Interim Statement

Think of it like the Terry Bradshaw halftime recap of the game.

Official financial statements cover a single year. However, investors and managers can’t just fly blind between annual reports. The CEO doesn’t want to turn to her chief accountant in July and ask, “so how have we been doing?” and have the accountant head-shrug and reply “ask me in January.”

As such, the company will prepare interim statements. These compilations of financial information cover periods of less than a year.

While they're prepared with rigor in order to provide the best possible information, they don't have to follow all the checks necessary for the official annual report. For example, the interim statements generally don’t have to be audited.