Investors, creditors, and regulatory agencies generally focus their analysis of financial statements on the company as a whole. Since they cannot request special-purpose reports, external users must rely on the general purpose financial statements that companies publish.
Source: Boundless. “Uses of the Balance Sheet.” Boundless Accounting. Boundless, 21 Jul. 2015. Retrieved 09 Nov. 2015 from https://www.boundless.com/accounting/textbooks/boundless-accounting-textbook/overview-of-financial-statements-3/the-balance-sheet-25/uses-of-the-balance-sheet-159-6010/