Last Fiscal Year (LFY)
What it is:
Last fiscal year (LFY) refers to a company's most recent completed fiscal year.
How it works (Example):
A fiscal year is a company's 12-month accounting cycle. The cycle begins on the first of any month (not necessarily January 1) and ends on the last day of the 12th month thereafter. A company's last fiscal year is the fiscal year that immediately preceded its current fiscal year.
For example, suppose Company ABC's fiscal year begins July 1, 2011 and ends June 30, 2012. As of September 15, 2011, Company ABC's last fiscal year would be the one that began July 1, 2010 and ended June 30, 2011.
Why it Matters:
Analysts constantly refer to a firm's last fiscal year when measuring and tracking performance and reporting functions. The last fiscal year is the starting point for most analyses and forecasts for the current fiscal year.
