Visualizing Financial Data

Chapter 7 Financial Statements

Accounting standards set the expectations, scope, and definitions of the data in financial statements. In an annual report, hired auditors are expected to review data and presentation materials to ensure accuracy and honesty across all pages. Annual reports, 10-K SEC filings, and established practices in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) have well-documented principles, policies, and procedures to ensure integrity and a common understanding in the practice of organizing and presenting financial data.

As the industry recognizes accuracy as a baseline requirement, transparency and accessibility to the details of the data becomes important as well. This chapter explores visualization ideas that maintain conventional standards of financial statements while answering the following questions about how you might improve and augment the data display to be more transparent and easily accessible to answer: How do the operating expenses compare to the revenues? What comprises investment cash flows and how does it compare to operational cash flows? How can you show the connection between the statement of financial position and cash flows or operating budget?

Each section within the chapter reviews a fundamental aspect of financial statements including the statement of cash flows, statement of activities, and operating budget. Within each of these financial statements, we aim for accuracy, transparency, and accessibility, all ...