Listening
Situation 1 Talking about Financial Statements
Task 1
Listen to a conversation and tick the facts about financial statements.
□ 1.Most accountants deal with financial statements.
□ 2.Financial statements are the only ways of providing financial information.
□ 3.Journal and ledger belong to financial statements.
□ 4.Journal,ledger and financial statements can be considered as business language.
□ 5.Financial statements represent a formal record of the financial activities of a company.
□ 6.Financial statements are written reports.
□ 7.Financial statements could quantify the performance and financial power of a business.
□ 8.Financial statements are useful only for outside parties of a company.
Task 2
Listen to the conversation again and complete the following sentences according to what you've heard.
Miranda: I haven't seen you for ages,Howard.
Howard: Yeah.Have you seen a survey about us?
Miranda: You accountants?
Howard: Yep.According to the survey,three in five of the accountants say they are so busy that they never have any time to go out and1.
Miranda: How about you?
Howard: Virtually,I'm dealing with all kinds of2 all day long.
Miranda: Being busy is a blessing.If you ask me,accounting is art.
Howard: To some extent.Accounting is a business language all over the world,providing financial information in3.Basically,it lies in the way of journal,4 and financial statements.
Miranda: Wow,you are a theorist honestly.
Howard: By all means.My brain is brimming with assets,5,revenue,expense and the6.
Miranda: I've no idea.But do tell me about financial statements,sounds like something formal.
Howard: Definitely.Financial statements represent a formal record of the financial activities of an7.
Miranda: What are they?
Howard: These are written reports that quantify the financial strength,performance and8 of a company.
Miranda: Then what's the function of the financial statements?
Howard: Financial statements reflect the financial effects of business transactions and events on the entity.
Miranda: I see,it is vital for a business.
Howard: You should use"they".They stand as one of the most essential components of business information,and as the principal method of communicating financial information about an entity to outside parties.
Situation 2 Talking about the Objective of Financial Statements
Task 3
Listen to a passage and answer the following questions.
1．What is the objective of financial statements?
2．Why do managers need financial statements?
3．Are financial statements of use for shareholders?Why?
4．What do investors obtain from financial statements?
5．What decisions do banks make based on financial statements?
Task 4
Listen to the passage again and fill in the blanks.
The objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position,performance and changes in financial position of an enterprise that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions.
Financial statements provide useful information to a wide range of users: Managers require financial statements to manage the affairs of the company by1 its financial performance and position and making important business decisions.2 use financial statements to assess the3 of their investment in the company and make investment decisions based on their analysis.4 investors need financial statements to assess the viability of investing in a company.Investors may predict5 based on the profits disclosed in the financial statements.Furthermore,risks associated with the investment may be gauged from the financial statements.For instance,fluctuating profits indicate6.Therefore,financial statements provide a basis for the investment decisions of potential investors.Financial institutions(e.g.banks)use financial statements to decide whether to grant a7 to a business.Financial institutions assess the8 of a business to determine the probability of a bad loan.Any decisions to lend must be supported by a sufficient asset base and liquidity.