Objectives of Financial Statements

The preparation of Financial Statements is mandatory as well as necessary. As per International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), the objective of financial statements is, "to provide information about the financial position, performance and changes in financial position of an enterprise that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions".
As per the Institute of the Chartered Accountant of India, financial statements have the following objectives:

To provide information about the financial position, performance and cash flows of an enterprise that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions.

To meet the common needs of most users. However, financial statements do not provide all the information that users may need to make economic decisions since (a) they largely portray the financial effects of past events, and (b) they do not necessarily provide non-financial information.

Financial statements also show the results of the stewardship of management, or the accountability of management for the resources entrusted to it. Those users who wish to assess the stewardship or accountability of management do so to make economic decisions; these decisions may include, for example, whether to hold or sell their investment in the enterprise or whether to reappoint or replace the management.