Welcome to Corporate Conversations, our podcast breaking down the legal issues that matter most in today’s corporate landscape and delivering practical insights for business owners, executives and legal professionals. Be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss an episode!
Decoding Financial Statements: Insights for Transactional and Litigation Lawyers
In this episode of Corporate Conversations, Nossaman attorneys Nathan Guttman, Kimberly Kamkar and Patrick Richard introduce the basics of financial statements and how they function as both deal tools and litigation evidence. Our hosts walk through the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement, explain additional components like footnotes, management discussion and analysis and highlight key accounting and auditing standards (GAAP, GAAS, PCAOB, AICPA).
From the transactional side, the discussion focuses on how financials drive deal terms, including working capital adjustments and earnout structures. From the litigation side, it covers how those same numbers inform theories of liability and damages, what red flags to look for and how to work effectively with experts such as CPAs, forensic accountants, economists and auditors.
Lawyers don’t need to be accountants, but they do need enough fluency to read the “story behind the numbers” and know when and how to bring in the right experts.
