In investing, we are dependent upon accounting statements for raw data in assessing companies. In this session, we look at the three basic financial statements: the balance sheet, where we record what a company owns and owes at a point in time, the income statement, where we measure revenues, expenses and earnings during a period and the statement of cash flows, where we explain changes in cash balances by looking at operating, investing and financing cash flows. We look at how a financial perspective can vary from an accounting perspective in each of these statements.