How to read a financial report : wringing vital signs out of the numbers / Tage C. Tracy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tracy, Tage C., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Financial statements.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (270 pages)

Edition:

Tenth edition.

Place of Publication:

Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2025]

Summary:

"Lurking somewhere amidst all the figures in a financial report is vitally important information about where a company has been and where it is headed. But without a guide to isolate and interpret those numbers, the dizzying array of columns and rows doesn't add up to anything. That's why thousands of professionals and savvy individuals have referred to this bestselling resource that shows anyone how to make sense of the numbers"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part One Fundamentals

Chapter 1 Arming You with Essential Knowledge

What Is a Financial Report?

Financial Information and the Big Three Financial Statements

Let's Speak the Proper Language

A Final Word before You Dive into the Rest of the Book

Chapter 2 Starting with Cash Flows

Summary of Cash Flows for a Business

What Does the Cash Flows Summary Not Tell You?

Profit Is Not Measured by Cash Flows

Cash Flows Do Not Reveal Financial Condition

A Few Additional Thoughts to Keep in Mind

Chapter 3 Bedrock Financial Statement #1: The Income Statement

The Income Statement: A Closer Look

Reporting Profit Performance: The Income Statement

Chapter 4 Bedrock Financial Statement #2: The Balance Sheet

Reporting Financial Condition: The Balance Sheet

Chapter 5 Reporting Cash Flows

The Statement of Cash Flows

Cash versus Accrual Accounting

Financial Tasks of Business Managers

Part Two Connections

Chapter 6 Fitting Together Financial Statements

One Problem in Financial Reporting

Connecting the Dots

Chapter 7 Sales Revenue and Accounts Receivable

Exploring One Link at a Time

How Sales Revenue Drives Accounts Receivable

Accounting Issues

Chapter 8 Costs of Sales Revenue, Inventory, and Accounts Payable

Acquiring Inventory on the Cuff

Accounting Issues: Accounts Payable

Holding Products in Inventory Until They Are Sold

Inventory Control

Chapter 9 Operating Expenses and Prepaid Expenses

Paying Certain Operating Costs before They Are Recorded as Expenses

Accounting Issues: Using Prepaid Expenses to Massage the Numbers

Chapter 10 Depreciation and Amortization Expense, and Fixed And Other Long-Term Assets.

Overview of Expense Accounting

Up First, Depreciation Expense

Accumulated Depreciation and Book Value of Fixed Assets

Book Values and Current Replacement Costs

Intangible Assets

Chapter 11 Operating Expenses and Accounts Payable

Recording Expenses before They Are Paid

Chapter 12 Accruing Liability for Unpaid Expenses

Recording Accrued Liability for Operating Expenses

Chapter 13 Income Tax Expense and Its Liability

Taxation of Business Profit

Chapter 14 Interest Expense, Accrued Liabilities, and Loans Payable

Bringing Interest Expense Up to Snuff

Type, Purpose, and Source of Loans

Chapter 15 Net Income, Retained Earnings, and Earnings Per Share (EPS)

Net Income into Retained Earnings

Earnings per Share (EPS)

Chapter 16 Connecting the Cash Flow Dots

Profit versus Cash Flow from Profit

Changes in Assets and Liabilities That Impact Cash Flow from Operating Activities

Profit before the Bottom Line

Completing the Statement of Cash Flows

Seeing the Big Picture of Cash Flows

Part Three Using and Analyzing Financial Statements

Chapter 17 Footnotes and Management Discussions

Financial Report Content in Addition to Financial Statements

Financial Statements: A Brief Review

Why Footnotes?

Two Types of Footnotes

Management Discretion in Writing Footnotes

Analysis Issues

Chapter 18 Financial Statement Ratios and Analysis: Strength

Financial Reporting Ground Rules

Financial Statement Preliminaries

Benchmark Financial Ratios-Strength

Final Comments

Chapter 19 Financial Statement Ratios and Analysis: Performance

Financial Performance versus Financial Strength

Two Cash Flow Ratios to Chew On

Chapter 20 Financial Engineering.

What Financial Engineering Is Not

What Financial Engineering Is

Common Types of Financial Engineering

Financial Engineering and QW Example Tech, Inc.

A Final Word

Chapter 21 Financial Fraud, aka Cooking the Books

Non-Number Fraud Flags

Financial Fraud Flags

Critical Thoughts on Fraud

The Moral of the Story

Chapter 22 CPAs and Financial Reports

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

From Preparation to Audit of Financial Reports by CPAs

Why Audits?

Do Auditors Discover Financial Reporting Fraud?

Chapter 23 Basic Questions, Basic Answers

When You Buy Stock Does the Company Get Your Money?

Are Financial Reports Reliable?

Are Some Financial Statements Misleading and Fraudulent?

Should You Take the Time to Compute Financial Statement Ratios?

Why Read Financial Statements, Then, If You Won't Find Information That Has Been Overlooked by Others?

The Financial Statements and Footnotes of Large Public Companies Would Take Several Hours to Read Carefully: What's the Alternative?

Is There a Basic Test to Gauge a Company's Financial Performance?

Do Financial Statements Report the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth?

Does Its Financial Report Explain the Basic Profit-Making Strategy or Profit Model of a Business?

Does the Market Price of a Public Company's Stock Shares Depend Directly and Only on the Information Reported in Its Financial Statements?

Does the Balance Sheet of a Private Business Tell the Market Value of the Business?

Do Books on Investing and Personal Finance Refer to Financial Statements?

A Very Short Summary

About the Author

Index

EULA.

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781394268719

1394268718

9781394268702

139426870X

OCLC:

1446491020