Learn Time Buckets and Financial Reporting

In financial reporting, it is essential to analyze data within specific time periods to uncover trends and make informed decisions. These periods, known as time buckets, allow you to group transactions into intervals such as quarters, years, or custom fiscal periods. By aggregating data into time buckets, you can:

Compare performance across consistent time frames;
Identify seasonal patterns;
Produce standardized reports.

Common time buckets in finance include quarterly and yearly groupings, both of which are widely used for evaluating business performance and meeting regulatory requirements.


              1234567
            
-- Group transactions by quarter and sum the amounts
SELECT
  DATE_TRUNC('quarter', transaction_date) AS quarter_start,
  SUM(amount) AS total_amount
FROM transactions
GROUP BY quarter_start
ORDER BY quarter_start;

When you review quarterly financial data, each row represents the total transactions that occurred within a three-month period. This aggregation helps you spot trends, such as increased sales or expenses in specific quarters, and compare results across different quarters. Quarterly reporting is especially important for budgeting, forecasting, and regulatory filings, as it breaks the year into manageable segments for analysis.


              1234567891011
            
-- Group transactions by fiscal year starting in July
SELECT
  CASE
    WHEN EXTRACT(MONTH FROM transaction_date) >= 7
      THEN EXTRACT(YEAR FROM transaction_date) + 1
    ELSE EXTRACT(YEAR FROM transaction_date)
  END AS fiscal_year,
  SUM(amount) AS total_amount
FROM transactions
GROUP BY fiscal_year
ORDER BY fiscal_year;

Many organizations use a fiscal year that does not align with the calendar year. For example, a company may define its fiscal year as starting in July and ending in June of the following year. In this case, you need to adjust your date logic to ensure that transactions are correctly grouped into the appropriate fiscal year. This adjustment typically involves using conditional logic in your SQL queries to shift the year boundary according to the organization's reporting requirements.

Note

A fiscal year is a 12-month period used for accounting and financial reporting that may not coincide with the standard calendar year (January to December). A calendar year always starts on January 1 and ends on December 31.

Everything was clear?

Thanks for your feedback!

Section 1. Chapter 5

Ask AI

Ask anything or try one of the suggested questions to begin our chat

Swipe to show menu

Compare performance across consistent time frames;
Identify seasonal patterns;
Produce standardized reports.

Common time buckets in finance include quarterly and yearly groupings, both of which are widely used for evaluating business performance and meeting regulatory requirements.


              1234567
            
-- Group transactions by quarter and sum the amounts
SELECT
  DATE_TRUNC('quarter', transaction_date) AS quarter_start,
  SUM(amount) AS total_amount
FROM transactions
GROUP BY quarter_start
ORDER BY quarter_start;


              1234567891011
            
-- Group transactions by fiscal year starting in July
SELECT
  CASE
    WHEN EXTRACT(MONTH FROM transaction_date) >= 7
      THEN EXTRACT(YEAR FROM transaction_date) + 1
    ELSE EXTRACT(YEAR FROM transaction_date)
  END AS fiscal_year,
  SUM(amount) AS total_amount
FROM transactions
GROUP BY fiscal_year
ORDER BY fiscal_year;

Note

Everything was clear?

Thanks for your feedback!

Section 1. Chapter 5

Time Buckets and Financial Reporting

1. What is the difference between a fiscal year and a calendar year?

2. Which SQL function helps create quarterly reports?

3. Why might a company use a non-calendar fiscal year?

Time Buckets and Financial Reporting

1. What is the difference between a fiscal year and a calendar year?

2. Which SQL function helps create quarterly reports?

3. Why might a company use a non-calendar fiscal year?