MosoFin · Financial statements, in plain words

Can you give these statements to your bank, and do they agree with each other?

Your books hold a long list of account balances. This skill turns that list into the statements that a bank or an investor reads. Then it proves with seven checks that the statements agree with each other.

The 20-second version

You tell it the framework, the period and the rounding. It reads your trial balance from your books or from your files. It builds the balance sheet, the income statement, the cash flow statement and the change in equity, with last year beside this year. It runs seven checks and shows the difference for each, even when the difference is zero. It never posts an entry. The statements are your own statements: not audited, not reviewed, not compiled, and without notes.

What a run finds

One list of 21 balances becomes four statements at Northbrook Trading

Northbrook Trading is a wholesale company that we made up. It works in US dollars and reports under IFRS. Its year ends on Tuesday 30 June 2026, and the skill runs on Wednesday 15 July 2026. Every figure on this page is in thousands of dollars ($000).

The input is the trial balance: each account and its balance at the year end. Northbrook has 21 accounts. The debits are 1,551 and the credits are 1,551, so the difference is 0. The skill puts each account on exactly one line of a statement.

Each statement answers a different question. The balance sheet shows what the business owns and owes on one day. The income statement shows the profit or loss over a period. The cash flow statement shows the cash that came in and went out, in three parts¹. Under IFRS, a complete set also has a statement of changes in equity, notes, and last year's figures beside this year's².

Profit for the year38Revenue 960 − goods 585 − wages 210 − depreciation 26 − other 80 − finance 9 − tax 12

Change in cash(50)Cash went from 134 to 84 in the same year

Total assets516Liabilities 224 + equity 292

Exception before mapping2An "Ask My Accountant" balance. The skill asks you about it first

Profit is 38, but cash fell by 50. The statements link to each other, but profit and cash are different figures¹. Two links carry the numbers from one statement to the next. The diagram shows both.

Example figures for a made-up company, in $000. Retained earnings and current-year profit stay on two lines because the year is not closed yet. After the close, they become one figure, 242.

Link 1 follows the profit. Net income from the income statement goes into retained earnings³. Link 2 follows the cash. The cash flow statement starts with the profit and adds back costs that use no cash, for example depreciation. Then it adjusts for the change in each working-capital account. Last year's cash plus the net flow must equal this year's cash⁴. At Northbrook, 134 − 50 = 84.

The mistake it catches

The report from your software always balances

Your accounting software prints a balance sheet. That report always balances, because double-entry software makes it balance. So the report proves that the software works. It does not prove that your statements are right.

Northbrook has one bank loan of 120. Its schedule shows that 40 is due by 30 June 2027. A debt that is due within twelve months after the year end is a current liability. This includes the current part of a long-term loan⁵. The ledger does not know the due dates, so the skill needs the schedule.

What the skill builds

The loan split from your schedule, then the balance proved again

Loan due within 12 months40

Loan due later80

Current liabilities: 74 + 21 + 9 + 40144

Assets 516 = 224 + 292difference 0

The skill proves the balance on the statement that it built, after the split. The split is presentation only, so nobody posts an entry for it.

The software's own report

The same books at 30 June 2026

Bank loan, all long-term120

"Ask My Accountant"in other current assets

Current liabilities: 74 + 21 + 9104

Assets 516 = 516balances

It balances, and it still shows 40 of debt in the wrong place. A reader sees bills of 104 due this year, when the real figure is 144.

As an illustration only, divide current assets by current liabilities. The result is 354 ÷ 104 = 3.40 on the software's report, and 354 ÷ 144 = 2.46 on the built statement. The skill calculates no ratios. We show this figure to make the difference clear.

Balance sheet, $000	30 Jun 2026	30 Jun 2025	Where it comes from
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment	162	148	Cost 260 − depreciation 98
Current assets
Inventories	140	125
Trade and other receivables	118	96
Prepayments	12	9	10 + the 2 from "Ask My Accountant", on your instruction
Cash and cash equivalents	84	134
Total assets	516	512
Equity
Share capital	50	50
Retained earnings	204	219	219 − dividends 15
Current-year profit	38	—	The year is not closed yet
Total equity	292	269
Non-current liabilities
Bank loan, less the current part	80	100	From the schedule
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables	95	86	74 + 21. Last year 68 + 18
Current part of the bank loan	40	50	From the schedule
Current tax liability	9	7
Total liabilities	224	243
Liabilities + equity	516	512	Difference 0 in both years

Example figures for a made-up company, in $000. IFRS often shows non-current items first. The 2025 column equals Northbrook's 2025 statements as issued.

The skill also catches a second mistake: last year in the ledger can differ from last year as issued. That happens when someone agreed audit adjustments and nobody posted them. Suppose the issued 2025 statements show accrued expenses of 24, and the ledger shows 18. Check 6 then fails with a difference of 6. The skill reports it and asks which version governs, before it builds the comparatives.

The seven checks

Each check shows its difference, even when it is zero

A statement that "balances" with no number is only a claim. A statement that "balances, difference 0" is evidence. So the skill reports all seven checks with their differences. Accountants call these checks tie-outs.

#	What must agree	Northbrook, $000	Result
1	Assets = liabilities + equity, on the built statement	516 = 224 + 292	Pass
2	Profit on the income statement = profit at the top of the cash flow	38 = 38	Pass
3	Profit = profit in the equity statement. Other comprehensive income = its movement in equity	38 = 38. OCI 0 = 0	Pass
4	Opening cash + the three cash flows = cash on the balance sheet	134 + 35 − 40 − 45 = 84	Pass
5	Closing retained earnings in the equity statement = retained earnings + current-year profit on the balance sheet	242 = 204 + 38	Pass
6	Last year's figures = last year's statements as issued	Each line against your PDF	[manual]
7	Every statement uses the same currency	All say USD, $000	Pass

Example figures for a made-up company, in $000. All the balances are round thousands, so rounding makes no difference here. A real trial balance in dollars can make $1 differences, and the skill shows them.

Check 6 is a manual check. The skill compared each line by hand with the 2025 statements that you uploaded. It never shows check 6 as an automatic pass. Without the issued statements, check 6 stays [manual] and does not pass.

Can I give it to my bank?

The statements agree, but they are your own statements

Your bank or investor can read the package, and every page says where the numbers came from. But nobody outside the business checked it. In the US, a CPA can give three levels of service⁶:

Compilation

No assurance. The CPA does not need to be independent, but must say so. A lender often accepts this for a first or smaller loan⁶.

Review

Limited assurance. An independent CPA asks questions and does analysis⁶.

Audit

High assurance, but not absolute. The auditor gives an opinion⁶.

The skill does none of these. Ask your bank which one it needs. The skill also does not write the notes. Under IFRS, a complete set of statements includes notes², so your accountant must add them. A US company may use US GAAP. The skill asks which framework you use and never chooses one for you.

For a US SBA 7(a) loan, the checklist asks for a profit and loss statement that is current within 180 days of the application. It also asks for a one-year projection with a written explanation, and three years of signed tax returns⁷. Statements at 30 June 2026 stay within 180 days until about the end of December 2026. The skill makes no projection and no tax return. Other lenders and other countries have their own lists.

How a run starts

Nine items, in one message

The skill asks these first, in one short batch. It asks only for what it cannot already see. Northbrook's answers are in brackets.

Use MosoFin for this run, or upload the data yourself?
MosoFin is the connection to your books. With it, the skill reads from there. Without it, you upload the files, and the checks are the same. It asks only if your account has the MosoFin tools. (MosoFin.)
Which framework: US GAAP, IFRS, a local GAAP, or a special-purpose basis? And what legal form is the business?
A special-purpose basis is, for example, the income tax basis or the cash basis. The framework sets the order, the words and the titles. The legal form sets the equity section. You must answer this item. The skill never chooses it for you. (IFRS, a private company limited by shares.)
Which period, and which columns: month, year to date, prior year, budget?
You must answer this item. A trial balance at a month end holds the year to date, not the month. Last year's column must use the same basis. (The year to 30 June 2026, with columns for 2026 and 2025.)
For a group: one combined set of statements, or a set for each company?
Accountants say consolidated or separate. The skill asks this only when more than one company file is in scope. (Does not apply. Northbrook has one company file.)
Please send last year's statements as issued.
This item is a request for a file. Check 6 compares the ledger with these statements. Without them, check 6 stays [manual] and does not pass. (The 2025 statements, as a PDF.)
How do you know which part of each loan or lease is due within a year?
No ledger account knows the due dates, so the skill asks for the amortization schedules. It never guesses the split. It names the schedule that it needs. (The loan schedule: 40 due by 30 June 2027.)
Round to whole dollars, thousands or millions?
The rounding must be the same through the whole package. The skill never chooses it for you. (Thousands.)
Group the costs by function or by nature?
By function means what the cost was for, for example selling. By nature means what the cost was, for example wages. Both give the same profit. Without an answer, the skill applies your policy or the usual form for the framework. (By nature.)
Anything special: a business you are selling, segments, a different reporting currency, earnings per share?
The ledger flags none of these, and it holds no share count. They apply only if you have them, and they are [manual]. The skill never guesses a share count. (None.)

Then it reads the plan back and waits for your yes. The skill's own example uses Northbrook:

"Building IFRS statements for Northbrook Trading for the year to 30 June 2026, with one comparative year, from the trial balance read through your Mosofin connection on the accrual basis. By nature, non-current items first, in thousands; the current portion of the loan from your amortization schedule, and comparatives checked against the FY2025 financials you uploaded. Shall I go ahead?"

On the MosoFin path, it reads back the workspace and the company file by name before this plan, and waits for your yes. It reads the legal name, the currency and the year end from your company profile. It tells you if one of them disagrees with the period that you asked for.

What you need

Connect once, or upload the trial balance

Connected with MosoFin

Say yes, then give it what no ledger holds

It reads the trial balance at both year ends, with the same accounting method for both
It reads the chart of accounts with the account types, and your company profile
It reads the software's balance sheet, profit and loss and cash flow report, but only as a cross-check
It reads the general ledger for the movements. If that read needs your approval, it asks you in the chat first
You still give it the framework, last year's statements as issued and the loan and lease schedules. It can never read a share register, a schedule, a valuation or last year's audited statements

Uploading instead

Bring the trial balance, and more if you have it

Trial balance at the period end, with account types. CSV or XLSX, required
Trial balance at each comparative period end, on the same basis. CSV or XLSX, required for comparatives
Last year's statements as issued, PDF or XLSX, recommended for check 6
Loan and lease schedules, CSV, XLSX or PDF, recommended for the current part
Profit and loss or ledger activity, CSV or XLSX, if the trial balance is after the year-end close or you need a month's figures
Balance sheet or trial balance at the start of the period, CSV or XLSX, required for cash flows
Ledger detail for fixed asset, loan and equity accounts, CSV or XLSX, required for cash flows and changes in equity
Share count, segment data or details of a business you are selling, if they apply. Type them in the chat, or send a file
Framework, period, rounding, consolidated or separate, legal name and currency, typed in the chat. You must give all of them, but the rounding is only a recommendation

What you get back

A workpaper of up to nine sheets, with the source on every statement

1 Trial balanceEach account with the statement line that it maps to, and where the skill read it.

2 to 6 The statementsBalance sheet, income statement, comprehensive income, cash flows and changes in equity, with last year beside this year.

7 Tie-outsThe seven checks, each with its difference.

8 ReclassificationsEach change says whether it is presentation only or an entry for a person to post.

9 CoverageFor each task, what the skill read and with which tool. It has a row for each of the seven checks.

Northbrook gets 8 of the 9 sheets. It has no other comprehensive income, so profit and comprehensive income share one statement, and sheet 4 is not necessary. Sheet 8 has two rows. The loan split is presentation only. The "Ask My Accountant" balance has a proposed entry for your bookkeeper: debit Prepayments 2, credit Ask My Accountant 2.

Every statement carries a footer. At Northbrook it reads: Northbrook Trading · year to 30 June 2026 · USD $000 · source: QuickBooks via Mosofin, company file Northbrook Trading · mock: false. The footer stays with the statements when they leave the conversation. The answer ends with one line that lists the data sources.

The skill asks before it makes the Excel file, and again before a PDF. Here the file is Financial_Statements_2026-06_Northbrook Trading.xlsx. If you say no, you get the same sheets as tables in the chat. After you see the results, it offers to save your framework, choices, account mapping and loan-split rule for the next run. It never saves a balance or a statement figure.

What it refuses or sends elsewhere

Five requests that get a different answer

"Ask My Accountant" has 2 in it: The skill lists the balance as an exception before it maps any account, and asks you about it. You say that it is a deposit to a supplier, so it shows in Prepayments. It never hides such a balance in an "Other" line.
"Please post that entry": The skill says no, once and plainly, and gives you the draft entry. Your bookkeeper posts it in your own system. The answer stays the same if you ask again.
"Add the notes that the bank wants": The skill writes no notes. Your accountant adds them. Without notes, the package is not a complete IFRS set².
No loan schedule: The skill names the schedule that it needs. It never guesses the part that is due within a year.
The trial balance does not balance: Not the case at Northbrook. The skill tells you to fix it first, with a review in the closing-entries-and-trial-balance skill.

What it never does

Six rules that never bend

Never reads MosoFin without asking. A connected account is not permission to read it.
Never reads anything before you answer the intake items and say yes to the read-back.
Never writes, updates or deletes anything, in any system. Every entry that it makes is a proposal for a person to post.
Never proves the balance on the software's report. It proves it on the statements that it built, after each change. It reports all seven checks with their differences, even zero. Check 6 is [manual], and the skill never shows it as a pass.
Never chooses for you a framework, the split between current and non-current, a rounding basis or a share count.
Never adds company packages together for a group. Group statements come from the group trial balance. If it cannot read one company of the group, it stops. If the data is test data (mock), every statement says so.

Words you'll hear

Eight terms, in plain English

Trial balance: The list of every account and its balance. It is the raw material of the statements.
Balance sheet: What the business owns and owes on one day¹. IFRS calls it the statement of financial position.
Income statement: The profit or loss over a period¹. IFRS calls it the statement of profit or loss.
Cash flow statement: The cash that came in and went out, in operating, investing and financing parts¹.
Current and non-current: Due within twelve months after the year end, or later⁵.
Comparatives: Last year's figures beside this year's, so that a reader can see the change².
Tie-out: A check that two figures in different places agree. The seven tie-outs are the skill's own list.
Compilation, review, audit: The three levels of a US CPA's work on statements, from no assurance to high assurance⁶.

Sources

Where the facts on this page come from

The sources are two IFRS Foundation pages, an SEC guide, two sections of an accounting textbook, an AICPA & CIMA guide and an SBA checklist. We found each one on 28 October 2026 in search results. We did not open the pages, so follow each link for today's wording. What the skill does comes from the skill's own files.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Beginners' Guide to Financial StatementsThe balance sheet shows one moment. The income statement covers a period. The cash flow statement has operating, investing and financing parts. The statements link to each other, and cash flow is a different figure from net income.
IFRS Foundation: IAS 1 Presentation of Financial StatementsA complete set has five parts, each with last year's figures. They are a balance sheet and a statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income. The others are a statement of changes in equity, a cash flow statement and notes. The search results show IFRS 18 as the successor to IAS 1, so check which standard applies to your period.
OpenStax: Principles of Accounting, Volume 1, 4.5 Prepare Financial Statements Using the Adjusted Trial BalanceThe statements come from the adjusted trial balance. Net income from the income statement goes into retained earnings.
OpenStax: Principles of Accounting, Volume 1, 16.3 Prepare the Statement of Cash Flows Using the Indirect MethodThe operating part starts with net income, adds back depreciation and adjusts for each change in working capital. Beginning cash plus the net cash flow gives the ending cash.
IFRS Foundation: IAS 1 (2024 issued text)A liability due within twelve months after the reporting period is current. The current part of a long-term financial liability is an example.
AICPA & CIMA: Guide to financial statement services: compilation, review and auditA compilation gives no assurance, a review gives limited assurance, and an audit gives high but not absolute assurance. This is a US guide. The search results show it as an older brochure, updated for SSARS No. 21.
U.S. Small Business Administration: 7(a) Loan Application ChecklistThe profit and loss statement must be current within 180 days of the application. The checklist also asks for a one-year projection and three years of signed tax returns. This applies to the US SBA 7(a) program only.

No outside authority backs the seven tie-outs, the nine sheets, the [auto], [gated] and [manual] marks, the footer or the mapping rule. They are the skill's own rules. We made up Northbrook Trading and every figure in the example. The example uses IFRS because the skill's own read-back uses it. A US business may choose US GAAP, and this page does not cite the US GAAP standards. Ask your accountant which framework and which footer apply to you.

About this skill

This page explains financial-statement-builder, from the MosoFin finance skills library, MosoFin/mosofin-finance-skills on GitHub. Read the skill on GitHub → The skill is in the card format on the main branch. It merged in PR #1 on 26 October 2026, and a bookkeeping-audit fix followed on 27 October 2026. This page describes that version. Want the worked examples? Learn it step by step →