Financial Analysis

Financial analysis can be considered as a set of activities which goal is to identify and complexly evaluate financial situation of an enterprise. Financial analysis should recognize the health of the business, reveal its weaknesses, which could become in the future a threat for the business, and identify its strengths that the business could use in the future as an opportunity.

Financial analysis is based primarly on past data, but it is primarily a basis for decisions about future.

Financial analysis evaluates the business as a whole and in all factors that affect its financial situation. Specifically:

Short-term financial situation - solvency horizon of 1 year
Long-term financial situation - ability to pay long-term liabilites
Effective business operation

Financial analysis users

Information related to business financial condition is important both for business managers, but also for other subjects. Financial analysis user can be divided into external and internal:

External users:
- Banks, creditors
- Investors
- Competitors
- State and its authorities
- Customers and suppliers
Internal users:
- Managers
- Trade unionists
- Employees

Inputs to the financial analysis

Basic inputs to the financial analysis are internal information resources supplemented by external resources. Among basic resources belong:

Financial statements forming a final accounts (balance sheet, profit and loss account) and a supplement to the final accounts.
Management accounting data
Business statistics, development forecasts, etc.

Basic financial analysis methods

Among basic methods of financial analysis usually belong: