1.1 Review – Accounting Time Periods

Financial statements are prepared at regular intervals — usually monthly or quarterly — and at the end of each 12-month period. This 12-month period is called the fiscal year. The timing of the financial statements is determined by the needs of management and other users of the financial statements. For instance, financial statements may also be required by outside parties, such as bankers and shareholders. However, accounting information must possess the qualitative characteristic of timeliness — it must be available to decision makers in time to be useful — which is typically a minimum of once every 12 months.

Accounting reports, called the annual financial statements, are prepared at the end of each 12-month period, which is known as the year-end of the entity. Some companies’ year-ends do not follow the calendar year (year ending December 31). This may be done so that the fiscal year coincides with their natural year. A natural year ends when business operations are at a low point. For example, a ski resort may have a fiscal year ending in late spring or early summer when business operations have ceased for the season.

In order to ensure proper financial statements are prepared, a company usually prepares adjusting journal entries. We will review and explore adjusting journal entries in detail later in this chapter. However, it is important to understand the steps needed to prepare the financial statements.

Corporations listed on stock exchanges are generally required to prepare interim financial statements, usually every three months, primarily for the use of shareholders or creditors. Because these types of corporations are large and usually have many owners, users require more up-to-date financial information.