12.2 Common-size financial statements
4 min read•august 16, 2024
Common-size financial statements transform raw financial data into percentages, making it easier to compare companies of different sizes. This technique expresses balance sheet items as a percentage of total assets and income statement items as a percentage of net sales.
By standardizing financial information, common-size analysis allows for quick identification of trends, anomalies, and industry benchmarks. It's a powerful tool for spotting relative strengths and weaknesses, but it's important to consider its limitations and use it alongside other analysis methods.
Common-Size Statements
Defining Common-Size Financial Statements
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- Common-size financial statements express all items as percentages of a base figure
- Balance sheet typically uses total assets as the base figure
- Income statement typically uses net sales as the base figure
- Creation process involves dividing each line item by the base figure and expressing the result as a percentage
- sets total assets to 100%
- All other asset, liability, and equity accounts expressed as a percentage of total assets
- sets net sales to 100%
- All other revenue and expense items shown as a percentage of net sales
Interpreting Common-Size Statements
- Analysis focuses on relative proportions of different financial statement elements
- Examines how proportions change over time
- Facilitates easier comparison between companies of different sizes
- Allows for comparison across different time periods within the same company
- Highlights relative changes that might be obscured in absolute financial figures
- Examples:
- Comparing inventory levels as a percentage of total assets between two retailers
- Analyzing changes in cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales over multiple years
Common-Size Analysis for Comparisons
Industry Benchmarking
- Industry averages compiled by financial data providers or industry associations
- Represent mean or median values for key financial ratios across companies in a specific sector
- Common-size analysis enables direct comparison of company's financial structure and performance to industry averages
- Comparison remains valid regardless of absolute size differences between companies
- Key areas of comparison include asset composition, capital structure, profitability margins, and expense ratios
- Examples:
- Comparing a company's gross profit margin to the industry average
- Analyzing a firm's debt-to-equity ratio against sector norms
Identifying Relative Strengths and Weaknesses
- Significant deviations from industry averages may indicate unique company strategies
- Deviations can also reveal competitive advantages or potential areas of concern
- against industry averages helps identify a company's relative position within its competitive landscape
- Crucial to ensure industry classification and time period for averages match those of the company being analyzed
- Examples:
- A higher-than-average research and development expense might indicate strong innovation focus
- Lower-than-average inventory turnover could suggest inefficient inventory management
Trends and Anomalies in Common-Size Statements
Trend Analysis Techniques
- Examine common-size statements over multiple periods to identify patterns in relative proportions of financial statement items
- Increasing or decreasing trends in specific line items may indicate changes in:
- Business strategy
- Operational efficiency
- Market conditions
- compares different line items within the same period
- examines changes in the same line item across different periods
- Examples:
- Analyzing gross profit margin percentage over five years to identify pricing or cost trends
- Comparing selling, general, and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales across quarters
Identifying and Interpreting Anomalies
- Anomalies identified as sudden or significant changes in percentages that deviate from historical trends or industry norms
- Changes in gross profit margin percentage may indicate shifts in:
- Pricing strategy
- Cost management
- Product mix
- Fluctuations in operating expense percentages can reveal:
- Changes in operational efficiency
- Strategic investments in certain areas of the business
- Unusual changes in balance sheet proportions might signal shifts in:
- Working capital management
- Investment strategies
- Financing decisions
- Examples:
- A sudden increase in accounts receivable percentage might indicate changes in credit policies
- An abrupt rise in long-term debt percentage could suggest a major acquisition or capital expenditure
Benefits vs Limitations of Common-Size Analysis
Advantages of Common-Size Analysis
- Facilitates comparisons between companies of different sizes or across different time periods
- Simplifies the identification of trends and anomalies in financial performance
- Enhances the ability to benchmark against industry averages
- Provides a standardized format for
- Examples:
- Comparing profit margins of a small local retailer with a large multinational corporation
- Analyzing changes in expense ratios for a company that has grown significantly over time
Limitations and Considerations
- Potential loss of context regarding the absolute size and scale of financial figures
- Possibility of misleading comparisons if companies have significantly different:
- Business models
- Accounting practices
- Limited insight into the reasons behind observed changes or differences
- Potential for overemphasis on percentage changes when absolute changes may be more relevant in certain contexts
- Should be used in conjunction with other financial analysis techniques for comprehensive understanding
- Proper interpretation requires consideration of:
- Industry-specific factors
- Economic conditions
- Company-specific circumstances
- Examples:
- A 1% change in revenue for a large company may be more significant in absolute terms than a 10% change for a small company
- Different depreciation methods between companies can affect common-size expense percentages
Key Terms to Review (16)
Benchmarking: Benchmarking is the process of comparing a company's performance metrics to industry bests or best practices from other companies. This approach helps organizations identify areas for improvement, assess their competitive position, and set performance goals based on data-driven insights.
Common-size balance sheet: A common-size balance sheet is a financial statement that presents all items as a percentage of total assets, making it easier to analyze and compare financial positions across different companies or time periods. This format allows users to assess the relative size of each account, providing insights into a company's capital structure and asset management. By standardizing the presentation, it enhances comparability and aids in identifying trends in financial performance.
Common-size income statement: A common-size income statement is a financial statement that presents all items as a percentage of total revenue, making it easier to analyze and compare the financial performance of different companies or periods. This approach allows for straightforward comparisons by eliminating the effects of size, allowing users to focus on relative performance metrics such as expenses, profits, and margins. By normalizing the data, it highlights trends and efficiencies across various firms and over time.
Cross-sectional analysis: Cross-sectional analysis is a method used to evaluate and compare financial data from multiple companies or entities at a specific point in time. This approach allows for the identification of trends, performance benchmarks, and industry standards by providing a snapshot of financial health across different organizations, making it easier to assess relative performance and operational efficiency.
Current ratio: The current ratio is a financial metric that measures a company's ability to pay its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets. It is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities, giving insight into the liquidity position of a business. A higher current ratio indicates a stronger ability to meet short-term obligations, which can be crucial for operational stability and financial health.
Dupont analysis: Dupont analysis is a financial performance framework that breaks down return on equity (ROE) into three key components: profit margin, asset turnover, and financial leverage. This method helps to identify the drivers of a company's profitability and efficiency, providing insights into how well a company is generating profits from its sales, managing its assets, and utilizing debt to enhance returns. By dissecting ROE in this way, it allows for a deeper understanding of a company’s financial health and operational effectiveness.
Financial comparison: Financial comparison refers to the process of evaluating and contrasting financial data, typically through metrics and ratios, to assess the performance and financial health of an organization. This analysis can provide insights into trends over time or comparisons against industry benchmarks, competitors, or past periods. It is particularly useful in making informed decisions regarding investments, budgeting, and strategic planning.
Financial statement analysis: Financial statement analysis is the process of evaluating a company's financial information to understand its performance, stability, and profitability. This analysis helps stakeholders make informed decisions by interpreting the data presented in financial statements, such as the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. A key method of financial statement analysis is the use of common-size financial statements, which express each line item as a percentage of a base figure, facilitating comparison across time periods or with other companies.
Horizontal analysis: Horizontal analysis is a financial statement analysis technique that compares historical financial data over a series of periods to identify trends and growth patterns. By examining the changes in figures, this method allows stakeholders to assess performance and make informed decisions, linking closely to ratio analysis, common-size statements, and cash flow evaluations.
Percent of sales: Percent of sales is a financial metric used to express a line item, typically expenses or certain types of revenues, as a percentage of total sales revenue. This method is commonly used to analyze the relationship between sales and various financial elements, allowing for a clearer understanding of how much each expense consumes from sales and aiding in comparative analysis across different periods or companies.
Percent of total assets: Percent of total assets is a financial metric that expresses each line item in a company's balance sheet as a percentage of the total assets. This allows for easy comparison across companies or over time, providing insight into the structure and allocation of a company's resources.
Performance evaluation: Performance evaluation is the process of assessing and measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization's operations, often using specific financial metrics and indicators. This assessment helps stakeholders understand how well a company is achieving its goals and objectives, facilitating better decision-making. It serves as a crucial tool for comparison and benchmarking against industry standards, competitors, or previous periods to identify areas of improvement.
Profit margin ratio: The profit margin ratio is a financial metric that indicates the percentage of revenue that remains as profit after all expenses have been deducted from sales. This ratio is essential for assessing a company's profitability, operational efficiency, and overall financial health. It helps stakeholders understand how well a company manages its expenses relative to its sales and can be analyzed through common-size financial statements, which express line items as a percentage of total revenue.
SWOT Analysis: SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning tool used to identify and evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to a business or project. This method helps organizations understand their internal capabilities and external environment, facilitating informed decision-making and strategic planning.
Trend analysis: Trend analysis is a technique used to analyze financial data over a period of time to identify patterns, changes, and potential future movements. By examining historical financial information, trend analysis helps in making comparisons across different periods, allowing for better interpretation of financial performance and aiding decision-making processes.
Vertical analysis: Vertical analysis is a financial statement analysis technique that presents each line item as a percentage of a base amount, allowing for easy comparison across time periods and among companies. This method helps to highlight the relative size of each component within the financial statements, making it easier to identify trends and evaluate financial performance. By applying vertical analysis, stakeholders can gain insights into the structure of a company's finances and assess its operational efficiency.