quarterly report

Quarterly reports are like annual reports. They give financial information about your business that helps investors make decisions and create a profit for your business, which helps you to make more money. They are an excellent way to get a sense of how your business is doing and help you to gauge the health of your company and make strategic decisions going forward.

Table of Contents

Quarterly Report

A quarterly report is a compilation of unaudited financial statements issued by companies every quarter (three months). Gross revenue, net profit, operational expenses, and cash flows are all included in a company’s quarterly report. Quarterly reports are financial statements that public companies must provide to shareholders and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) four times a year. These reports detail a company’s performance over the past three months and give investors insight into its current financial health and future prospects.

While quarterly reporting may seem like a tedious exercise, it is actually a critical part of the capital markets system. By regularly disclosing detailed information about their finances and operations, publicly traded companies allow investors to make informed decisions about whether or not to buy or sell their stock.

What to Include in Quarterly Report?

The following important sections should be included in every quarterly report.

Cover page

The purpose of this page is to provide a brief overview of the report. There are usually three elements in this table: the title of the report, the date of publication, and the author.

cover page of quarterly report

Table of content

It shows the contents of each chapter and the pages on which they are located.

table of content

Summary

The purpose of this section is to give the reader an overview of what is included in the report.

summary of quarterly report

Main content

All findings, metrics, and recommendations are discussed on these pages. It includes the main financial statements i.e income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.

main content 1 of quarterly report
main content 3 of quarterly report
main content 2 of quarterly report

Closing notes

This section is dedicated to closing remarks.

closing notes

Advantages of Quarterly report

  • Quarterly reports help keep corporate managers honest and accountable. Because shareholders can see how well or poorly a company is doing on a regular basis, they can hold management accountable for poor performance. This in turn incentivizes managers to run their businesses in an efficient and profitable manner.
  • The financial markets operate more efficiently when comprehensive financial statements are prepared. Prospective investors can make informed decisions about investing in such businesses based on such reports.
  •  Investors may be more likely to invest in a business if its reports shows continued growth and high profit and revenue. Potential stakeholders may also be able to view businesses’ quarterly reports online when researching investment opportunities.
  • Quarterly reports can be used to set goals and measure performance routinely. Due to the fact that most companies produce four quarterly reports per year, tracking their financial performance and goals may be easier. 
  • By providing stakeholders with a quarterly report, a company may gain their trust, which may lead to further engagement between investors and the company.

Disadvantages of Quarterly Report

  • Quarterly reports are unaudited reports. In the absence of an audit, these statements may be difficult to understand for people.
  • Any activity mentioned in the quarterly reports but absent in the annual reports can impact the business’s growth prospects.
  • It takes extensive time and skills to create quarterly reports. Financial professionals may take longer to combine income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets if a company has several branches. 
  •  A quarterly report may not be effective for businesses with consistent sales due to the fact that they typically reflect growth and areas for improvement.
  • These reports are generally not standardized as compared with the annual reports.

Conclusion

In order to plan for the future, companies should consider quarterly financial statements to be an effective tool. There are some companies that make the mistake of not considering such reports to be important. It can lead to some serious legal issues in some cases. Quarterly reports are a way to expose your business to the outside world. Not only do they help you to attract new customers, but they keep your existing customers interested too. 

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