What Is a Fiscal Report?

By Business & Finance Last updated Wednesday, May/15/2024

Definition

The term fiscal is used to describe something financial, and a fiscal report is commonly referred to as a financial report. While a financial statement, such as a balance sheet or profit and loss statement, has a specific objective and is largely comprised of numbers and calculations zeroing in on one portion of the company's financial condition, a fiscal (or financial) report is a summary of a company's overall financial condition over a specific time period.

A public company is one that sells stock in its company to the general public who then become shareholders in the company. Public companies are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,"must file annual and other periodic reports." A public company's fiscal report is distributed to all shareholders annually so they can review the company's overall financial condition.

A private company that does not sell stock on the public exchange is not bound by the regulations of the SEC, including its annual report requirement. However, private companies often release fiscal reports for executive review. A private company can determine who is allowed to view its fiscal report; common reviewers include the company's executives and board of directors if it has one.

A fiscal report presents a summary of a company's financial statements which are optionally included as attachments. Three of the most common financial statements summarized in a fiscal report are a balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement. The balance sheet details company assets, liabilities and -- for public companies -- shareholders' equity. The income statement details a company's earnings, or revenue; it is commonly referred to as a company's "bottom line." The cash flow statement shows the comings and goings of a company's money over a period of time and what areas of the business in which it was spent; three typical areas of cash flow reporting include operation, investments, and financing.