Walk me through the three financial statements. - Lumovest (2024)

The investment banking interview question we’re going to go over today is “Walk me through the three financial statements.” This is a very basic and very common technical question that can come up in summer internship and full-time interviews. Here’s exactly how you should answer it.

Sample Answer

“The three financial statements are the Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement and the Balance Sheet.

The Income Statement tells us how much revenue the company generated and how much costs it incurred over a period of time. Starting with Revenue, we subtract Cost of Goods Sold to get Gross Profit. Then, we subtract operating expenses, such as SG&A and R&D to get EBIT. And lastly, we subtract interest expense and taxes to arrive at Net Income.

The Cash Flow Statement shows us the movement of cash – how much cash is coming in and going out of the company. It has three sections: Cash Flow from Operations, Cash Flow from Investing and Cash Flow from Financing.

The Balance Sheet indicates what the company owns and what it owes. It has three sections: Assets, Liabilities, and Shareholder’s Equity. Assets must equal Liabilities plus Shareholder’s Equity.

So that’s a high-level overview of the three financial statements.”

Key Takeaway

When the interviewer asks you to “walk me through the three financial statements”, the key mistake to avoid is don’t go into too much detail. You don’t have to tell the interviewer everything you know about the three statements. Keep the walk-through short and high-level.

Other IBD Interview Questions

When the interviewer asks you to “walk me through the three financial statements”, the key mistake to avoid is don’t go into too much detail. You don’t have to tell the interviewer everything you know about the three statements. Keep the walk-through short and high-level.

Walk me through the three financial statements. - Lumovest (2024)

FAQs

What are the 3 main financial statements in accounting? ›

The income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows are required financial statements. These three statements are informative tools that traders can use to analyze a company's financial strength and provide a quick picture of a company's financial health and underlying value.

How does a $10 increase in depreciation flow through the three financial statements? ›

Answer: Income Statement: Operating Income would decrease by $10. If we assume a 40% tax rate, Net Income would decrease by $6. Cash Flow Statement: Net Income is down by $6, but the $10 of Depreciation gets added back because it is a non-cash expense.

How to read financial statements in millions? ›

In finance and accounting, MM (or lowercase “mm”) commonly denotes that the units of figures presented are in millions. The Roman numeral M denotes thousands. In this context, MM is the same as writing “M multiplied by M,” which is equal to “1,000 times 1,000,” which equals 1,000,000 (one million).

What is a 3 statement financial statement? ›

A three-statement model combines the three core financial statements (the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement) into one fully dynamic model to forecast future results. The model is built by first entering and analyzing historical results.

Which 2 of the 3 financial statements is most important? ›

Another way of looking at the question is which two statements provide the most information? In that case, the best selection is the income statement and balance sheet, since the statement of cash flows can be constructed from these two documents.

What is the most important financial statement? ›

Types of Financial Statements: Income Statement. Typically considered the most important of the financial statements, an income statement shows how much money a company made and spent over a specific period of time.

How does depreciation go through the 3 financial statements? ›

Depreciation flows out of the balance sheet from Property Plant and Equipment (PP&E) onto the income statement as an expense, and then gets added back in the cash flow statement. For this section of linking the 3 financial statements, it's important to build a separate depreciation schedule.

What is the formula for calculating depreciation? ›

Straight Line Depreciation Method = (Cost of an Asset – Residual Value)/Useful life of an Asset. Unit of Product Method =(Cost of an Asset – Salvage Value)/ Useful life in the form of Units Produced.

What does 00 mean in financial statements? ›

Figures in (000) means original figures have been devided by 1000. Just multiply by 1000 to get approximate original figure. But be cautious...... e.g. original figure is 123456 and when expressed in '000, it becomes 123.456.

What is a good current ratio? ›

A good current ratio is between 1.2 to 2, which means that the business has 2 times more current assets than liabilities to covers its debts. A current ratio below 1 means that the company doesn't have enough liquid assets to cover its short-term liabilities.

How to read a balance sheet for dummies? ›

The balance sheet is broken into two main areas. Assets are on the top or left, and below them or to the right are the company's liabilities and shareholders' equity. A balance sheet is also always in balance, where the value of the assets equals the combined value of the liabilities and shareholders' equity.

How do you read three financial statements? ›

The income statement illustrates the profitability of a company under accrual accounting rules. The balance sheet shows a company's assets, liabilities, and shareholders' equity at a particular point in time. The cash flow statement shows cash movements from operating, investing, and financing activities.

What is common in all three financial statements? ›

The concept of retained earnings is the centerpiece that links the three financial statements together. The retained earnings balance in the current period is equal to the prior period's retained earnings balance plus net income minus any dividends issued to shareholders in the current period.

How to calculate free cash flow? ›

What is the Free Cash Flow (FCF) Formula? The generic Free Cash Flow (FCF) Formula is equal to Cash from Operations minus Capital Expenditures. FCF represents the amount of cash generated by a business, after accounting for reinvestment in non-current capital assets by the company.

What are the 4 most common financial statements? ›

There are four primary types of financial statements:
  • Balance sheets.
  • Income statements.
  • Cash flow statements.
  • Statements of shareholders' equity.
Nov 1, 2023

What are the three different kinds of accounts? ›

3 Different types of accounts in accounting are Real, Personal and Nominal Account. Real account is then classified in two subcategories – Intangible real account, Tangible real account. Also, three different sub-types of Personal account are Natural, Representative and Artificial.

What are the three major financial statements prepared by businesses? ›

These statements offer vital data to make informed decisions on capital allocation for business growth. The three primary financial statements are the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet.

What are the three uses of financial statements? ›

To serve as a financial foundation for tax assessments. To provide valuable data for foreseeing the company's future earning capacity. To provide accurate information on the fluctuation of economic resources. To offer information on the organisation's net resource changes.

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