Financial Statements

• Financial statements are published in the company's annual report. The annual report contains the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow statement. The income statement provides information about the company's earnings. The balance sheet provides information about the company's assets and liabilities, and the cash flow statement provides information about the sources and uses of firm cash. Each statement contains data which may be used to calculate financial ratios.
  
  

SEC

• The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandates that all public companies publish and submit documents every quarter and annually. The annual report is referred to as the 10-K and is the basis for the annual report published by the company discussed above. The 10-Q is the quarterly equivalent to the annual report and the 10-K. It provides investors with a quarterly financial update.
  
  

Investor Relations

• Investors have the ability to update ratios as often as new financial data comes available, usually once every quarter. These ratios provide insight into company earnings, operations and management for the coming quarter. When measured over time these ratios provide the investor with trends that can be used to make forecasts about the company.
  
  

Internal Management

• While investors are generally satisfied with quarterly updates, internal managers may require monthly and even weekly updates. Ratios can be updated as often as data changes. Some ratios may provide little information updated on a daily basis. It also helps to know the needs of the audience. If the audience only needs data updated quarterly, that's how often the numbers should be updated.