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Why do two financial statements need different kinds of dates?

A balance sheet describes a business at a particular date, while an income statement describes revenue and expenses across a period. One is a position and the other is activity, so their dates help explain what their numbers mean.

3–5 min

Questions you could explore

  • Which questions require a snapshot, and which require a time interval?
  • How can the two statements connect without being interchangeable?

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Business

How a profitable business runs short of cash

A business can record a profitable sale before its customer pays. Bills may come due in the meantime, making the timing of cash a different question from whether trading earned a profit.

8–10 min

How a profitable business runs short of cash

Business8–10 minA business can record a profitable sale before its customer pays. Bills may come due in the meantime, making the timing of cash a different question from whether trading earned a profit.

Business

Why doesn’t a factory always reach its rated output?

A machine's maximum running speed does not tell you how many usable products leave a factory. Stoppages, changeovers, and rejected output can create a gap between a capacity claim and an actual day's production.

4–5 min

Why doesn’t a factory always reach its rated output?

Business4–5 minA machine's maximum running speed does not tell you how many usable products leave a factory. Stoppages, changeovers, and rejected output can create a gap between a capacity claim and an actual day's production.

Why does one transaction change two sides of the accounts?

Business3–5 minBuying equipment changes more than what a business owns. Paying cash or borrowing the money affects the rest of the accounts differently, while assets must still balance against liabilities and equity.

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