Genre in the Discourse Community of Finance

Sean Nessl

Genre has multiple accepted meanings in the academic world. Most people accept genre as form of writing in which the story line follows a general theme or genre. In the sense of Discourse Communities there is a very specific definition of genre. According to the academic scholar, Amy J. Devitt, genre connects to purpose, participants, and themes derived from the notion of genre as a response to recurring rhetorical situations (Devitt). In slightly simpler terms genre is a form of writing that members of a discourse community use to connect and communicate and is specific to that community. It is something that is used constantly and well understood by any member in that community. This paper will explore the community of Finance and Accounting and the genre its members frequently use. The genre most commonly used by members of the finance and accounting community would be financial statements. Each fiscal year and/or quarter, publically traded companies are required by the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) to release financial statements on the corporation. Investors and creditors review these statements in order to have truthful knowledge and so they are able to decide whether to invest or not invest. Within the definition of genre there should be a rhetorical situation that the genre responds to. In the genre of financial statements there is a need from investors to understand the past business success or failure so that they can decide whether to invest in that company and if their company will be profitable. These financial statements are not only in response to a need by the investors or creditors but also the need by the corporation for capitol to start up their business. This is

why the financial statements are regulated because when false information is given they may gain more investors, which is the goal of the corporation. In some situations these financial statements can create a separate rhetorical situation. Depending how the investor or creditor reads the financial statement they may or may not invest in that company. When it comes to structure of financial statements there are actually around four statements that all give different information on the corporation. The main statement that tells the overall success of the company would be the income statement. This statement is strictly revenues and expenses, which shows whether the company has a net income or a net loss. Other statements would be a statement of cash flow, statement of stockholders equity, and a balance sheet. Each of these used properly together can depict how the company will do in the future. Main aspects of the financial statements are the labeling. Each statement has the company name, the name of the statement, and the date of which the period is recorded. This is a crucial part because it shows when the data was recorded. The data is usually very clear and is the logos appeal to the statements. Every aspect is important and is needed to make correct decisions on the company. Overall companies need investors to start up their company and financial statements are the genre that tells the truthful past and present financial status of that company.