Understanding Corporate Annual Reports

Purpose of this Project

Getting Started

Instructions

Getting Acquainted with the Annual Report

General Information

Internet Information

The Primary Financial Statements

Income Statement

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

Statement of Changes in Stockholders' Equity

Notes and Supporting Schedules to the Financial Statements

Report of the Independent Accountants

Ratio Analysis

Analysis of Profitability

Analysis of Liquidity

Analysis of Solvency

Industry or Competitor Comparisons

Making Decisions Based on the Annual Report

Appendix A – Obtaining Annual Financial Data

Appendix B – Obtaining Data for Industry Comparisons

Appendix C – Financial Analysis Using Excel

In this project the student obtains and analyzes an annual report from a publicly traded corporation. Activities include: identifying corporate operations, gaining familiarity with the financial data presentation, recognizing trends, calculating ratios, and performing industry and primary competitor comparisons. This project takes approximately 8 to 20 hours to complete (average 10 hours).