A company's financial statements which have been prepared and certified by a Certified Public Accountant.

Generally known as "the audit," this document contains an organization's fiscal-year financial transactions. Certified public accountants review the transaction for compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Audited financial statements ensure credibility of the financial records and are tools for making sound financial decisions.

These are the financial statements of a business, showing the business's financial position and the results of its operations. These are prepared by an accountant independent of the business owner and in accordance with general accounting principles.

The financial information of an organization, presented in a standardized format following an audit by an independent accountant. Audited financial statements for nonprofit organizations include the auditorâ€(tm)s opinion, followed by the statement of financial position, statement of activities, statement of cash flows, and notes amplifying certain portions of the statements. Certain kinds of organizations will also have a statement of functional expenses. The format and standards for financial statements are prescribed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). See definitions of these terms elsewhere in this glossary.

Financial statements that bear the report of independent auditors attesting to the financial statements' fairness and compliance with generally accepted accounting principles. To Top