Wal-Mart Financial Analysis Report Michael Thomas ACC205: Principles of Accounting Instructor: Mark Stricklett November 10, 2014 Wal-Mart Financial Analysis Report In accounting there is much to be learned, about the financial aspects of a business. In the past five weeks I have learned the importance of financial reports and how they relate to the success of an establishment. These reports may include balance sheets and income statements, which help accountants and the public grasp the overall financial condition of a company. The information in these reports is really significant to, managers, owners, employees, and investors. Managers of a business can take and deduce financial …show more content…
This type of report can be very beneficial in the management of a company. Balance sheets can best be reviewed by removing historical data via a Horizontal analysis. Assets, liabilities and owners’ equity can all be scrutinized and compared to determine if any damaging or constructive trends are apparent. Wal-marts marketing strategy is to boast about having the cheapest prices out of their competitor’s and guarantees this, by implementing a price matching policy. Apparently, this has worked out for the best interest of the corporation, and their income statements can prove it. Wal-Mart’s income statement for the past three years reflects a positive growth pattern for every entry of the Income Statement. The Income tax-Current Domestic record is the only entry on this income statement that produces a stabile number. The indication for the income tax number to show a declining trend is probably that the Wal-mart accountants have located many tax loop holes to reduce the actual company income tax load owed. I would now like to examine Wal-marts financial data. Wal-Mart’s revenue improved over these three years by $39,736 million which is a gross increase of 9.1%. Additionally the Cost of Sales climbed from
Financial statements (also known as pro-forma statements) have a forecast balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows. Financial statements are used to summarize the different events projected for the future. They are very important in the planning process. The balance sheet is what this research is concerned about. Financial statements are evaluated for performance, for example organizations with multiple divisions compare the performance of the divisions using financial statements. Secondly they help plan for the future.
Visit the websites for the Institute of Internal Auditor and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners:
Understanding the finances of a company is important but knowing the significance of the financial statements is crucial to the operations as well. Reviewing the statement of financial position, operating statement and statement of cash flows serve as a guidance to management and executives on the day-to-day activities of an organization (Finkler et al., 2013). For example, the statement of financial position (balance sheet) shows the assets and
1. Payroll accounting. Assume that the following tax rates and payroll information pertain to Brookhaven Publishing:
Among the tools required for every business to survive and thrive, the ability to maintain a regular self-examination holds an indispensable place. The size of the business in question is almost of no consequence, only the potential complexity of the self-examination changes. A prime tool for such self-examinations is the family of related financial reporting that has become nearly universal in western businesses: the income statement, the balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows. This trio of reports enables management and owners to carefully examine the holdings and liabilities of their business so they may make
While inaccurate accounting can cause misleading information about the company, every successful company should develop an income statement and balance sheet when monitoring financial growth. Also, formulating a horizontal and ratio analysis creates an accurate trend of the company spending behavior and debt-to-ratio venerability. A balance sheet can be considered as the bloodline of the company, allowing a quick view of financial fluency which could be attractive to outside investors. Last but not least, the income statement presents a hard result of gains, liabilities, revenues and debt within a yearly
In this paper I will identify the four basic financial statements, discuss how they are interrelated with each other, and why they are useful to managers, investors, creditors, and employees.
An organizational leader, one with familiarity of financial statements and their impact on the business as a whole, has an opportunity to play a vital role in his or her position. The purpose of this paper is to collect, sort, and report on the financial data of publicly traded company. This is much like that which is performed by a Certified Public Accountant. In the case of this exercise, the information is presented from the perspective of a student and future business leader. A summary of both the company’s business and financial health is also included in this paper. Without further ado, let’s delve in to the company chosen for this assignment.
Therefor, it can be effortlessly examined that the overall revenues of the organization has developed over the years progressively. This has also obstructed the net income of the Wal-Mart and therefor, augmentations could also be seen in the net income of the corporation. Net Income, which remained in the year ending 2008 at $12.7 billion, increased to $13.4 billion for the year ending 2009 and again intensified to $14.3 billion in the year ending 2010 (Wal-Mart Stores Inc.: Financial Statement, 2010).
Accountants, business owners, investors, creditors and employees use four basic financial statements of an organization to determine the financial well-being and future earnings potential of that organization. Financial statements are a key tool in seeing and understanding the past, present and future condition of an organization. What are these financial statements and what do they mean to the reader? Do the financial statements mean something completely different to an investor, creditor, and employee?
Financial accounting reports, to include balance sheets and income statements provide accountants and the general public a snap shot of a company’s overall financial condition and possibly their future financial position. This financial information is very important to business owners, executive managers, private investors and employees. The information contained in a company’s financial report has several important uses. Managers and senior leaders of a business can take extrapolated financial data from the income statement which details monthly earnings as well as the company’s liabilities and equity position. This information can then be used to analyze and forecast future annual budgets. Additionally information obtained in these multiple types of reports can also be used to proactively predict trends that may have a negative financial impact on company’s future operations. On another note a company’s financial reports are used by lending institutions to determine their ability to receive and repay loans used to finance business operations.
Wal-Mart’s mission to ‘save people money so they can live better’ has impacted more than 176 million consumers in thirteen countries. A global company, Wal-Mart has positioned itself as the unbeatable price leader in offering a variety of affordable products that range from health and beauty, to apparel and jewelry to electronics and food items. While expansion,
The objective of this report is to link the principles of financial accounting with the actual performances of companies by using their financial statements & other published information about their activities.
Balance sheets provides the snapshot of the overall financial position of an organization at a specific time especially the end of an accounting period (Haydon, & Wicks, 1966). It shows the assets owned, liabilities and the shareholder’s equity. The balance sheet details can vary greatly based on the business size and complexity, however in general the balance sheet adheres to the following principle: The left side of the balance sheet must always equal to the right side (Orens, & Lybaert, 2010).
Accounting as a profession or discipline, has always been seen as an information-generating one, which fittingly makes the job of the Accountant to be that of observing economic activities, recording the observations in the prescribed books, analysing the recordings, interpreting his analysis and preparing reports to all users of Accounting Information. The prepared reports are generally referred to as financial statements, which clearly outline or identify the areas of strengths and weaknesses of a business organisation. Various interest groups use the generated Accounting Information in the financial statements as input or guide towards the making of effective decisions