UNITED STATES FINANCIAL REPORTING

A typical annual financial statement of a large U.S. company includes the following components:

1. Report of management
2. Report of independent auditors
3. Primary financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, statement of cash flows, statement of comprehensive income, and statement of changes in stockholders’ equity, etc.)
4. Management discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial condition
5. Disclosure of accounting policies with the most critical impact on financial statements
6. Notes to financial statements
7. Five- or ten-year comparison of selected financial data
8. Selected quarterly data

Consolidated financial statements are required, and published U.S. financial reports typically do not contain parent-company-only statements. Loan consolidation rules require that all managed subsidiaries (i.e., ownership in excess of 50 percent of the voting shares) end up being fully consolidated, including individuals with nonhomogeneous operations. Interim(quarterly) financial reports are required for companies listed on major stock exchanges. These reports typically include only abbreviated, unaudited financial statements along with aconcise management commentary.