Which financial statement would you look at to assess the financial performance over a certain period?

The income statement is the key financial statement used to assess a company's financial performance over a specified period, typically a quarter or a year. This statement provides a summary of revenues, expenses, and profits or losses, allowing stakeholders to evaluate how well the company is generating profit through its operations. It shows the results of business activities over the chosen timeframe, highlighting overall profitability, cost efficiency, and revenue generation capability.

In contrast, the balance sheet is a snapshot of a company's financial position at a specific moment in time, detailing its assets, liabilities, and equity. The statement of cash flows focuses on cash inflows and outflows, providing insights into the liquidity and cash management of the business, while the statement of retained earnings shows changes in retained earnings over a period, including dividends paid and net income, but does not directly assess overall performance in the same comprehensive way as the income statement does. Therefore, for evaluating financial performance over a period, the income statement is the most relevant choice.