An Introduction To Financial Statements

Financial statements are among the most important sections of a company’s annual report. For a novice investor, reading and understanding a company’s financial statements is quite intimidating at first sight. However, to study and make good investing decisions, it is necessary to understand them.

Profit & Loss account: The profit and loss account (P&L) shows a company’s performance over a specific time frame, usually a financial year or a period of 12 months. In India, most companies follow a April to March financial year . The P&L account is also known as the income statement. It presents information relating to a company’s revenues, manufacturing costs, sales and general expenses, interest and depreciation charges, tax costs, other income, net profits, and dividends.

For a typical P&L statement refer to the  image below:

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