Key Bank Financial Statement: Fill & Download for Free

An audit is a formal review of a person's, company's or organization's financial accounts and statements. A bank audit is a routine procedure that reviews a financial institution to make sure it is in compliance with all regulations and industry.The 2008 financial crisis revealed many weaknesses in financial institutions' risk management, governance and controls. As a result, the use of quality bank audits has been prioritized to protect American consumers.The Purpose of the AuditOne of the primary reasons for performing bank audits is to provide an objective evaluation of a bank's business activities, information systems and controls. A financial institution's key areas vary based on the services it offers, the risk of fraud and the complexity of the systems it has in place.A bank audit should reveal whether a bank has sound, ethical practices that abide by regulations put in place to protect consumers.Types of Bank AuditsAudits fall into one of two categories: internal or external.Internal bank audits play the role of risk management and work as part of the ongoing monitoring of a bank's internal controls and financial assessment procedures. These audits assess the competence of a bank's policies and procedures, as well as its compliance with them.Specific tasks may include reviewing the accuracy of financial statements, evaluating the amount of risk the company is taking on and analyzing how it assesses its capitalGenerally speaking, external audits are preferred for bank audits because it is more likely that the auditors can be objective in observations and reporting if they do not have any direct ties to the organization being audited.Both internal and external auditors serve the same purpose in that they perform their duties to be assured that the bank's financial statements and operations are free of mistakes and inefficiencies.However, external audits may be more thorough because the external audit is the sole job of the auditor, whereas employees doing internal audits may have other job responsibilities that get in the way.Compliance With RegulationsOne of the more important parts of the bank audit process involves checking on the compliance of financial institutions. Auditors need to make sure banks are following federal, state and local regulations, as well as their own policies. These regulations are put in place to protect consumers, and violations could endanger people.If problems are found, bank auditors usually make recommendations to improve the procedures.Using Substantive AnalyticsAuditors use substantive analytics to check a company's financial statements for errors and material misstatements, which is information so incorrect that it misleads individuals who use the data for decision-making. These procedures focus on plausible relationships between financial data and nonfinancial data.For example, if the number of loans a bank distributed decreases, an auditor expects to see a decrease in interest earned. If this information does not reasonably correlate, it is the auditor's job to identify the reason behind it.An audit test of controls goes hand in hand with substantive analytics because it tests the controls put in place to prevent material misstatements from happening. If a financial institution's controls are strong, they not only prevent mishaps from taking place, but also detect current inefficiencies.An auditor who finds an error during a test of controls usually conducts further testing with a larger sample size to see if the issue is systemwide.

What is the difference between Consolidated vs Standalone Financials? Which one should be considered by the investors for the stock analysis. Lets discuss the key differences and solve this consolidated vs standalone dilemma.Solving The Consolidated vs Standalone Financials DilemmaIntroductionWhat is the difference between Consolidated vs Standalone Financials? Which one should be considered by the investors for stock analysis? Many times, retail investors are uncertain if they should look at the consolidated results or standalone results. Lets discuss the key differences and solve this consolidated vs standalone dilemma.The main difference between consolidated and stand-alone financial statements is that the consolidated form reports all activities of a company and its subsidiaries as a combined entity, while standalone financial statements report these findings as a separate entity.Consolidated vs Standalone Financials | Which One To Consider?Understanding Consolidated vs Standalone as an Business Entity1. Standalone EntityHere, Standalone results represent the activities of only parent company as a single entity and do not include the performance of its subsidiaries.Certain subsidiaries act as entirely individual entities and listed as a seperate company, the holding company has % stake in the its listed subsidiaries.Example : HDFC Ltd - In case of HDFC Ltd, we should consider the standalone financials, as its key subsidiaries like HDFC Bank Ltd, HDFC Life Insurance Ltd and HDFC asset management company Ltd are listed as a seperate entity on NSE as well as BSE. Here, we can do the detailed stock analysis of the HDFC Ltd’s listed subsidiaries – HDFC Bank, HDFC Life Insurance Co. and HDFC AMC as their no direct business intervention with HDFC Ltd. Being listed entities, these companies’ financial performance statements are mandatorily published individually for th investors. So, while analyzing the parent company, HDFC Ltd we should consider its standalone results only.HDFC Ltd – Key Subsidiaries & Associate Companies2. Consolidated EntityWhen a new company forms, it is a single entity. It will only have standalone performance. As the company grows, they may expand the business into different geographies or acquires other companies.If the company expands itself in a new country, the Indian company may need to create a separate company for the region. The newly formed company becomes the subsidiary of the parent listed company.Similarly, if a company acquires another company, it becomes the subsidiary of the company. Depending on the acquisition by the company, it may become a wholly-owned subsidiary or even a partly hold subsidiary.Consolidated financial statements are drawn up when the individual financial statements of all subsidiary companies are combined with the standalone financial statements of the holding company.Thus, Consolidated financial statements are the combination of financial statements of a parent company and its subsidiaries.Consolidated results reflect a true financial position and they provide a picture of the overall health of an entire group. Any revenue or profit earned by the parent company that is an expense of a subsidiary is excluded from the financial statements.Example : L&T Ltd Larsen & Toubro Ltd is having a diversified business portfolio, which includes many businesses like Construction, Engineering, Manufacturing, Technology and many more.Therefore, which performing stock analysis of L&T Ltd, investors should always consider its consolidated financial statements, where the financials statements of its all subsidiaries and associate companies are combined with the parent company – L&T Ltd.Always refer consolidated financials of L&T Ltd in financial analysis and while calculating price to earnings ratio (PE ratio), Return on Capital Employed (ROCE), Return on Equity (ROE), Debt of equity ratio (DE ratio), analyzing investments of the companies etcL&T Ltd – Key Subsidiaries & Associate CompaniesSolving The Consolidated vs Standalone Financials Dilemma – What Should Investors Do?For a company having a diversified business presence and the business intervention of parent company in its subsidiaries (like L&T Ltd), investors should always refer the consolidated financial statement. Consolidated result gives a true picture about the financial position and business performance of any company. One of the strongest arguments in favor of consolidated results is that it presents the financials of a company and its subsidiaries as a single economic unit. Investors can easily find out the business health and efficiency of not only the standalone entity but also its subsidiaries at a glance.Whereas, one should consider standalone financial statement for the companies like HDFC Ltd, where there is no direct business-related intervention into its subsidiaries and associate companies. In such case, the best way would be to look at the standalone numbers of the parent company and its subsidiaries and assess their financial performance individually.

To be a good investment banker, a CA has to :1. Learn2. Unlearn3. Re-learnTo elaborate further :1. Learn : A CA has to clearly understand each and every concept of the course Financial Management taught in PE II and CA Final. Somehow, many CAs tend to study this subject only to score 40/50 marks. With very little practical application during articleship, the concepts remain half-baked. If one has to be an investment banker, it is absolutely essential to get these basics absolutey clear.2. Unlearn : A CA has to unlearn what he has learned in the Accounting courses (I cant stress this enough). ''Reading financial statements" and "Writing Financial statements " are two different skill-sets. Pls do not assume that if you know to "write" the books, you also know how to "read" one.3. Re-learn :a. A smart investment banker knows exactly what to look in a financial statement and can swiftly reverse-engineer the areas like key growth drivers, major risks, competitors etc and more importantly know how to "put a number" to every factor. No "theoretical gyaan" - only numbers ! A CA has to re-learn how to look and build financial spreads (not in the conventional way)b. Other thing to re-learn is the ability to connect the "micro" with the "macro". Understanding macro factors that drive the economy, and more specifically sectors, are really important. No investment banking pitch is without a macro-analysis. You have to re-learn what you learned in PE-1 in Economics (and update that with live market knowledge) !c. And the last thing, which goes without saying, is building a personality ! Re-learn / Re-gain the charm your personality had which perhaps got lost in the rigour of this 4-5 year course. Talk smooth, look presentable and be pleasant - investment banking is a high-pressure job - nobody wants to be stuck with an unpleasant guy in a pressure situation !Cheers !