--%>

Understand and interpret financial statements

Our purpose this week: learning how to understand and interpret financial statements.

Assignment:

The class should discuss all of the questions listed below as they relate to the financial statements of any U.S. public company of your choice in its latest annual report. You can find the financial statements of any U.S. public company by visiting Yahoo Finance or MSN Money. If you work for a U.S. public company, you may want to use the financial statements of your company - but the choice is up to you.

1) What 3 items of important information does the income statement reveal about the financial performance of the company over the last three years?

2) What 3 items of important information does the balance sheet reveal about the financial position of the company over the last two years?

3) Can you identify the major sources of funding used by the company from the information presented in the company's annual report? If not, how could you get this information?

4) Who is responsible for:

      a) the issuance, and

      b) the content

of the company financial statements? 

5) What assurance, if any, is there that the financial statements are in compliance with GAAP, and are free of material misstatements?

6) Of what use, if any, are the notes to the financial statements?

   Related Questions in Corporate Finance

  • Q : Calculate valuation realized by

    Is a valuation realized through a prestigious investment bank a scientifically approved result that any investor could utilize as a reference?

  • Q : Does the equity of shareholders have

    Does the equity of shareholders represents the savings a company has accumulated by the years?

  • Q : Explain investment of bank for

    When my company is not listed, therefore the investment banks apply an illiquidity premium. In fact, they say this is an illiquidity premium but then they call this a small cap premium. Only one of the banks, apparently based upon Tit

  • Q : How can optimal capital structure be

    How can optimal capital structure be calculated?

  • Q : Efficiency Ratios Efficiency Ratios :

    Efficiency Ratios: These ratios comprise Receivables Turnover, Inventory Turnover, Asset Turnover and Net Working Capital Turnover ratios. Efficiency ratios show the utilization of Assets of the company thus as to generate Revenue that is, the best ut

  • Q : Problem on implied exchange rate a) The

    a) The Australian firm sold a ship to a Swiss firm and gave the Swiss client an option of paying either AUS10,000 or SF15,000 in 9 months. (i) In above, the Australian firm efficiently gave the Swiss client a free option to buy up

  • Q : Problem regarding purchasing machine

    Alger Corp needs to buy some construction equipment for $50,000 that has a helpful life of 4 years with no salvage value. The Alger utilizes straight-line depreciation. Alger contains a tax rate of 30%, and it employs a discount rate of 10%. The equipment will produce

  • Q : Calculate the risk-free rate You have

    You have been given the following information on two corporations; you are to assume that thesecurities are correctly priced. My Corp, Inc. has a Beta of 1.25 and an Expected Return of .145;Your Corp, Inc. has a Beta of .75 and an Expected Return of .095. Based on the

  • Q : Problem on leasing Johnathan Lewis is

    Johnathan Lewis is looking into the possibility of buying several coin-operated vending machines and put them in local hospitals. Each machine costs $2000, that he will depreciate on a straight-line basis over 8 years. The machine will dispense soft-drink cans at 75 c

  • Q : What are Workpapers Workpapers : In

    Workpapers: In finance world, work papers are documents which are created during the procedure of computing the financial records of a business or individual. The accounting professional which is tasked with examining the book-keeping of a business mi