Why are the dates on a financial statement important?
Because you can’t do financial statements that are relevant without dates or a period of time. An income statement shows the income or loss of an entity over a period of time. It has to be, for example from January 1st to December 31st of a given year. It can’t just be whenever. A balance sheet, showing a company’s assets, liabilities, and equity, must be as of a certain date. The values of those assets, for example must be as of the close of business on a specific day. Generally, using the prior example the balance sheet would be as of the last reporting date of the reporting period for the income statement, or December 31st of that example year. If you are asking this question in the first place, then you probably don’t have a decent accountant. Call our offices today.
