Accounting practice in the United States follows the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) developed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which is a nongovernmental, professional standards body that monitors accounting practices and evaluates controversial issues. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires all publicly traded companies to periodically report their financial information.

A publicly held corporation must publish an annual report that contains the balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, statement of retained earnings, and other financial information for analysis.

The following descriptions of the major financial statements and reports that a firm publishes. Identify the correct statement or report for each description.

Description :

a. Is required by the SEC and includes the audited document that shows the company's financial results for the past year and management's discussion about the future outlook and plans
b. Gives details about the firm's sales, costs, and profits for the past accounting period
c. Details changes in the capital received from investors in exchange for stock (paid-in capital), donated capital, and retained earings.
d. Provides details about the flow of funds from operating, investing, and financing activities.
e. Summarizes a company's assets, liabilities, and stockholders' equity at a specific point in time.

The Annual Report is a comprehensive report that aims to show stakeholders including the SEC what the company has been up to in the previous year. It analyzes the business's financial report and also the strategic goals of the business as well.

The Income Statement lets stakeholders know how the company's business transactions went for the previous period. It shows how much goods and services were sold as well as the expenses involved.

The Statement of Shareholder Equity aims to show how the business's dealings during the year have impacted the ownership of the company. It shows the Capital and the Retained Earnings.

The Cashflow Statement aims to show just how much actual cash that the business has. To do so it usually divides the cash transactions into Operating, Investing, and Financing activities.

The Balance Sheet summarizes the components of the Accounting Equation which includes Assets, Liabilities and Equity. This way a person can see at a glance how the business operates.