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Cost Behavior

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A Discussion on Cost Behavior in Relation to Financial Statements

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Interpreting figures presented on the financial statement has always been a hectic task to the public. A trend analysis assists in the evaluation of the financial presentation of a business over a specific period of time. Periods to be analyzed ranges from months, quarterly, half yearly or between specific years depending on the situation. In accounting, two methods are widely adopted to analyze the income statement and balance sheet trends. The techniques adopted are the horizontal analysis or the vertical analysis. The two analyses help the users of financial information to compare the performance of different companies for specified financial years and evaluate the performance of the companies over a certain period. The two analysis techniques are related in that the reported figures in the balance sheet or income statement are converted into percentages (Fridson, 2002).
Horizontal analysis focuses on changes on trends in financial statements variables over a certain period. It compares historical financial data over a number of periods. The application of horizontal analysis helps to present the complex data in the financial statements and judge whether specific components have increased or decreased. In horizontal analysis technique, the base year is extracted from the financial statements and the figure of each component under study is converted to a percentage of the base year amount.
Percentage change= (Current year amount-Base year amount)/ base year amount
Vertical analysis technique which is also referred to as common size method converts amounts of different components in the financial statement to percentages in terms of key financial component. When it is applied to the income statement, all items are converted into a percentage in relation to

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