Financial Reporting Problem Essay

Abstract In this paper we will discuss Walmart’s Balance sheet and Income Statement. We will analyze the company’s total assets at the end of the most recent annual reporting year and to why it is important. We then will talk about the company’s total assets, how much cash and cash equivalents did the company have, as well as, the amount of accounts payable at the most recent year, and from the previous year. What the company’s net revenues are from the last three annual reporting periods, the change in dollars in the company’s net income from the most recent annual reporting period to the previous annual reporting period. We will talk about the company’s total assets at the end of the most recent year and the previous year from the annual reporting period. Lastly, we will discuss as to what information that has been obtained within this paper that would be important to a potential investor, employee and so forth. Financial Reporting Problem, Part 1 Total Assets The total assets for Wal-Mart as of January 31, 2013 were $203,105,000. The reason this is important for a company or business to know, is so the business can have a better understanding of how much the company is worth. Knowing how much a company is worth is beneficial because the assets can be used as collateral for a loan. Also knowing the assets and comparing total assets to previous years can show if a company is growing and expanding or shrinking. For Wal-Mart, the comparison from the previous year shows that the total assets increased. As of January 31, 2012 the company showed total assets of $193,406,000. With the comparison from January 31, 2012 to the current figure from January 31, 2013 Wal-Mart grew and/or expanded in total assets by 9,699,000. Cash and Cash Equivalent The total cash and cash equivalent for the end of the year for Wal-Mart as of January 31, 2013 is 7,781,000. Knowing the total cash and cash equivalent will help the company to know how much the company has to spend. No organization has the intention of spending more money then what the company has available. If a company has very low cash or cash equivalent then the company will need to consider if a loan is needed. In consideration for a loan total expenses needs to be considered. If a company like Wal-Mart has enough cash to pay all expenses then a loan isn’t needed, but if the expense exceeds the cash then a loan is needed. Also another factor to consider on getting a loan is if the money coming into the company will be enough to pay the loan back. Accounts Payable The accounts payable for the end of the most recent annual reporting period that ended January 31, 2013 is 1,061,000. Knowing the accounts payable helps a company to know one of the companies expenses. This is important because if the companies accounts payable are higher than the money coming in, that could be a problem for the business. Comparing to previous years accounts payable can show many different problems or benefits for the business. Net Revenues Walmart Inc. net revenues from the last three annual reporting periods are as follows; On January 31st, 2011 in the amount of $421,849,000. On January 31st, 2012 the net revenues were; $446,950,000 and on January 31st, 2013 it totaled to the amount of $469,162,000. From looking at the reports Walmart Inc. has had an increased from 2011 to 2012 in the amount of $25,101,000 and from 2012 to 2013 has increased to $22,212,000. Net Revenue helps account for certain price reductions, adjustments and refunds. This is necessary to get the general measure of the real top line rather than the bottom line. Net Income Looking at Walmart’s income statement from the net income of 2013 on January 31st it totaled in $16,999,000. The change from 2012 and 2013 is a increase in $1,300,000. The net income from 2012 is $15,699,000. From looking at the statement and seeing that there is a loss due to nonredeemable and redeemable non-controlling interest the company has lost net income by 16,998,000 within 2013 but in 2012 only had a 609,000 difference, and in 2011 had a 1,289,000 difference from 2013. When it comes to Net Income it is closely followed and play a huge role in ratio analysis. Shareholders take a close look at the net income due to their compensation of the company. If a business is not generating enough profit, the values of shares fall. It is important to know that net income does not measure to how much cash a company has earned during a given period. Change in Dollars of Net Income The change in dollars of Walmart’s net income from 2013 is 16,999,000 and from 2012 it is only a million dollar difference of 15,999,000. Total Assets in Recent Year from Annual Reporting Wal-Mart has reported its accounting period for fiscal year 2013; accounting period ends on January 31st of each year. Wal-Mart’s current total of assets as of fiscal year 2013 is $203,105,000.00. Wal-Mart continues to grow in consecutive years with an average increase in assets of $10,000,000 dollars a year for the past five years. The earnings per share have increased 10.6 percent increasing their shares to $5.02. The company has made earnings in addition of $22 billion make it a $ 466 billion dollar corporation. It is with no doubt that the success of the corporation continues on the rise. The corporation owns 4,000 locations in the United States alone adding $10 billion alone in net sales. Further from generating income and investing in growth and assets Wal-Mart has always researched and invested in ways to reduce expenses and operating costs. Strategies such as training front line and middle managers in operating cost reductions and implementing sales and inventory syste ms have greatly reduced operating costs in the current successful years. Total Assets from Previous Annual Report In fiscal year 2012, Wal-Mart had a total of earning of $15.8 billion  with a closing total of net sales of $443.9 billion. Since 1992 Wal-Mart has made and increased a total net worth of sales of $400 billion dollars. The corporation strategy for 2012 was to continue to invest in growth and re-enforce in what separates them from their competitors, their low incomparable low merchandise prices. A very unique idea that required greater investments and growth was that of creating a merchandise corporation to the public that provided a one stop be all shopping store. The corporation concentrated in providing its customers a broad assortment of merchandise which provided customers in a sense a time saving tool in a high tempo life style generation. Wal-Mart’s obvious and epic success of how effective and efficient their corporation strategies are. In addition Wal-Mart continues to re-invest in its online market and expanding its online strategy. Important Information Wal-Mart received a total of $332 million in common stock in the year of 2013 alone. In 2012 Wal-Mart returned dividends to its investors worth $60 billion in shares. A high number of their investors are Wal-Mart associates averaging an increased percentage of stocks by the yearly. A yearly accounting period of accounting provides the corporation’s accounting state which in return provides transparency to its current investors and a corporate overview of potential new investors. Internally Wal-Mart benefits from these reports in projecting new investments. Strategic Management can influence how much can be reinvested while at the same time have oversight of how expenses, employee and associate management, and operating costs have to be considered before any over spending incurs. Overall an accounting report is essentially the backbone of a corporation. The accounting structure requires having a solid foundation in a corporation in order to have a successful business. Accountin g is the measurement of how much a business fails or it is successful. References http://c46b2bcc0db5865f5a76-91c2ff8eba65983a1c33d367b8503d02.r78.cf2.rackcdn.com/88/2d/4fdf67184a359fdef07b1c3f4732/2013-annual-report-for-walmart-stores-inc_130221024708579502.pdf