How to Cite Financial Statements: APA, MLA, and Chicago
Accurately reference financial data for academic papers or business reports. Comprehensive guidance for APA, MLA, and Chicago formats.
Financial statements provide a transparent view into an organization’s financial health. These documents, including the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement, offer data for investors, regulators, and researchers to assess a company’s activities. Accurately citing financial statements is fundamental for academic and professional integrity. Proper citation allows readers to locate the original source, verify information, and reinforce credibility.
Essential Information for Citing Financial Statements
Before formatting a citation for a financial statement, gather specific data points from the source document. Identify the full legal name of the entity issuing the statements, such as “Acme Corporation.” This is typically found on the cover page of an annual report or a regulatory filing like a Form 10-K.
Note the specific title of the financial statement, for instance, “Consolidated Balance Sheets,” “Statements of Income,” or “Statements of Cash Flows.” Also, identify the reporting period or date covered by the statement, which might appear as “as of December 31, 2023” for a balance sheet or “for the year ended December 31, 2023” for an income statement.
The source of publication indicates where the financial statement was obtained. Common sources include an Annual Report, a Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company’s official investor relations website, or a financial database like Bloomberg. If accessed online, the direct URL or the name of the database is required. The date the user retrieved the information is important for online sources, as web content can change over time.
Citing Financial Statements in APA Style
Citing financial statements in APA Style requires specific formatting for both in-text citations and reference list entries. For in-text citations, the company name and the year of the report are typically placed in parentheses, such as (Company Name, Year). If specific data is referenced, a page or paragraph number can be added, for example, (Company Name, Year, p. 15).
Annual Report
When citing a financial statement from an Annual Report found on a company’s website, begin with the company name, followed by the year of publication in parentheses. The title of the report should be italicized, and “Annual Report” can be included in brackets if not part of the official title. The full URL is then provided.
Form 10-K
For a financial statement from a Form 10-K filed with the SEC, the company name serves as the author, followed by the year. The title “Form 10-K” is then stated, often with the specific fiscal year. The publisher, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is included, along with the URL for direct access to the filing on the SEC EDGAR database.
Company Investor Relations Website
Citing a statement accessed directly from a company’s investor relations website follows a similar structure. The company name is listed as the author, followed by the year. The specific statement title, such as “Consolidated Balance Sheet,” is included, along with the phrase “Financial Statement” in brackets. The full URL from the company’s investor relations page completes the entry.
Financial Database
When a financial statement is sourced from a financial database, the company name and year are the initial elements. The specific statement title is provided, followed by “Financial Statement” in brackets, and then the name of the database. For example, “Retrieved from Bloomberg database.” Omit a URL if the database is subscription-based and does not offer stable, direct links.
Citing Financial Statements in MLA Style
MLA Style uses a “Works Cited” page for full bibliographic entries and parenthetical citations within the text. For in-text citations, the company name and the page number are included in parentheses, such as (Company Name 20).
Annual Report
When citing a financial statement from an Annual Report, the company name is listed first. The title of the annual report is then provided in italics, followed by “Annual Report” in regular font. The publisher, usually the company itself, comes next, then the year of publication. If accessed online, the URL is included.
Form 10-K
For a financial statement obtained from a Form 10-K, the entry typically begins with the title “Form 10-K” followed by the fiscal year. The company name is listed as the publisher, then the year of filing. If accessed through the SEC EDGAR database, the name of the database serves as the container, followed by the URL.
Company Investor Relations Website
A financial statement retrieved from a company’s investor relations website is cited by listing the company name. The specific statement title, such as “Statements of Cash Flows,” is enclosed in quotation marks, followed by “Financial Statement.” The website name is italicized, then the date of publication or latest update, and finally the URL.
Financial Database
When the financial statement is from a financial database, the company name is listed. The specific statement title is in quotation marks, followed by “Financial Statement.” The database name is italicized, then the date of access and the URL if available. If the database is proprietary and does not offer a public URL, omit the URL.
Citing Financial Statements in Chicago Style
Chicago Style offers two primary citation systems: Notes-Bibliography and Author-Date. Both systems require slightly different formatting for financial statements.
Annual Report
In the Notes-Bibliography system, a footnote for a financial statement from an Annual Report might include the company name, the report title, the year, and a URL if applicable. The corresponding bibliography entry would list the company name, followed by the italicized report title, the year of publication, and the URL.
Form 10-K
For a Form 10-K, a footnote would detail the company name, “Form 10-K,” the fiscal year, and the SEC as the publisher, along with the URL. In the bibliography, the company name comes first, then “Form 10-K” with the fiscal year, the SEC, and the URL.
Company Investor Relations Website
When citing a financial statement from a company’s investor relations website, a footnote would include the company name, the specific statement title, the date of the statement, the website name, and the URL. The bibliography entry would list the company name, the statement title in quotation marks, the date, the website name, and the URL.
Financial Database
For statements from a financial database, a footnote would specify the company name, the statement title, the database name, and the date of access. The bibliography entry would include the company name, the statement title in quotation marks, the database name, and the date of access. If using the Author-Date system, in-text citations would typically be (Company Name Year), with the full entry in the reference list following a similar structure to the bibliography entries.