Financial Statement Analysis-Questions (1)

If you work this problem as a group assignment, each group member should be prepared to

2. List the four basic types of financial ratios used to measure a company’s performance, give an example of each type of ratio and explain its significance.

1. Using the current ratio, discuss what conclusions you can make about each company’s ability to pay current liabilities (debt).

DQ3: What are some common ratios that are used to analyze financial information? Which two ratios do you think should be of greatest interest to: (a) A pension fund considering the purchase of 20-year bonds? (b) A bank contemplating a short-term loan? (c) A common stockholder?

Why is it necessary to use comparative balance sheets, a current income statement, and certain transaction data in preparing a statement of cash flows?

• Present 5 years of statements – Ratio – Trend Analysis – See if ratios are improving

1. Please conduct a financial ratio analysis using the data in Exhibit 2. How do the results reflect different strategies pursued by the 4 firms?

There is a essential use and limitations of financial ratio analysis, One must keep in mind the following issues when using financial ratios: One of the most important reasons for using financial ratio analysis is comparability and for this, a reference point is required. Usually, financial ratios are compared to historical ratios of the business itself, competitor’s financial ratios or the overall ratios of the industry in question. Performance may be adjudged as against organizational goals or forecasts. A number of ratios must be analyzed together to get a true and reliable picture of the financial performance of the business. Relying on each ratio

Return on net assets = Net Income in Statement of Operations / Net Assets in the Balance Sheet

• Introduce and exercise tools and concepts of financial-statement analysis (including financial ratios, break-even analysis, and cash-flow statements).

5. A complete analysis of the company’s financial statements for a minimum of the most recent three years of available data including a comparison of the company's ratios to most recent year’s peer company average ratios. Complete the ratio calculations yourself. Do not copy them from another source.

How can financial ratios extend your understanding of financial statements? What questions do the time series of ratios in case Exhibit 7 raise? What questions do the ratios on peer firms in case Exhibits 8 and 9 raise?

The calculation of ratios is the calculation technique for analyzing a company’s financial performance that divides or standardize one accounting measure by another economically relevant measure. Financial ratios can be used as a tool to demonstrate financial statement users for making valid comparisons of firm operating performance, over time for the same firm and between comparable companies. External investors are mostly interested in gaining insights about a firm’s profitability, asset management, liquidity, and solvency.

Firms and Companies include ‘Ratios’ in their external report to which it can be referred as ‘highlights’. Only with the help of ratios the financial statements are meaningful. It is therefore, not surprising that ratio analysis feature are prominently in the literature on financial management. According to Mcleary (1992) ratio means “an expression of a relationship between any two figures or groups of figures in the financial statements of an undertaking”.

Seeing that financial ratios depend on the financial data of companies which are influenced by their accounting practices and procedures, information can be distorted and render the comparison of ratios less useable. Also ratios indicate on overall result for a period (financial year) but do not explain how this was achieved in detail and what factors favorable or unfavorable contributed to its