Financial Statements
Effective management of a commercial fishing business is based on complete annual data (expenses, income, taxes), a record-keeping system, and accurate accounting and financial statements.
Once these systems are in place, a snapshot of your business financial status is at your fingertips, and you can work more effectively on your own or with other professionals to tackle more complex business decisions.
Common financial statements
Three common financial statements are:
- Cash flow statements
- Balance sheets
- Income statements
Each serves a different function, and each reflects different aspects of a business operation.
Financial spreadsheets
The University of Minnesota, in partnership with several Sea Grant programs around the country, created downloadable spreadsheets (listed below) to assist in generating financial statements for fishing operations.
An excellent series of short videos accompany the spreadsheets explaining how to build and use these statements. The final set of videos describes how to use the information you've compiled in the statements to conduct advanced analysis for valuing your business operation using financial ratios, a common business evaluation method.
Another publication you might find useful is "The Business of Fishing: Managing Finances" (below), published by Alaska Sea Grant. It contains a balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement for a sample Alaskan fishing business.
Resources
This Excel workbook contains an income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet and asset and liability details you can complete for your own fishing operation. Click to enable macros when opening.
Use the series of videos produced by Greg Fisk and the University of Minnesota to learn how to work with financial spreadsheets.
This Excel workbook contains an income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet and asset and liability details you can complete for your own fishing operation. Use the series of videos produced by Greg Fisk and the University of Minnesota to learn how to work with financial spreadsheets.
This publication outlines the basic building blocks for financial management for fishermen, including bookkeeping systems and accounting methods. All fishermen, even those who hire an accountant to keep the books, will benefit from mastering the basics of financial record-keeping.
In the big picture, financial management involves developing accurate business records, controlling finances for better business decisions and analyzing future opportunities.