Last update 07/01/2020
Primary users of general purpose financial reports – IAS 1 9 defines the purpose of financial statements as follows: ‘……The objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of an entity that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions. Financial statements also show the results of the management’s stewardship of the resources entrusted to it…..’
This wide range of users is narrowed in the conceptual Framework 2018 (1.2) to primary users of general purpose financial reports that are existing and potential investors, lenders and other creditors who use that information to make decisions about buying, selling or holding equity or debt instruments, providing or settling loans or other forms of credit, or exercising rights to vote on, or otherwise influence, management’s actions that affect the use of the entity’s economic resources. Primary users of general purpose financial reports
The primary users need information about the resources of the entity not only to assess an entity’s prospects for future net cash inflows but also how effectively and efficiently management has discharged their responsibilities to use the entity’s existing resources (i.e., stewardship). [1.3-1.4] Prim
ary users of general purpose financial reports
The IFRS Framework notes that general purpose financial reports cannot provide all the information that users may need to make economic decisions. They will need to consider pertinent information from other sources as well. [1.6] Primary users of general purpose financial reports
The IFRS Framework notes that other parties, including prudential and market regulators, may find general purpose financial reports useful. However, these are not considered a primary user and general purpose financial reports are not primarily directed to regulators or other parties. [1.10] Primary users of general purpose financial reports
Who Uses Financial Accounting Information?
The users of managerial accounting information are pretty easy to identify—basically, they’re a firm’s managers. We need to look a little more closely, however, at the users of financial accounting information, and we also need to know a little more about what they do with the information that accountants provide them. Primary users of general purpose financial reports
Owners and Managers
In summarizing the outcomes of a company’s financial activities over a specified period of time, financial statements are, in effect, report cards for owners and managers. They show, for example, whether the company did or didn’t make a profit and furnish other information about the firm’s financial condition. They also provide information that managers and owners can use in order to take corrective action. Primary users of general purpose financial reports
Investors and Creditors
If you loaned money to a friend to start a business, wouldn’t you want to know how the business was doing? Investors and creditors furnish the money that a company needs to operate, and not surprisingly, they feel the same way. Because they know that it’s impossible to make smart investment and loan decisions without accurate reports on an organization’s financial health, they study financial statements to assess a company’s performance and to make decisions about continued investment.
According to the world’s most successful investor (and third-richest individual), Warren Buffett, the best way to prepare yourself to be an investor is to learn all the accounting you can. Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a company that invests in other companies, turned an original investment of $10,000 into a net worth of $35 billion in four decades, and he did it, in large part, by paying close attention to financial accounting reports. John Price, “The Return of the Buffetteers,” Investor Journal, August 1998
Government Agencies
Businesses are required to furnish financial information to a number of government agencies. Publicly owned companies, for example—the ones whose shares are traded on a stock exchange—must provide annual financial reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a federal agency that regulates stock trades. Companies must also provide financial information to local, state, and federal taxing agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service.
Other Users
A number of other external users have an interest in a company’s financial statements. Suppliers, for example, need to know if the company to which they sell their goods is having trouble paying its bills or may even be at risk of going under. Employees and labor unions are interested because salaries and other forms of compensation are dependent on an employer’s performance.
See also: The IFRS Foundation
