Organization Question

ok, how does YOUR brain work?

I need to organize some reports on our company intranet. I have files for 2008, 2009 and 2010.

The reports are issued quarterly in Feb, May, August and November.

Ok, so here is the confusing part.....
May = Q1
August = Q2
November = Q3

The Q4 reports are issued in February of the next year.

Sooooo.... do I put them in the correct Quarter year OR do I put them in the year they are issued OR do I put them in both OR....?

Help!

You might want to check with some people you work with, but depending on how they would be accessed I would be inclined to think that quarter year makes more sense per that company. As long as everyone that would need access those reports clearly knows the system you use...

I would go by company year. For example if they start their company year in June each year, their year would go from June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011. So anything that occurred within that company year was filed in that company year.

At least that's how it was done at all of the business I have worked at.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I would go by company year. For example if they start their company year in June each year, their year would go from June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011. So anything that occurred within that company year was filed in that company year.

At least that's how it was done at all of the business I have worked at.

Click to expand...

My DH and I work with publicly traded companies, and have to use 10Qs and 10Ks for all of them. We track everything by the company fiscal year (though when we compare earnings of companies, we have to do our best to convert all numbers to calendar years - but that's a different issue. ).

My file system (on computer) starts with company ticker (XYZ), then year (2008, 2009 or 2010 &etc. - using all four numbers), then month, then day, then what it is (10K, 10Q, 8K, SB4, &etc.). That way when looking at something in "list" or "detail" view, it comes up (when sorted on file name) in the right time progression and is VERY easy to locate.

If you're talking about physical files, again - I'd stick with the company's fiscal year, not the calendar year.

I agree - for these files I believe you want to work off fiscal year, rather than calendar year. For example, my employer has a fiscal year beginning July 1, so we're goinwith g into FY11 very soon, even though the calendar date is July 1, 2010. A lot of companies have both a calendar and fiscal year that start January 1 (which 1Q ending 3-31, 2Q ending 6-30, 3Q ending 9-30, and 4Q ending 12-31) but that's not the only way to do that. School systems, for example, often have a different fiscal year.

I also agree it's probably a good idea to check with management as to their preference - but they may want something long the line of Fiscal year 08, Quarter 1, etc.

It can give you a headache, but just find out when your fiscal year begins (I'm guessing your fourth quarter actually ends January 31 - usually a quarterly report is actually issued the following month, once all the numbers are finalized.