring
You can monitor and spot dangers like abrupt changes in cash flow if you consistently record financial data. For instance, you can see a backlog of unpaid bills that might make it difficult to fulfill your impending commitments.
Trend identification
Your P&L statements may be analyzed to reveal patterns in profitability over time. For example, you can see unanticipated seasonal changes in loss or profitability, which you can then evaluate and take note of.
Better cash flow management
You may learn much about your company’s operations from the cash flow statement. For instance, if you realize that your income is regularly more than your expenses, you’ll be in a solid position to do anything from raising dividends to investing or growing.
Keeping up with your reporting
Financial reporting is both necessary and a chance to learn priceless information about your company’s health. These revelations may be utilized to plan, improve choices, and even avert catastrophe.
The ideal method for financial reporting is to develop excellent habits by keeping accurate records throughout the year. An accounting software partner like Sage may assist with this. Its dashboards and reporting features let you maintain precise digital records and receive a real-time view of company performance. F
