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 Morningstar, Yahoo Finance or MSN Money, and using the stock market symbol for your chosen company (which can be looked up on Morningstar, Yahoo Finance or MSN Money). If you work for a U.S. public company, you probably want to use the financial statements of your company - but the choice is up to you.
NOTE: Sometimes Yahoo, MSN Money and Morningstar omit numbers. Only the annual report from the company web site or the SEC form 10-K (for U S Companies) can be guaranteed to have all numbers correct. The 10-K Business section and Management Discussion and Analysis contain valuable information about the business, competitors and what happened to financial results. It can be found on the SEC web site: www.sec.gov. Click on Edgar and then enter the ticker symbol for the company. Search for 10-K.
It is useful to compare financial ratios for a company with financial ratios of its industry. Industry financial ratios can be found on Morningstar.com, Yahoo Finance and MSN Money.
Please answer the following questions:
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 Cash Flow Statement?
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? Give 2 facts learned from reading footnotes.
7) What can you learn from the Business Section of the 10-K? Give two facts about the company that you picked from the Business Section.
8) What can you learn from the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the 10-K? Give two facts about the company from this section.