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Financial Statement Horizontal and Vertical Analysis

Analyze any type of data with Sourcetable. Talk to Sourcetable's AI chatbot to tell it what analysis you want to run, and watch Sourcetable do the rest.


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Introduction

Horizontal analysis compares financial statement data over multiple time periods to identify trends and patterns. This essential financial analysis technique helps analysts evaluate company performance, strengths, and weaknesses by examining how line items change across quarters or years. While traditionally performed in Excel through manual comparisons and percentage calculations, modern AI-powered alternatives now exist.

Sourcetable is an AI-native spreadsheet that lets you analyze data through natural conversation. Instead of using complex Excel functions, users simply upload their financial data and tell Sourcetable's AI chatbot what analysis they need. The AI assistant handles everything from data analysis to chart creation, making complex financial analysis accessible without requiring spreadsheet expertise.

This guide explores how to perform horizontal and vertical analysis efficiently using Sourcetable's AI capabilities, which you can try at https://app.sourcetable.cloud/signup.

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Why Sourcetable Is the Best Tool for Horizontal and Vertical Analysis

Sourcetable reinvents financial analysis through its AI-powered chatbot interface. Instead of manually calculating vertical analysis formulas like (Line item/base amount) x 100, users simply tell Sourcetable what they want to analyze. The AI handles all calculations and data processing automatically.

While Excel requires manual formula entry and formatting, Sourcetable's conversational AI interface eliminates technical complexity. Upload your financial data or connect your database, then let the AI analyze trends, compare periods, and generate insights through natural language commands.

Sourcetable transforms how analysts track financial performance and examine statement composition. Rather than navigating Excel's complex features, users can request specific analyses or comparisons in plain English, and the AI delivers instant results.

Though Excel offers visualization capabilities, Sourcetable's AI creates professional charts and data tables through simple conversation. Tell the AI what insights you need, and it automatically generates clear, compelling visualizations that communicate your financial analysis effectively.

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Benefits of Horizontal Analysis with Sourcetable

Horizontal analysis enables assessment of past performance and current financial position while revealing trends for future projections. Companies can benchmark against competitors in their industry to gain competitive insights.

Why Choose Sourcetable for Analysis

Sourcetable transforms financial analysis through its AI chatbot interface, eliminating the need for complex spreadsheet functions. Simply upload your data files or connect your database, then tell the AI what analysis you need - it handles everything from data processing to visualization.

Instead of wrestling with Excel formulas and manual data manipulation, Sourcetable's AI creates spreadsheets from scratch, generates sample data, and performs sophisticated analysis through natural conversation. The platform automatically turns your data into stunning visualizations and charts.

Whether analyzing large datasets or creating financial reports, Sourcetable's conversational AI interface makes complex analysis accessible. Users can create, analyze, and visualize data by simply describing what they want to accomplish.

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Horizontal and Vertical Analysis Examples in Sourcetable

Horizontal Analysis Capabilities

Sourcetable simplifies horizontal analysis through its AI-powered interface. Instead of manually calculating changes across periods, simply tell the AI chatbot what comparisons you need. Upload your financial statements or connect your database, and Sourcetable's AI will track absolute dollar changes and percentage variations between years automatically.

Vertical Analysis Applications

Vertical analysis in Sourcetable requires no manual calculations of (Line item / base amount) x 100. Simply upload your financial data and ask the AI to perform vertical analysis. For income statements, Sourcetable automatically calculates each item's percentage of total revenue. For cash flow statements, it computes proportions relative to total operating cash flow.

Advanced Analysis Features

Sourcetable processes files of any size, from CSV to XLSX formats, or connects directly to your database. The AI chatbot interface eliminates the need for complex formulas or manual data manipulation. Tell Sourcetable what insights you need, and it will analyze your financial data and create appropriate visualizations automatically.

AI-Enhanced Analysis Tools

Unlike traditional spreadsheet software, Sourcetable's AI chatbot interface handles data transformation and analysis through natural language commands. Create spreadsheets from scratch, generate sample data, and perform complex financial analyses by simply describing what you want. The AI understands your requirements and delivers accurate results without manual spreadsheet work.

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Use Cases for Horizontal and Vertical Analysis with Sourcetable

Real-Time Financial Trend Analysis

Upload financial statements to Sourcetable and use the AI chatbot to perform horizontal analysis across multiple accounting periods. Simply tell the AI what trends you want to identify, and it will analyze the historical financial data and highlight key patterns automatically.

Competitor Benchmarking

Import competitor financial data files into Sourcetable and let the AI perform horizontal analysis. The AI chatbot can create comprehensive visualizations comparing growth rates and financial positions across companies using (Current Value - Base Value) / Base Value × 100.

Multi-Period Vertical Analysis

Connect your financial database or upload statement files to Sourcetable for vertical analysis across different reporting periods. The AI chatbot can instantly calculate proportional percentages and identify significant changes in account relationships through natural language commands.

Automated Financial Projections

Let Sourcetable's AI analyze your historical financial data to project future performance. Simply ask the AI to identify trends and create forward-looking projections, and it will generate comprehensive forecasts with supporting visualizations.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are Horizontal and Vertical Analysis and how do they differ?

Horizontal analysis examines financial data across multiple accounting periods to identify trends over time, while vertical analysis focuses on relationships between numbers within a single reporting period. Horizontal analysis is also known as trend analysis and can use both absolute and percentage comparisons. Vertical analysis expresses each line item as a percentage of a base figure within the statement.

What are the main benefits of using Horizontal and Vertical Analysis?

Horizontal analysis helps assess past performance, current financial position, and project future performance. It's particularly valuable for benchmarking against competitors and evaluating business value for sales or acquisitions. Vertical analysis provides useful comparisons of a company's financial health to competitors and helps understand how financials change over time.

How can I perform Horizontal and Vertical Analysis in Sourcetable?

With Sourcetable's AI chatbot, you can simply upload your financial data or connect your database and tell the AI what analysis you want to perform. The AI will automatically process your financial statements, perform calculations, and generate insights. For vertical analysis, it will calculate percentages and create appropriate visualizations. You can easily generate trend analysis charts and comparative visualizations just by describing what you want to see, without needing to know complex spreadsheet functions or formulas.

Conclusion

Horizontal analysis provides crucial insights into a company's financial performance over time. While Excel remains a popular tool for conducting this analysis through formulas and spreadsheet functions, Sourcetable offers an AI-powered alternative that transforms how financial analysis is performed. This innovative AI spreadsheet lets you analyze data through natural conversation, eliminating the need for complex Excel skills.

Sourcetable's AI capabilities extend beyond basic analysis, enabling users to create spreadsheets from scratch, generate sample data, and create stunning visualizations through simple chat commands. Upload your financial data files or connect your database, and let Sourcetable's AI chatbot handle the analysis. This conversational approach to financial analysis means you can focus on interpreting results rather than managing spreadsheet formulas.

Ready to transform your financial analysis workflow? Try Sourcetable's AI-powered approach to horizontal and vertical analysis at https://app.sourcetable.cloud/signup.



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