Part V

Building Reports

Glenn Lumsden

‘Good lord, Winslow . . . we “make” guns. Of “course” we shoot the messenger.’

In this part . . .

Doing a set of books without ever looking at financial reports is like slogging up and down Mount Kosciuszko or Mount Cook without pausing to enjoy the view.

Financial reports enable you to answer important questions such as ‘What is my net worth?’ (Nothing to do with self-esteem, I can assure you.) Or ‘Am I making enough money to afford a new yacht and a month in the Whitsundays?’ (Please do send me an invitation if you are.)

If you’re anxious about working with financial reports, don’t be. I devote all of Chapter 16 to explaining how to generate Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet reports, and in Chapter 17 I explain how to interpret these reports and check that the figures are correct.

Chapter 18 explains what happens at the end of each financial year, a rather dry topic but one that’s essential if you’re to understand how the balances of your financial reports carry forward from one year to the next.