How to draw up the forecast balance of the enterprise?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Along with the balance sheet, as well as the report on the results of the circulation of capital, a large number of other sources of data on the state of affairs in terms of the economic development of the company can be formed in the financial statements of an enterprise. These include the forecast balance of the organization. What is its specificity and how it is compiled, we will consider later in the article.

Essence of forecast balance

What is the expected balance sheet of a commercial firm? This document is intended to reflect the estimated financial position of the organization at a given date, in terms of its assets, liabilities and equity.

Preparing a forecast balance is usually due to the need to form a strategy for investing in a business, determining the company's need for cash in the form of investments of founders, loans and investments. In addition, this document can be drawn up at the request of the owners, managers or partners of the company in order to determine the prospects for business development.

Adequate balance is in many cases part of the enterprise's business plan. In this case, it can perform the functionsumming up and documenting as part of financial calculations for the company's revenue and profitability. The preparation of the forecast balance sheet is usually preceded by the formation of a profit and loss plan for the company. The corresponding document is usually formed on their basis or using the data that is reflected in them.

The forecast balance may reflect the financial position of the enterprise as a whole or any of its divisions. In some cases, when forming it, indicators are taken into account that can give the company's management the opportunity to assess the degree of satisfaction of customers and counterparties with its activities as one of the factors in demand for the supplied products or services.

In some cases, the forecast balance sheet may be supplemented by a special report that includes the estimated profit and loss of the firm. The forecast balance sheet and the forecast report are in many cases compiled simultaneously, similar to accounting documents for the corresponding purpose.

It is noteworthy that the source under consideration can be presented in several varieties. The construction of the forecast balance can be carried out according to different principles. Consider the most common document types in question.

Types of forecast balances

Probably the most popular type of forecast balance sheet is accounting. What is its specificity? In its structure, it can correspond to the classical balance sheet, which is compiled in accordance with the recommendations of financialsupervisory authorities. The main task of the competent specialists of the enterprise in the formation of this document is to correctly reflect the estimated indicators of assets and liabilities in it.

In this case, the calculation of the forecast balance will be based on the actual results reflected in the accounting, if it is available by the time the first document is drawn up. If the enterprise has just opened and the accounting department has not formed an appropriate source, approaches can be used according to which assets and liabilities will be calculated based on patterns typical for the industry or group of enterprises, as well as taking into account the calculations of experts and consultants.

The next type of forecast balance sheet is a document that reflects the expected receipts and expenses of the company's cash. So, the document may include indicators:

• on cash receipts due to payment by customers and counterparties for goods or services;
• on revenue arising from the sale of fixed assets;
• on receipts on account of payment by partners for the rent of the provided property;
• on interest on financial investments;
• according to the exchange rate difference, which implies the formation of additional revenue for the company.

Also, the corresponding forecast balance allows you to compare certain items of income with expenses. For example, if the estimated amount of proceeds from the sale of fixed assets is, relatively speaking, 1 million rubles, then it may correspond to subsequentinvestments in fixed assets, since the amount of these receipts allows us to solve many problems related to the renewal of the company's production resources.

Projective balance methods used to form its structure in relation to the economic model of a particular enterprise may be different. So, the competent specialists of the company can adapt it to reflect the estimates of revenue and expenses specifically for the sale of products, if the corresponding source is the main one in terms of generating the company's income. The balance sheet drawn up in this structure may include indicators classified as those that are correlated with the accrual or cash method, if necessary to improve the quality of forecasting economic indicators.

It is possible to draw up a projected balance sheet of an enterprise with an emphasis on distinguishing between cash flows generated from revenue and those that are created as a result of investing in a business by owners, partners, creditors. This document may also include data on expenses that correlate with the volume of revenue or capitalization due to investment.

How might this or that forecasted balance look like? We offer you an example of the structure of the corresponding document in the article.

This source is quite close to the balance sheet in terms of content. It presents assets, liabilities, as well as articles that correspond to them.

Note that an example of the forecast balance of an enterprise in the structure we have consideredcan be used both in industrial enterprises and in companies providing services.

Forecast balance sheets at SOEs

The procedure for the formation of an appropriate balance sheet can be determined by law if the company is a state or municipal enterprise. In some cases, it is the responsibility of the competent public authority to compile it. So, for example, for economic entities that are related to the Unified Energy System of Russia, the forecast balance is compiled in the cases provided for by law by the Federal Tariff Service. The main tasks of the FCS in the formation of this document can be:

• ensuring the supply of electricity consumers with the necessary amount of this resource;
• reducing the costs associated with the production and supply of energy;
• ensuring the stability of electricity supplies to the market.

Forecast balances formed by the FCS can be further used for:

• signing organizations of wholesale contracts for the supply of electricity;
• determination of internal balances of electricity in various subjects of the Russian Federation;
• signing contracts for the supply of electricity in the retail market.

Having studied the specifics of the forecast balances in the field of electricity supplies, let's return to the consideration of the procedure for compiling the corresponding document in private firms. It will be useful to study some of the general nuances of this procedure.

Formation of the forecast balance: nuances

Forecast balance sheet of an enterprise can be of 2 main types- starting and current. The first is compiled if the enterprise has just opened. The second - if it has been operating for some time, and its economic indicators are reflected in the balance sheet.

In the first case, the document is likely to reflect the prospects of business development less accurately, but its preparation may be desirable, due to the need to clarify the needs of the company in financing or in order to determine the capitalization potential of the company.

To draw up a forecast balance, you must have access to documents such as:

• sales forecast;
• plan for the sale of products or services;
• profit or loss plan;
• cash flow plan.

How to draw up a forecast balance that best reflects the financial position of the enterprise?

The main criterion for the successful solution of this problem is the timely accumulation of as much as possible and meaningful amount of information regarding the economic activities of the company. It may be contained in primary documents, registers and other accounting sources.

It is highly desirable that they be standardized and that information be reflected in them regularly. This will allow you to track how certain economic indicators change over time. And the latter, in fact, determines what the forecast balance of the enterprise will be in terms of reflecting in it the estimated value of profitability, revenue, as well as the possible ratio between assets and liabilities.firms.

Procedure for compiling the forecast balance

Let's study in accordance with what algorithm the considered document can be formed. Drawing up a forecast balance sheet, if you follow a common pattern, involves:

1. Analyzing the current financial performance of the company's business activities.
2. The study of financial results based on the results of certain reporting periods, as well as the identification of factors that may influence them.
3. Determination of changes in the assets, liabilities of the enterprise, its income and expenses, in accordance with different reporting periods.
4. Formation of forecast indicators and their subsequent documentation.

Forecast balance components

Now let's consider what components can be included in the corresponding balance. One of the key is the equity capital of the enterprise. In some cases, it is also supplemented by the statutory one, but its value, reflected in the constituent documents, often does not change (if it corresponds to the minimum, which is enshrined in legislation). The main factor in changing the value of the organization's equity capital is an increase or decrease in the intensity of the company's receipt of revenue, as well as the dynamics characterizing the state of affairs in the business in terms of expenses.

The forecast balance is formed at the end of the reporting year and reflects the company's equity in the ratio:

• with assets and liabilities;
• investments that are invested by the owner or other interested parties inproduction;
• with retained earnings.

Like an accounting, for example, balance sheet, a forecast one also in most cases includes assets, the amount of which should be equal to liabilities. Of course, the relevant indicators must be justified. The best option is to use the information reflected in the balance sheet as input, if possible.

Documentation of the forecast balance

An important task is not only to determine the indicators for the forecast balance, but also to record them in a separate document. Legislation does not provide for its universal form, unless we consider the formation of the relevant source by the competent government department. Therefore, firms draw up their own forms of the corresponding balance sheet. What might they look like?

Above, we have considered several common types of forecast balance. Let's study what structure can be represented, probably the most universal - accounting.

Formation of the forecast balance in the accounting variety

It is recommended to draw up a forecast balance sheet of an enterprise in its accounting variety so that the assets and liabilities reflected in the document are arranged in descending order of the degree of liquidity of the first and the urgency of the second. This is the difference between the document in question and the balance sheet, which is formed on the basis of the opposite principle.

What specific items of assets and liabilities can be recorded in the forecast balance sheet? The former maybe submitted:

• funds on the current account of the company;
• receivables;
• enterprise stocks;
• the total amount of the firm's current assets or its working capital;
• total fixed assets;
• value of intangible assets;
• total assets of the firm.

In turn, the liabilities of the organization can be represented by:

• invoicing from counterparties;
• accounts payable - for example, wages, tax payments;
• the amount of debt on short-term loans;
• total current liabilities;
• value of long-term loans;
• share capital;
• retained earnings;
• Equity;
• total liabilities.

Let's study in more detail how the indicators that include the forecast balance sheet can be applied in practice.

Application of the forecast balance in practice: nuances

Formation of the document in question allows you to create and optimize the organization's budget, a plan for investing capital in certain assets. The corresponding balance allows you to determine the degree of security of the company with its own funds, as well as its need for external financing.

In this case, the efficiency of using the company's capital may matter, and the forecast balance is among those tools that canused for evaluation purposes. It can be compiled in the structure that is most optimal for considering the quality of management of the company's financial assets within specific areas of economic activity.

The described balance can be used for a large number of financial indicators. So, for example, if a company needs to calculate the estimated cost of goods in a particular reporting period, then just the forecast balance can be involved. An example of calculating the corresponding indicator can be as follows.

If, according to the results of 2015, the cost price according to the actual accounting data amounted to, for example, 30% of the revenue, then while maintaining the main costs in 2016, it will remain the same. But if the costs, which make up 50% of the prime cost, grow by 90% in 2016, and this will be known based on the balance sheet, then the forecast indicator in question will increase, respectively, by 45% and thus amount to, 43.5% of revenue. It will be predictive, and it can be taken into consideration when determining, for example, the selling price of a product.

Using the balance sheet as a money management tool

It happens that a firm has a large amount of short-term obligations that can be problematic to meet if the dynamics of revenue is insufficient and investment is limited.

But management gets the opportunity to prevent this situation with correct preparationforecast balance, which will reflect the expected ratio of revenue received in the short term, investments, as well as related liabilities. This approach is very convenient when building a strategy for calculating an enterprise for taxes. The fact is that the obligation to pay them arises at the time of recognition of this or that income, which may not coincide with the actual receipt of revenue. In order to avoid a situation in which an enterprise needs to simultaneously fulfill its obligations to pay taxes and to repay other obligations in the absence of sufficient capital, it is necessary to draw up a forecast balance that takes into account the frequency of occurrence of the corresponding obligations.

Managers at many modern enterprises solve a difficult problem - how to draw up a forecast balance that could prevent, first of all, a shortage of capital. This situation is possible even in profitable enterprises. The formation of an appropriate document with the necessary degree of elaboration of income items, expenses, as well as periods of their occurrence is the main criterion for solving this problem. Of course, its observance requires highly qualified financiers responsible for compiling internal reporting in the company.