Assessing the Quality of the Financial Statements Essay

†¢Reading the Financial Statements and Creating a Data File Our experience, and that of our students, is that careful and thorough reading of the financial statements yields a great deal of information about the firm. The financial statements, the notes, and management’s discussion and analysis provide valuable insights into the business strategies, profitability, and risk of the firm. Many firms explicitly disclose elements of the business that are performing well or poorly, also providing explanations about the performance. Many firms explicitly disclose projections of future business activities, such as expected future sales growth rates or capital expenditures, which are helpful information for projecting future financial statements. Analysts who do not carefully read the financial statements stand to miss this valuable information. After careful reading, the analyst should enter the financial statement data into a data file. One initial choice in creating a data file is whether to use the accounts and amounts that the firm provides in its Form 10-K or annual report to shareholders or to download and use amounts from various online sources or databases that format the amounts into a standardized template. One advantage of following the first approach is that you rely on the primary source of the financial statements, not on a secondary source about which you may not know all of the reclassifications and adjustments made to confirm the reported amounts to the standardized template. Another advantage of following the first approach is that the financial statement data will be classified into accounts consistent with the notes to the financial statements, the main source of information for assessing the quality of the reported amounts. The principal advantages of using amounts in a standardized template are that use of the template can save time and the financial statement amounts are reasonably comparable across firms. The next decision to be made is whether to input the financial statement data into FSAP, a financial statement analysis package that accompanies this text, or to create a new spreadsheet file. The principal advantages of FSAP are that it provides spreadsheets that have embedded formulas for the various profitability and risk ratios, it provides a template for preparing forecasted financial statements using the previously reported actual amounts as a base, and it inputs the forecasted amounts into several valuation models to arrive at equity values. †¢Assessing the Quality of the Reported Amounts One of the most important steps in financial statement analysis is to assess the quality of the reported amounts and make appropriate adjustments before proceeding to the analysis of profitability and risk. The saying â€Å"garbage in, garbage out† applies with particular importance to financial statements. To assess quality, you must read the financial statements and notes. Material nonrecurring or unusual income items are candidates for adjustment. Significant off-balance-sheet assets or liabilities also are candidates. Some adjustments may be needed to increase the comparability of the financial statement amounts for each of the firms analyzed in the term project.

Black People and Civil War Essay

The civil war ended in 1865 May 10 when the confederates surrendered to the union. After the civil war was over all of the slaves became free. They were call freedman. In some states they were not one hundred percent free though. Even though the slaves became free white people still did not like them and they were very racist to them. In Mississippi they had black codes which restricted blacks to do many things. How did whites attempt to reimpose bondage on their former slaves? The African Amercian’s were not allowed to rent or lease land and if they did they would be sued. The African Americans were not allowed to marry white people. If they did they would be guilty of felony and be sentenced to state jail for life. Whites still needed some labor help so they offered blacks to do some labor work and they would be payed. If the blacks were hired to work longer than a month then both the worker and the owner would have to have a written contract. If the worker quit before the contract was over without a good cause then the worker would have give back all of the money they got payed from the owner which is awful because blacks could get injured and the owner would not care and want the money they payed them back. Even if it was one day before the contract was over, but the owner would have really cruel to have done that. If the worker violated the contract than any white can arrest him and bring the black to jail. Blacks that were under the age of eighteen that did not have parents to provide and take care of them then the original owner can take the minor into their home and be their legal guardian. The owner was not allowed to give the minor cruel punishment. If whites see blacks who don’t come to work, get drunk in public, leave families, or misuse their money earned then they can be fined one hundred dollars and will have to go to jail no longer than ten days. If whites caught blacks over the age of eighteen living with whites or if they don’t have a job then the blacks would be fined fifty dollars and go to jail no more than ten days. The whites would be fined two hundred dollars and they would have to go to jail no less then six months. Blacks got the better deal off of that law, but the meaning was really hurtful to the blacks because the white people would get more in trouble then the black people would. It was like saying they hate blacks, but they hated the whites who liked the blacks more. Blacks were not even allowed to have weapons unless they were in the military, not even a knife. Everyone should have the right to protect their selves and their family. They needed the weapons especially because they just became free and many white people were angry that they became free and may try to harm them. On the bright side it kept them away from revenge on their master or any other enemies. If blacks disturbed the whites in any way from language to violence, trespassing, selling liquor without a license, being a minister of a church without a license, or cruel treatment to animals can be fined ten to one hundred dollars depending on the crime and serving ten to thirty days in jail. This law can be abused and white people could get the blacks in trouble because no one would know if the white people actually felt disturbed they could have been getting them in trouble because they were racist. Where whites successful to reimpose bondage on their former slaves? Yes, whites were very successful. Even though the blacks were free they took away many rights from them. They also made it impossible for blacks not to get into trouble. Abram Colby was beaten by members of the Klu Klux Klan on October 29, 1869. They took him to the woods and whipped him for three hours. The members of the Klu Klux Klan left him there and thought he died. In 1872 he was asked to testify in Washington and he did. He told them the whole story and the the members of the Klu Klux Klan were a lawyer, doctor, and farmers. The Klu Klux Klan killed many blacks during the time. Most of the time they got away with it because the leaders of the Klu Klux Klan were a bunch of high powered white people that were sheriffs,lawyers, and doctors. Where the freed slaves actually free? Overall they were free from slavery, but whites got every single chance they did to get the blacks in trouble with the law. Laws that were very strict that whites could not even abide by them, which was hypocritical. They pretty much took away their chances of becoming successful. The blacks were free from being someones slave. They were not as free as the whites were. Works Cited . N. p.. Web. 5 Feb 2014. . Sterling, D. .

Question Answer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Question Answer - Essay Example They target both genders. Super bowl product category is beer, drinks, and snacks. Beer because its goes well with football. They can be able to get the latest brand and try it while watching the event. Snack is also a useful product for the case since they can take them while watching the game. Financial industry is not an adequate product category since people will be having fun, and they will not be having time for financial issues. Hence, they will not take it that serious. Autos too are not effect product since it runs all together in peoples mind (Hartmann and Klapper). Communications use some of the same purchase comparison metrics copy pretesting firms use, but gauges the ads effect on consumers who have seen them in the real world rather than forced viewing. The objective of the super bowl is to create product awareness to millions of people watching the event. There ads aims at reaching millions of people who are watching the game and make them join the new brand in the market by telling them about the positives of the product and the reason why they should not be left out. Direct sale cannot be the primary objective since it is not necessarily that the product will be brought at that particular time; it might take time before people can accept a new product. Active awareness means that the product has been on the market and as not been doing well hence trying to convince people that it is a real product. It will not be the place to convince them since you cannot convince them in a single day (Hartmann and Klapper). I do not think super bowl adverts are very efficient since it is one-day event, it will not capture people that much unlike TVs ads. In TV ads, people are repeated for sometimes making people know it better, hence want to try it. It is not effective too since its product category is limited to a particular product that go in line with the event hence it becomes bias. Creating brand awareness being primary

The professional nurse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The professional nurse - Essay Example ing are responsible for taking strategic decisions about the practice of nursing and they have to develop new practices in the light of new research findings (May & Veitch, 1998). The officials of Board are also blessed with the authority of hold trails against unethical and deficient practices. However, Professional Nursing Organization has to train new recruits according to changing needs and requirements of the field which are passed by the Board of Nursing and other organizations like it (Functional Differences in PNO and Board of Nursing). Secondly, conditions imposed by Ethical Code of Nursing works in order to generally benefit the staff but it limits me from showing too much compassion towards patients because they may seek intimate relations (Williams, 2001). However, in some cases, I literally know that I can do more but I have to refrain myself from overindulgence. Thirdly, Ethical Code helps me in terms of saving my character from staining and I am trained to circumvent s exual advances of patients by limiting my services to fulfillment of minimal professional duties. Nurses are there to help the ill irrespective of their race, gender and economic situation and they have to show compassion to an acceptable degree as well (Read, Adiibokah, & Nyame, 2009). On the other hand, they are supposed to work in order to improve the quality of life of the patients by keeping them in a lively environment and they should encourage them to spend their time in healthy activities. Need Theory had influenced my pattern of work and I have been an optimistic person in the direction of my work in early days. However, as I grew in my experience then, I became more and more convinced that I shall render minimal medical aid to sick and encourage them to take charge of their recovery process (Sullivan, Menapace, & White, 2001). Human Caring Theory in my personal view is conveying one and the same thing as Need Theory because we cannot make one well if he or she is not hopeful

How did the physicians and the literate lay people in the 18th century Essay

How did the physicians and the literate lay people in the 18th century explain disease and what did they think were the roles of doctor, the individual, and the state in responding to and preventing it - Essay Example The state had not been involved previously in the maintenance of health and health related issues but many writings and works led to the initiation of the intervention of the government in these issues. This century could not be considered as an era of great medical development because it did not reach very close to the actual concept and meaning of medical practice. But the advances and progression in this regard was great enough as compared to the previous centuries. The concept of disease was previously considered to be the problems encountered by a patient. It was the presentation of the symptoms and signs by the patient which laid the basis for the explanation of the disease. This practice was very much common till the start of the eighteenth century. This is clearly presented by an example which was put forward by Alexander Morgan who was a surgeon in Bristol. He put forward a case which he encountered with a patient in 1744 when the patient presented him with his problems. This was the period when the doctor was not the person solely governing the pathology with which the patient was suffering and the prescribed medications. It was rather the doctor and the patient who discussed the problems together and reached to a conclusion regarding the treatment to be prescribed to the patient. It is said that during this time it was actually the patient who ruled the right to reach to a conclusion regarding his problem and medicine and practice basic ally lay in the hands of the sufferer. During this time patients explained the reasons for their diseases. They could actually stand against the treatment given to them by the doctor. The reasons explained for illnesses ranged from sudden changes in temperature to the curse of god. Not only were there vague reasons for diseases but treatments were also of a similar range. By the middle of the eighteenth century certain changes to these concepts were noticed. Hospitals were created by this time. And the other

Hypatia of Alexandria (350-415) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hypatia of Alexandria (350-415) - Essay Example She followed the school of thought that was derived by Plato and developed by Plotinus. She was multitalented and this made people envious until they condemned her as a witch, which led to her murder in 415. All her works were burnt in the Great Library. Hypatia lived during a time of great change, in the late fourth and the beginning of the fifth centuries. She was born in around 350 A.D., though the time of her birth is not well known. During that time women were not allowed to contribute much in the society and were only treated as property. They had few options but Hypatia managed to freely move and maneuver in a tradition that was male dominated. Slavery was a dominant issue during that time, as it had sapped the vitality of classical civilization. In about 400 A.D. the philosophy of Neo-Platonism was taught. The philosophy was founded by Plotinus. Hypatia at that time taught philosophy and was the head of the school of Platonist at Alexandria. Religion was a major development at that time and most of the Christians were converted to paganism through the teachings of Hypatia. In the city, there used to be several riots between the Christians and non-Christians. The Christians felt that the works of Hypatia undermined and threatened the stability of their faith. These events became the turning point of the life of Hypatia. It was during the reign of the Roman governor, who had a good relationship with Hypatia. During this time, the people in the city of Alexandria were naà ¯ve and lacked formal education. Hypatia was a symbol of scholarship, especially due to the scientific knowledge she possessed. This made other people in the city, particularly the Christians to despise Hypatia and they decided to murder her. The works and remains of Hypatia’s body were burnt with an aim of the termination of her teachings. Although the Christians managed to undertake her murder, the teachings and works of Hypatia remain

Strategic Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Strategic Marketing - Case Study Example It is a democratic country which ensures that the tourism industry enjoys stability and hence the hotel industry will also get benefitted. India has a specific ministry called tourism ministry which formulates strategies to enhance the tourism sector in India. Indian government charges huge amount of taxes from the luxury hotels which will have a huge impact as political scenario changes. The hotel industry in India gets good incentives and the respective state governments also supports development of such hotels and their growth. Though the terrorist attacks on Taj Hotels and Oberoi hotel have led to drop in foreign travellers, Indian government is taking steps to allay such fears (Kachwala and Mukherjee, 2009, p. 158). Economic Factors India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world with the GDP growing almost 4 to 5 % where the rest of the world economies are slowing down. Hence many business meetings and conferences are held in India and the hotel industry tries to cap italize on that. It is seen that many foreign tourist travellers are now willing to spend money to get their value for it. As economy of India is increasing at a good pace, it signifies investments in infrastructure, construction of new avenues for tourist, increase in promotional expenditure, beautification of the cities and towns etc. These give a boost to the hotel industry. With high growth in GDP and a sound financial system, the hotel industry has grabbed the chance of enhancing their profitability (Anand, 1976, p. 43). Socio-Cultural India being a diverse nation has diverse languages, traditions, cultures, cuisines; making it an ideal destination for cultural tourism. India has more 22 languages recognized by constitution and 1600 dialects. Hence cultural tourism in India will rise and so will the growth of the hotel industry. According to Indian culture they always treat guest as God. In Sanskrit there is a popular Shloka â€Å"ATHITHI DEVO BAHVAH†. It gestures the lo ve for their guest that exist in India. Foreigners love this concept and are pleased with the love they get in travelling to India. This also enhances the Hotel Industry (Briggs, 2001, p. 49). Technological In today’s globalised world Information technology plays a critical role in tourism planning and implementation. There are web based platform like makemytrip.com, yatra.com in India which provides tourist booking hotels online. Most of the luxury hotels are now Wi-Fi enabled. More technology means less manpower and chance of lesser complaints. This shows enhancement of the Hotel Industry In India transportation system is not as per the international standard. For any nation to be successful in tourism industry it must be equipped with efficient transportation system which is capable of carrying large volumes of people in a cost efficient way. India is lagging behind in this front. If this improves a foreigner can easily find such luxury hotels and travel there comfortably (Kannan, 2005, p. 39). Environmental In India the environmental forces supports the Hotel Industry in India. Environmental forces like growth of GDP, Political stability in India supports the Hotel industry in India. Legal Indian Legal system is very strong and it doesn’t support any flouting of rules like keeping emergency services ready, keeping the appropriate records of the foreign visitors, paying of appropriate taxes etc. Such