Financial Ratios

In accounting there is much to be learned, about the financial aspects of a business. In the past five weeks I have learned the importance of financial reports and how they relate to the success of an establishment. These reports may include balance sheets and income statements, which help accountants and the public grasp the overall financial condition of a company. The information in these reports is really significant to, managers, owners, employees, and investors. Managers of a business can take and deduce financial

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Folk, M., J., Garrsion, H., R., & Noreen, W., E., (2002). Introduction to Managerial Accounting. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

The following report is a brief comparative analysis of two of Australia’s largest deposit-taking financial institutions (FI), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) and Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac). This report seeks to identify which of the FIs has a greater aggregate return per dollar of equity and thus establish the highest performer, or most profitable, of the two. The Return on Equity Model (ROE) (Koch & MacDonald,

Read ATC 7-5 in Chapter 7. This situation is very similar to what a company called Enron did several years ago. Use the internet or the university library to research exactly what Enron did in their accounting procedures and what eventually happened to the company. Post your findings and understanding of Enron’s story and respond to two other students’ postings with enhancements or additions to the Enron situation.

As we advanced through week 4 of Principles of Accounting II, so far, we have absorbed ourselves with a litany of accountancy material. Week 4 continued with variety of content that contained: identifying kinds of shares issued by companies, computing shares, dividends, and stock splits, and documenting treasury stock deals. Also discussed in text and throughout discussion questions was the use of cash flows and types. We also covered both vertical and horizontal analysis.

3. How can financial information be relevant to the users of financial reports? (2 Marks)

This course focuses on principles of accounting for the non-accounting student. Emphasis will be placed on the accounting equation and transactions, financial statement preparation and analysis, internal controls, regulatory environment, compliance, and global business implications.

Learning Objective: 04-03 Present an income statement with earnings per share, statement of stockholders equity, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows.

1. Read the footnotes carefully. Identify four accounting policy changes and accounting estimates that Harnischfeger made during 1984 and estimate as accurately as possible the effect of these changes on the company’s 1984 reported profits?

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This report provides a financial quarterly trend analysis for Costco Wholesale Corporation, Inc. founded in 1983. Costco Wholesale Corporation is the seventh largest retailer company in the world. As of July 2012, it was the fifth largest retailer, and the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States ("Wikipedia, the free," 2011). Costco Wholesale Corporation’s stock is publicly traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (NASDAQ) under the symbol “COST”, which I will use as reference throughout this report.

Exhibits 1 and 2 report the income statements and excerpts from the notes to Marks and Spencer’s financial statement for the fiscal years ending between March 31, 2005 and March 31, 2009. Critically analyze M&S’s accounting choices. What choices may have helped the company to overstate its net profits between 2005 and 2009?

Financial results and conditions vary among companies for a number of reasons. One reason for the variation can be traced to the characteristics of the industries in which companies operate. For example, some industries require large investments in property, plant, and equipment (PP&E), while others require very little. In some industries, the competitive productpricing structure permits companies to earn significant profits per sales dollar, while in other industries the product-pricing structure imposes a much lower profit margin. In most low-margin industries, however, companies often experience a relatively high rate of product throughput. A second reason for some of the

 an analysis of the company’s accounting policies that are likely to affect interpretation of its financial reports (at least 3 policies)