In creating your pro forma documents, it is advisable to create multiple sets with different scenarios, especially when their purpose is to help make decisions. In this way, your management team (or C-suite) has all the information they need to make informed decisions. If you enable them, they have the best and worst-case scenarios that review the fiscal impact of their decisions and possible ways to mitigate risk. You could deliver to them two sets of pro forma financial statements, and two risk assessment templates to use to discover their best option. Pro forma financial statements are most useful when analyzing potential business decisions or anticipating the impact of future events.

Pro formas can reveal the company’s capacity to absorb a worst-case situation and be able to continue operating. Now that we’ve gone over the details of pro forma statements, let’s take a look at how you can make each of the three different types of statements. It is a common mistake to think of a pro forma statement as the same as a business budget. But while a business budget is a variation of a pro forma statement, the two are actually inherently different. This type of pro forma projection can help to show investors or partners what the company’s business finances could look like.

Types of pro forma financial statements

  • Pro forma EPS are calculated in the pro forma income statement, but the figure is also used in the pro forma balance sheet and the pro forma cash flow statement, when necessary.
  • In contrast, the purpose of pro forma financial statements is to look to the future or to analyze hypothetical scenarios of what could be.
  • Pro forma financial statements often play a significant role in public reporting, especially when dealing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
  • This will provide clearer insights into how different types of accounting can impact your financial projections.

A company appears profitable even when losing money by omitting items that reduce earnings. Pro-forma earnings are estimates on business financial statements that project a company’s profits, excluding nonrecurring gains or losses. Pro-forma earnings are not computed using standard Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and may leave out one-time expenses, such as restructuring costs following a merger. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has specific disclosure requirements for businesses that issue securities to the public, including pro forma financial statements. A pro forma balance sheet presents total assets, total liabilities, and equity balances.

  • Pro formas can help a company and its lenders determine the most appropriate type of financing.
  • Below is a break down of subject weightings in the FMVA® financial analyst program.
  • They do not include one-time items and do not conform to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
  • In summary, pro forma financial statements serve as a valuable tool for forecasting, preparing hypothetical scenarios, and projecting future performance to ensure a company’s long-term financial success.
  • While this might give a clearer picture of regular operations, it could also make the company’s financial health appear better than it is.
  • Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.

A financing or investment pro forma projection can be used to try and entice investors. It can also be used to convince business partners of the value of financing the business. This type of projection looks at the past financial statements of a business. It then adds the past financial statements of a second business that the first business is looking to purchase. They tend to leave out one-time expenses that are not a part of the day-to-day company operations.

Example pro forma balance sheet

You can also use a cash flow projection tool to guide you through this process. As a business partner, he helps his clients get a holistic view of their financial health by slowing down to talk about numbers. Then, he breaks down even complex problems into one or two elements to help them break through their barriers of growth. Pro forma statements are useful to corporate managers and investment banks to assess operations and assist in the valuation of takeover targets. Rho is a business banking platform that offers everything companies need to manage their cash and grow their businesses. Management can assess the impact on revenues and expenses and decide which decision makes the most financial sense.

These questions can be answered with the preparation of pro forma financial statements. If outside funds are needed, pro forma statements can help present the expected future results to lenders and other investors. A risk analysis pro forma projection looks at both the best case and the worst case scenarios when making a decision of any weight. It then helps to anticipate any challenges that may be faced in the future. We’ll take a closer look at the definition and try to answer the most common questions that surround this method of calculation.

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Cost of goods sold (COGS) includes costs directly related to producing the product or service. Standard computes the three-year average for the income statement balances listed below. On the other hand, if net cash flow is positive, you can plan on having enough extra cash on hand to pay off loans, or save for a big investment.

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Regular income statements, sometimes called statement of financial performance, are exacting, in that they reflect the exact income figures your company had in past years. The pro forma income statements considers past data, but its projections reflect the addition or subtraction of events or things. Businesses need to adopt a comprehensive approach by incorporating external economic indicators when preparing pro forma income statements. This helps in creating a more accurate financial forecast that reflects the realities of the marketplace.

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There are a number of ways that businesses can calculate their financial results. One of these methods is through performing pro forma financial statements. Pro-forma earnings are financial statements with hypothetical estimates that provide a “picture” of a company’s profits if certain nonrecurring items are excluded. They may allow companies to elaborate their earnings figures, and investors should be wary of the data. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigates companies suspected of trying to deceive investors or misrepresent performance.

Pro forma statements are based on assumptions, and incorrect assumptions generate misleading financial statements. The company’s 35% gross margin assumption may be too optimistic, or the tax rate assumed in the analysis is much lower than the actual tax rate. Goodwill is recorded when a business purchases an intangible asset or another company for more than the asset’s book value. Pro forma financial statements are also used to assess worst-case financial decisions. Financial forecasting is a core concept every company needs to predict performance using condensed balance sheets and various margin ratios.

By analyzing pro forma income statements, businesses can make informed decisions that align with their long-term strategic objectives. This is done by taking the difference between revenue, or sales and expenses, or the costs involved in doing business. On a pro forma income statement, revenue is calculated based on events that could increase or decrease sales.

Pro-Forma EPS aims to find the stream of earnings from operations, which can be used to forecast future EPS. It is essential to consider expense variability and changes in market conditions when using historical data, as these factors can significantly impact what is pro forma income future projections. Though not considered very accurate, the long-term method takes into account budgeted revenues, which are translated into cash receipts. Furthermore, when management has to gauge the probability of success or failure and decide if a potential return is worth the risk, pro formas are a way to examine the effects of different outcomes. Pro forma statements can be a useful and insightful way to explore hypothetical business scenarios. But it’s important to remember that they are only based upon assumptions and not facts.

When a company undergoes restructuring or completes a merger, one-time charges can occur. These types of expenses do not compose part of the ongoing cost structure of the business and, therefore, can unfairly weigh on short-term profit numbers. Update your pro forma statements whenever significant changes occur in your business or the market. Pro forma modeling helps you predict your financial future by estimating profits, cash flow, and expenses under different scenarios.

Sometimes, you’ll need more tailored forecasts, like full-year projections or risk analysis. These specialized pro forma models help you prepare for specific scenarios, such as market downturns or expansions, allowing you to pivot when needed. They also provide valuable insights into the risks and opportunities tied to different financial strategies, helping you make informed decisions with greater confidence. Cash is king, and the pro forma cash flow statement forecasts your future inflows and outflows. A solid financial forecasting strategy helps you avoid cash shortfalls by showing where funds are coming from and how you’ll spend them. A pro forma income statement helps an owner with financial modeling on the cash flow statement.

They cautioned companies that using a pro forma method of accounting to show financial results would be considered fraud. Pro forma is actually a Latin term, which translates to “as a matter of form” or “for the sake of form”. But when put in a business context, it is a method of calculating financial results using certain presumptions or projections. Creating a variety of hypothetical scenarios can help gain insight into the potential financial impacts of different decisions, risks, and opportunities.