公司財務、業績的重要記錄
Financial statements are important written records of a company’s financial activities and potential future performance.
財務報表是公司財務活動和未來潛在業績的重要書面記錄。
potential(adj.)潛在的(n.)潛力
They are generally used by shareholders, market analysts and creditors to determine a company’s overall financial health.
股東、市場分析師和債權人通常使用這些報表來判斷一家公司的整體財務狀況。
shareholder(n.)股東market analysts市場分析師creditor(n.)債權人debtor(n.)債務人overall(adj.)整體的
Because of the central role that such statements play in business, understanding them is an essential skill, especially for investors and market observers.
由於這些報表在商業中發揮著核心作用，因此理解它們是一項重要技能，尤其是對於投資者和市場觀察者而言。
play a central role in...在某事中扮演關鍵的角色
According to Investopedia, there are three major types of financial statement reports: balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements.
根據《投資百科》，財務報表主要分為三大類：資產負債表、損益表和現金流量表。
balance sheets資產負債表income statements損益表cash flow statements現金流量表cash flow現金流cash cow搖錢樹，最賺錢的商品
The first type — balance sheets — provides “an overview of a company’s assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity at a specific time and date.”
第一類——資產負債表——提供「公司在特定時間和日期的資產、負債和股東權益的概述」。
overview(n.)概述、概況asset(n.)資產;優點;長處;有用的人liability(n.)(恆複)負債;累贅equity(n.)權益
Generally, these reports break each of these categories into an itemized list with amounts for each entry clearly shown.
一般來說，這些報告將每個類別分解為逐項列表，清楚顯示每個條目的金額。
break into~分解、細分成～itemized(adj.)分項的;逐項的entry(n.)條目
Depending on the type of business, the items listed may vary.
根據企業類型，列出的項目可能有所不同。
depending on取決於、視～而定vary(v.)有差異、有不同various(adj.)各式各樣的
Income statements differ from balance sheets in that they cover specific ranges of time, such as “a year for annual financial statements and a quarter for quarterly financial statements.”
損益表與資產負債表不同，因為它們涵蓋特定的時間範圍，例如「年度財務報表以年為單位，季度財務報表以季為單位」。
differ from~與～不同in that因為=becauserange(n.)範圍annual(adj.)年度的quarter(n.)一季quarterly(adj.)季度的
Figures on these reports include different types of revenues and expenses, net income and earnings per share.
這些報表上的數字包括不同類型的收入和支出、淨收入和每股收益。
figure(n.)數字revenue(n.)(政府的)稅收;歲入;(公司的)收益income(n.)(個人)收入;所得net income淨收入earnings per share每股收益
As with balance sheets, statements of income present itemized lists to clearly explain how the total amounts of each larger financial category are calculated.
與資產負債表一樣，損益表也列出了分項清單，以清楚解釋每個更大財務類別的總額是如何計算出來的。
as with...正如同...present(v.)呈現calculate(v.)計算
These types of reports are valuable in both showing the profitability of companies and allowing income between different time periods to be compared.
這類報表在顯示公司的盈利能力和比較不同時間的收入方面都很有價值。
valuable(adj.)有價值的=of (great)valueprofitability(n.)盈利能力profitable(adj.)有利可圖的、有盈利的=lucrative
Finally, cash flow statements are reports that complement both balance sheets and income statements by showing “how cash flows throughout a company.”
最後，現金流量表是對資產負債表和損益表的補充，展示「現金在公司內的流動情況」。
complement(v.)補充、互補compliment(v.)讚美、恭維
Through the three main itemized sections of these reports — operating activities, investing activities and financing activities — investors and others can easily see and trace the movement of money to determine “whether a company is on solid financial footing.”
透過這些報表的三個主要分項——營運活動、投資活動和融資活動——投資者和其他人可以很容易地看到並追蹤資金的流動情況，以判斷「一家公司的財務基礎是否穩固」。
itemized sections分項區塊trace(v.)追蹤footing(n.)立足點、基礎solid(adj.)穩固的;紮實的sound(adj.)健全的