what is the difference between fiscal and calendar quarters 
if a company decides to have a fiscal year different than a calendar year the dates for each quarter may be different however if a company decides to report financial information on the same dates as a standard calendar cycle the dates are quarter 1 jan 1 through march 30quarter 2 april 1 through june 30quarter 3 july 1 through sept 30quarter 4 oct 1 through dec 31the bottom lineorganizing financial planning and reporting into three month quarterly units enables companies and those that analyze and govern them to track progress set requirements and make useful comparisons some critics feel undue focus on quarters promotes short term thinking and planning and can make some information out of date but generally organizing information this way and quarters don t have to follow the traditional calendar increases the ability to organize information and recognize potential problems early 