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  • Hi.

  • Else here.

  • And in this video, we'll be exploring the notes

  • to the financial statements.

  • The notes to the financial statements

  • are not considered a financial statement per se.

  • But they are an important and integral part

  • of the financial statements.

  • This is true for public corporations, who

  • must use IFRS, and private corporations, who

  • choose to use IFRS.

  • In addition, private corporations

  • can choose to follow ASPE.

  • If they do, they produce a slightly different set

  • of financial statements.

  • Companies following ASPE are also

  • required to include notes to the financial statements.

  • In these videos, I'll be using a public corporation

  • to explain what the notes to the financial statements include.

  • But this video will apply to companies

  • following IFRS or ASPE.

  • In order to demonstrate the notes

  • to the financial statements, I've

  • decided to use Dollarama Inc.'s annual report for the year

  • ended February 2, 2014.

  • If you download the annual report,

  • you'll see that at the bottom of each of the four

  • major financial, statements, there

  • is the following statement.

  • The accompanying notes are an integral part

  • of these consolidated financial statements.

  • This is a warning to users.

  • A failure to read the notes to the financial statements

  • will result in incomplete knowledge of the company's

  • financial health.

  • The notes supplement the financial statements.

  • Without them, it's not possible to fully understand

  • the financial condition of the company.

  • The notes should include any information

  • that will improve the user's understanding

  • of the financial statements.

  • Although there are some choices as to what the notes should

  • include, there are three basic types

  • of notes that have to be included.

  • First is a statement of compliance, indicating

  • the use of either IFRS or ASPE.

  • Since Dollarama is a public corporation,

  • their compliance statement references the use of IFRS.

  • This note is called the basis of preparation note,

  • and it must be included in every financial statements,

  • whether using IFRS or ASPE.

  • Next is a summary of significant accounting policies and rules

  • used to prepare the financial statements.

  • Again, this is required, whether a company follows IFRS or ASPE.

  • This note will include such things

  • as the basis of measurement for specific financial assets

  • and liabilities, how property, plant, and equipment is valued,

  • plus many other items.

  • For Dollarama, the summary of significant accounting policies

  • goes on for nine pages.

  • This indicates the importance of this section of the notes

  • to the financial statements.

  • The third type of note disclosure

  • is the relevant information to aid a user's understanding

  • of individual line items reported

  • on the face of the four financial statements.

  • For instance, in Dollarama's notes,

  • note seven gives details of the property and equipment that

  • is listed under non-current assets

  • on the statement of financial position.

  • Each line item from the financial statements

  • that does have a note is cross-referenced to that note,

  • in order to help users locate the relevant information.

  • There are other notes that may also be included,

  • such as any disclosures that are required by specific standards

  • or notes about items that are not

  • listed on the statements themselves,

  • such as exposure to significant risks.

  • Although some notes are specifically required,

  • IFRS and ASPE have a more general requirement

  • that notes be provided for anything

  • that would allow a user to better understand the company's

  • financial health.

  • Let's check your understanding of the notes

  • to the financial statements.

  • On April 9, 2014, Dollarama announced a 14% increase

  • in their quarterly dividend.

  • This announcement was made after the February 2

  • financial statement date.

  • Where, if at all, would this information be reported?

  • Even though the increase in the dividend

  • was announced after the date of the financial statements,

  • it is a subsequent event that is important for the users

  • to know, in order to better understand the financial health

  • of Dollarama.

  • As such, it's not included in the face of any

  • of the financial statements, but it

  • must be included in the notes to the financial statements.

  • The purpose of the notes is clear.

  • Notes explain and expand on the information

  • provided on the face of the financial statements.

  • Companies are responsible for fully disclosing

  • all relevant information for decision making,

  • and the notes are a critical part of this responsibility.

  • The notes to the financial statements

  • include both qualitative and quantitative information,

  • whatever is required to improve users' understanding.

  • In fact, the notes include so much information

  • that they make up the majority of the financial report.

  • For instance, in Dollarama's annual report,

  • there are only four pages dedicated

  • to the financial statements themselves,

  • but there are 25 pages of notes.

  • Investors, lenders, and creditors

  • use the notes to increase their understanding of the content

  • of the financial statements, so they can better understand

  • the health of the company.

  • We have now completed our lectures

  • on the financial statements.

  • But likely, you, a student of accounting,

  • have an even more important question.

  • What are the steps you should use

  • to attack a financial statement question on a test or an exam?

  • And that is the subject of our next video.

Hi.

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