2. 1-2
Map or Maze
• A map helps its user reach a desired
destination through clarity of
representation.
• A maze attempts to confuse its user by
purposefully introducing conflicting
elements and complexities that prevent
reaching the desired goal.
• Financial statements have the potential for
being both map and maze.
1-2
3. 1-3
Financial Statements as a Map
• Form the basis for understanding the
financial position of a firm
• Allow users to assess historical and
prospective financial performance
• Present clear representations of a
firm’s financial health
1-3
4. 1-4
Financial Statements as a Maze
• Overwhelming amount of information
• Unreliable auditing
• Complex policies and reporting
requirements
• Considerable discretion given to
management
• Key information hidden or omitted
1-4
5. 1-5
Map or Maze
The main objectives of this course are to
• ensure that financial statements serve as a map,
not a maze,
• demonstrate how to read and evaluate financial
statements,
• provide the tools and techniques needed to
complete a comprehensive financial statement
analysis, and
• encourage intelligent decision making.
1-5
6. 1-6
Map or Maze
Financial statements and their
accompanying notes contain a wealth of
useful information regarding:
• Financial position of a company
• Success of operations
• Policies and strategies of management
• Insight into future performance
1-6
7. 1-7
Map or Maze
• The user of a firm’s annual report can expect to
encounter a great quantity of information that
encompasses:
Financial statements
Notes to the financial statements
Auditor’s report
Five-year summary of key financial data
High and low stock prices
Management’s discussion and analysis of
operations
Other material
1-7
8. 1-8
Map or Maze
• Financial statements are currently
prepared according to Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles (GAAP).
• The Securities Exchange Commission
(SEC) and the Financial Accounting
Standards Board (FASB) are the two
authorities primarily responsible for
establishing GAAP in the U.S.
1-8
9. 1-9
Map or Maze
• The SEC regulates U.S. companies that issue
securities to the public and requires the
issuance of a prospectus for any new security
offerings.
• The SEC also requires regular filing of:
Annual reports (10-K)
Quarterly reports (10-Q)
Other reports dependent on particular
circumstances, such as a change in auditor,
bankruptcy, financial restatements, or other
important events (all filed as 8-K).
1-9
11. 1-11
Map or Maze
• The globalization of business activity has
resulted in the need for a uniform set of
accounting rules in all countries.
• To address this need, the IASB (International
Accounting Standards Board) was formed in
1973.
• However, there’s a lack of SEC
recommendation to adopt IFRS standards in
the U.S.
• The course focuses on U.S. GAAP, however
the analysis process illustrated can be applied
to reports based on IFRS.
1-11
12. 1-12
Where to Find a Company’s
Financial Statements
• Corporate financial statements are
available from several sources:
From the Form 10-K filed annually with the
SEC.
From corporations’ websites
1-12
13. 1-13
Where to Find a Company’s
Financial Statements
• Form 10-K
Filed annually with the SEC
Same order for all filing companies
Accessed through the Electronic Data
Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR)
database.
1-13
14. 1-14
Where to Find a Company’s
Financial Statements
• Annual reports:
Contain financial statements and public
relations material
Are sent to shareholders and prospective
investors
Are available on corporate websites.
1-14
15. 1-15
The Financial Statements
• A corporate annual report contains four
basic financial statements:
Balance sheet (or statement of financial
position)
Income statement (or earnings statement)
Statement of stockholders’ equity
Statement of cash flows
1-15
16. 1-16
Notes to the Financial Statements
• The notes
are an integral part of the financial statements
and must be read in order to understand the
presentation of the face of each financial
statement.
Provide a summary of the firm’s accounting
policies
Present details about particular accounts
Contain a section showing supplementary
information
1-16
17. 1-17
Auditor’s Report
• The auditor’s report from an external
auditor:
Attests to the fairness of the presentation of
financial statements
Must include an internal control report.
1-17
18. 1-18
Auditor’s Report
• Types of reports
Unqualified reports
Qualified reports
Adverse opinion
Disclaimer of opinion
Unqualified opinion with explanatory
language
1-18
19. 1-19
Auditor’s Report
• An unqualified report states that the financial
statements present fairly, in all material respects,
the financial position, the results of operations,
and the cash flows for the accounting period in
conformity with GAAP.
1-19
20. 1-20
Auditor’s Report
• Some circumstances warrant reports other than
unqualified opinion and are called qualified
reports.
• A departure from GAAP will result in a qualified
opinion and the use of the following language in
the opinion sentence: ‘in our opinion, except for
the (nature of the departure explained), the
financial statements present fairly …’
1-20
21. 1-21
Auditor’s Report
• If the departure from GAAP affects numerous
accounts and financial statement relationships,
then an adverse opinion is rendered, which
states that the financial statements have not been
presented fairly in accordance with GAAP.
• A disclaimer of opinion means that the auditor
cannot evaluate the fairness of the statements
and therefore expresses no opinion on them.
Lack of independence by the auditor will also
result in a disclaimer of opinion.
1-21
22. 1-22
Auditor’s Report
• Many circumstances warrant an unqualified
opinion with explanatory language such as: a
consistent departure due to a change in
accounting principle, uncertainty caused by
future events such as contract disputes and
lawsuits, or events that the auditor wishes to
describe because they may present business risk
and going-concern problems.
1-22
23. 1-23
Financial Reporting Reforms
• Over time, a lack of independence and
conflicts of interest between companies
and their hired auditors led to a series of
accounting scandals that eroded
investors’ confidence in the capital
markets.
• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002
was enacted in hopes of ending future
accounting scandals and renewing
investors’ confidence in the marketplace.
1-23
24. 1-24
Financial Reporting Reforms
• SOX Title I established the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)
• SOX Title II – prohibits non-audit services
during an external audit
• SOX Titles III and IV – corporate responsibility
• SOX Title IX – harsh penalties for violations
1-24
25. 1-25
Management Discussion and
Analysis (MD & A)
• Management discussion & analysis:
Sometimes labeled “Financial Review”
Contains information that cannot be found in
the financial data.
Includes coverage of trends, events, and/or
uncertainties in liquidity, capital resources,
and results of operations.
1-25
26. 1-26
Five-Year Summary of Selected
Financial Data and Market Data
• Five-year Summary of Selected Financial
Data and Market Data required by the
SEC includes:
Net sales or operating revenues
Income or loss from continuing operations
Total assets
Long-term obligations and redeemable
preferred stock
Cash dividends per common share
Two years of high and low common stock
price by quarter 1-26
27. 1-27
Pandora (a.k.a ‘PR Fluff’)
• Pandora (a.k.a. “PR Fluff”) contains
Colored photographs
Charts
Shareholders’ letter from the CEO
Other items to make the report
attractive
• The ‘PR fluff’ is often informative but
sometimes misleading
1-27
28. 1-28
Proxy Statement
• Proxy Statement
Used to solicit shareholder votes
Important in assessing who manages the firm,
how management is paid, and conflict of
interest issues
Provides information about the longevity and
compensation of top management as well as
corporate governance, audit-related matters,
etc.
1-28
29. 1-29
Missing and Hard-to-Find
Information
• Missing and Hard-to-Find Information includes:
Employee relations with management
Morale and efficiency of employees
Reputation of the firm with customers
Firm’s prestige in the community
Effectiveness of management
Provision for management succession
Potential exposure to regulation changes
Publicity in the media
Companies operating in several lines of unrelated business.
1-29
30. 1-30
Characteristics, Assumptions,
Principles, and Basis of Accounting
• Investors, creditors, and analysts use a
firm’s financial statements to predict the
future value of a company and the ability
of that firm to repay debt.
• It is helpful to have a basic understanding
of the key accounting characteristics,
assumptions, and principles used to
predict this data.
1-30
31. 1-31
Characteristics, Assumptions,
Principles, and Basis of Accounting
• Materiality
• Comparability
• Consistency
• The Going Concern Assumption
• The Time Period Assumption
• The Monetary Unit Assumption
• The Revenue Recognition Principle
• The Matching Principle
• The Accrual Basis of Accounting
• The Cash Basis of Accounting
1-31
32. 1-32
Complexities and the Quality
of Financial Reporting
• Interpreting financial statements can be
challenging because of the complexities
inherent in the accounting rules that
underlie financial reporting.
• Ideally, financial statements should reflect
an accurate picture of a company’s
financial condition and performance.
1-32
33. 1-33
Complexities and the Quality
of Financial Reporting
• Many opportunities exist for management
to affect the quality of financial
statements. These include:
Accounting choices
Timing of revenue and expense recognition
Discretionary items
1-33
34. 1-34
Complexities and the Quality
of Financial Reporting
• Accounting Choices
Management discretion in application of
reporting regulations
Differing accounting methods impact
comparability of companies
Financial data appropriated to particular time
periods
1-34
35. 1-35
Complexities and the Quality
of Financial Reporting
• Timing of Revenue and Expense
Recognition
Published financial statements are based
on the accrual basis of accounting, which
• Recognizes revenues when earned
• Recognizes expenses when incurred
• Recognizes revenues and expenses regardless
of when cash inflows and outflows occur.
• Involves judgments by management on timing
1-35
36. 1-36
Complexities and the Quality
of Financial Reporting
• Discretionary Items
Equipment repair and maintenance
Marketing and advertising
Research and development
Capital expansion
Replacement of plant assets
Development of new product lines
Disposal of an operating division
1-36
37. 1-37
Complexities and the Quality
of Financial Reporting
• Discretionary Items
Management choices have an immediate and
long-term impact on profitability (perhaps
not in the same direction).
Financial analyst should scrutinize
management’s policies regarding
discretionary items.
1-37
38. 1-38
The Journey Through the Maze
Continues
Chapter 2 – The Balance Sheet
Chapter 3 – Income Statement and
Statement of Stockholders’ Equity
Chapter 4 – Statement of Cash Flows
Chapter 5 – The Analysis of Financial
Statements
1-38
Editor's Notes
Unreliable auditing because the independent auditors are hired by the companies they are auditing, and many lawsuits have been filed and won against accounting firms for issuing ‘clean’ auditors’ reports on companies that subsequently failed or had major difficulties.
A restatement is a revision and publication of one or more of a company’s previous financial statements. The need to restate financial figures can result from accounting errors, noncompliance with GAAP principles, fraud, misrepresentation, or a simple clerical error.
IFRS standards are developed by the IASB, the independent standard-setting body of the IFRS foundation.
The SEC did not make a recommendation to adopt IFRS standards because it has concerns about items such as the expense of transitioning to IFRS, insufficient influence over IASB standards setting, and the reliance in the U.S. legal environment of contract language that refers to U.S. GAAP.
For form 10-K components, refer to figure 1.2 page 25.
The balance sheet shows the financial position (assets, liabilities, and stockholders’ equity) of the firm on a particular date, such as the end of a quarter or a year.
The income statement presents the results of operations (revenue, expenses, net profit or loss, and net profit or loss per share) for the accounting period.
The statement of stockholders’ equity reconciles the beginning and ending balances of all accounts that appear in the stockholders’ equity section of the balance sheet. Some firms prepare a statement of retained earnings, frequently combined with the income statement, which reconciles the beginning and ending balances of the retained earnings account.
The statement of cash flows provides information about the cash inflows and outflows from operating, financing, and investing activities during an accouunting period.
Particular accounts include inventory, property, plant & equipment, investments, long-term debt, equity accounts.
Supplementary information includes any major acquisitions or divestitures that have occurred during the accounting period; officer and employee retirement, pension, and stock option plans; leasing arrangements; the term, cost, and maturity of debt; pending legal proceedings; income taxes; contingencies and commitments; quarterly results of operations; and operating segments. Firms operating in the extractive industries are required to provide supplementary disclosure relating to reserves. Firms operating in foreign countries show the effects of foreign currency translations. If a firm has several lines of business, the notes will contain a section showing financial information for each reportable segment.
The external auditors are required to audit the internal control assessment of the company as well as the financial statements.
Non-audit services include bookkeeping; design and implementation of financial information systems; valuation and appraisal services; actuarial services; internal audit services; management or human resource function; and broker, dealer, or investment banking services.
Section 302 of title IX requires that the CEO and CFO of a publicly owned company certify the accuracy of the financial statements. An officer who certifies a report that is later found to be inaccurate could face up to $1 million in fines and/or a jail sentence of up to 10 years.
Refer to figure 1.3 page 29.
Companies often choose to include more than five years of data and/or additional items. The summary offers the user of financial statements a quick look at some overall trends.
Refer to pages 32-33 of the book
Accounting methods: a good example is the valuation of inventory using FIFO, LIFO, or the Average Cost.
Financial data appropriated to particular time periods: financial statements are prepared on certain dates at the end of accounting periods such as a year or a quarter even if the firm’s life is continuous.
Judgments by management on timing: for example, suppose that a company hears near the end of an accounting period that a material accounts receivable is probably uncollectible. When will the account be written off as a loss – currently or in the next accounting period when a final determination is made? Pose the same question for obsolete inventory sitting on the warehouse shelves gathering dust. These are areas involving sometimes arbitrary managerial decisions. Generally speaking, the more conservative management is in making such judgments (conservatism usually implies the choice that is least favorable to the firm), the higher the quality of earnings resulting from the matching of revenues and expenses in a given accounting pperiod.
The financial analyst should carefully scrutinize management policies with respect to these discretionary items through an examination of expenditure trends (absolute and relative amounts) and comparison with industry competitors. Such an analysis can provide insight into a company’s existing strengths and weaknesses and contribute to an assessment of its ability to perform successfully in the future.