Corporate Financial Reporting


Book Description

`This is a book which should be read by all students, whether undergraduate and postgraduate. It also provides a succinct guide for the manager who wishes to come to grips with this topic, or the accountant nostalgic to recollect the non too praiseworthy and indecisive history of this topic′ - Managerial Auditing Journal Corporate Financial Reporting critically examines contemporary corporate financial reporting. The complexity of the reporting process and the myriad of issues facing the directors, accountants and auditors can only be successfully understood from a firm conceptual base. Recent financial scandals clearly highlight the interrelationships between all the themes explored in this book, from financial reporting to auditing, from management′s motivations to fraud. Special features of this book include: - A critical examination of accounting ′theory′ - Senior practitioners′ insights on ′a true and fair view′ - An exploration of ′the financial reporting expectations gap′ - A discussion of the nature of ′corporate performance′ - An examination of corporate fraud - An examination of the implications of ′real-time′ reporting by companies - Discussion questions at the end of each chapter The book will be relevant to advanced undergraduate as well as postgraduate and MBA students.




Corporate Financial Reporting and Analysis


Book Description

Corporate Financial Reporting Analysis combines comprehensive coverage and a rigorous approach to modern financial reporting with a readable and accessible style. Merging traditional principles of corporate finance and accepted reporting practices with current models enable the reader to develop essential interpretation and analysis skills, while the emphasis on real-world practicality and methodology provides seamless coverage of both GAAP and IFRS requirements for enhanced global relevance. Two decades of classroom testing among INSEAD MBA students has honed this text to provide the clearest, most comprehensive model for financial statement interpretation and analysis; a concise, logically organized pedagogical framework includes problems, discussion questions, and real-world case studies that illustrate applications and current practices, and in-depth examination of key topics clarifies complex concepts and builds professional intuition. With insightful coverage of revenue recognition, inventory accounting, receivables, long-term assets, M&A, income taxes, and other principle topics, this book provides both education and ongoing reference for MBA students.




Corporate Financial Reporting and Analysis


Book Description

Corporate Financial Reporting and Analysis: A Global Perspective/3e by David Young and Jacob Cohen is an introductory textbook on financial reporting for MBA students. This book is intended to offer the rigor and comprehensive coverage required of an MBA text, while at the same time offering an accessible and practical reference for participants in executive programs. David Young is based at INSEAD Business School in France, and Jacob Cohen is based at MIT Sloan School of Management in the USA. This book offers a rigorous, yet accessible, treatment of contemporary financial reporting practice. Examples are drawn from a broad range of companies to illustrate key concepts. Particular emphasis is given to the latitude and flexibility granted to managers in reporting financial performance, and the steps that financial statement readers can take to identify potential trouble areas in the accounts. Topics include the analysis and interpretation of the three principal financial statements, revenue recognition, inventory accounting, receivables and bad debts, accounting for long-term assets, provisions and contingencies, income taxes, and the accounting for mergers and acquisitions. A unique feature of this book is the seamless way in which it deals with differences in U.S. GAAP and IFRS. Both regimes are covered simultaneously, i.e. when a topic is discussed, including the relevant journal entries and disclosures, the discussion applies equally to GAAP companies and to IFRS companies. It doesn’t matter whether the company used in a given example is from the U.S., Europe, or elsewhere. Thanks to the ongoing GAAP/IFRS convergence project, the two regimes are close enough to allow for a somewhat generic approach that allows for coverage of both regimes at the same time. In this way, the examples that are covered in the book are relevant to all readers, regardless of which regime dominates in their business environment. The content of this book has been classroom tested over the past 20 years at INSEAD with the MBA class which has students from 80 different countries.




A History of Corporate Financial Reporting in Britain


Book Description

A History of Corporate Financial Reporting provides an understanding of the procedures and practices which constitute corporate financial reporting in Britain, at different points of time, and how and why those practices changed and became what they are now. Its particular focus is the external financial reporting practices of joint stock companies. This is worth knowing about given the widely held view that Britain (i) pioneered modern financial reporting, and (ii) played a primary role in the development of both capital markets and professional accountancy. The book makes use of a principal and agent framework to study accounting’s past, but one where the failure of managers always to supply the information that users’ desire is given full recognition. It is shown that corporate financial reporting did not develop into its current state in a straightforward and orderly fashion. Each era produces different environmental conditions and imposes new demands on accounting. A proper understanding of accounting developments therefore requires a careful examination of the interrelationship between accountants and accounting techniques on the one hand and, on the other, the social and economic context within which changes took place. The book’s corporate coverage starts with the legendary East India Company, created in 1600, and continues through the heyday of the statutory trading companies founded to build Britain’s canals (commencing in the 1770s) and railways (commencing c.1829) to focus, principally, on the limited liability company fashioned by the Joint Stock Companies Act 1844 and the Limited Liability Act 1855. The story terminates in 2005 when listed companies were required to prepare their consolidated accounts in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, thus signalling the effective end of British accounting.




Corporate Financial Accounting and Reporting


Book Description

Corporate Financial Accounting and Reporting is a comprehensive accounting textbook directed at those using financial reports. Its aim is to help current and future managers gain a thorough understanding of companies' published reports and is unique in the fact that it covers all three years of a traditional financial accounting course. The text is divided into 3 parts: the first covers the foundations of accounting, the second part considers the components of financial statements in more depth and the third part explores how investors analyse financial statements. Recognising the increasingly international nature of accounting, this book provides full coverage of international accounting standards with the European Union's Company Law Directives providing its legal framework Corporate Financial Accounting and Reporting is designed for international MBA programmes and specialist postgraduate programmes in international business/finance in Europe. It can also be used in international business programmes at the undergraduate level.




Corporate Financial Analysis with Microsoft Excel


Book Description

Corporate Financial Analysis with Microsoft® Excel® visualizes spreadsheets as an effective management tool both for financial analysis and for coordinating its results and actions with marketing, sales, production and service operations, quality control, and other business functions. Taking an integrative view that promotes teamwork across corporate functions and responsibilities, the book contains dozens of charts, diagrams, and actual Excel® screenshots to reinforce the practical applications of every topic it covers. The first two sections—Financial Statements and Cash Budgeting—explain how to use spreadsheets for: Preparing income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements Performing vertical and horizontal analyses of financial statements Determining financial ratios and analyzing their trends and significance Combining quantitative and judgmental techniques to improve forecasts of sales revenues and customer demands Calculating and applying the time value of money Managing inventories, safety stocks, and the allocation of resources The third and final section—Capital Budgeting—covers capital structure, the cost of capital, and leverage; the basics of capital budgeting, including taxes and depreciation; applications, such as new facilities, equipment replacement, process improvement, leasing versus buying, and nonresidential real estate; and risk analysis of capital budgets and the potential impacts of unforeseen events. Corporate Financial Analysis with Microsoft® Excel® takes a broad view of financial functions and responsibilities in relation to those of other functional parts of modern corporations, and it demonstrates how to use spreadsheets to integrate and coordinate them. It provides many insightful examples and case studies of real corporations, including Wal- Mart, Sun Microsystems, Nike, H. J. Heinz, Dell, Microsoft, Apple Computer, and IBM. Corporate Financial Analysis with Microsoft® Excel® is the ideal tool for managing your firm’s short-term operations and long-term capital investments.




Reading Between the Lines of Corporate Financial Reports


Book Description

This book provides a digestible step-by-step guide to reading corporate financial reports, drawing upon real-life case studies and examples of corporate collapses and accounting scandals, and applying practical tools to financial statement analysis. Appealing to a range of practitioners within corporate finance including investors, managers, and business analysts, this book is the first to specifically address the challenges facing those who are not professional accountants and auditors when examining corporate financial reports. Corporate financial reports are used widely by managers, investors, creditors, and government agencies to examine company performance and evaluate potential risks. However, although seemingly an invaluable source of information for managerial decision-making, financial reports are often based on rough simplifications of a very complex reality. With no way of avoiding deliberate manipulations and fraudulent activity, these statements cannot be relied on completely when selecting stocks or evaluating credit risk, and therefore poor analysis can lead to potentially disastrous investment decisions. The author suggests that in order to effectively interpret corporate financial reports, we must 'read between the lines' to accurately assess a company's economic performance and predict its long-term viability.




Financial Reporting and Analysis


Book Description

Financial Reporting & Analysis (FR&A) by Revsine/Collins/Johnson/Mittelstaedt emphasizes both the process of financial reporting and the analysis of financial statements. This book employs a true "user" perspective by discussing the contracting and decision implications of accounting and this helps readers understand why accounting choices matter and to whom. Revsine, Collins, Johnson, and Mittelstaedt train their readers to be good financial detectives, able to read, use, and interpret the statements and-most importantly understand how and why managers can utilize the flexibility in GAAP to manipulate the numbers for their own purposes.




Corporate Financial Strategy


Book Description

Corporate Financial Strategy is a practical guide to understanding the elements of financial strategy, and how directors and advisors can add value by tailoring financial strategy to complement corporate strategy. The book sets out appropriate financial strategies over the key milestones in a company's life. It discusses the practicalities behind transactions such as: * Raising venture capital * Flotation on a stock exchange * Making acquisitions * Management buyouts * Financial restructuring In explaining financing structures, the book sets out the basic building blocks of any financial instrument to enable the reader to appreciate innovations in the field. It also illustrates how and why different types of security might be used. The second edition of this very popular textbook brings to bear the considerable commercial and academic experience of its co-authors. Throughout, the book offers a range of up-to-date case studies, abundant diagrams and figures, and frequent 'Working Insight' sections to provide practical illumination of the theory. This book will enable you to understand the potential value added by the best financial strategy, while fully demonstrating the working role of financial strategy within an overall corporate strategy. An excellent practical guide for senior financial managers, strategic-decision makers and qualified accountants, the text is also invaluable as a clear-sighted and thorough companion for students and senior executives on finance courses (including MBA, MSc and DMS).




Financial Reporting and Corporate Governance


Book Description

The aim of the book is to give non-accounting students a basic ability and confidence to read and use financial accounting reports and statements within their business or financial specialties. Many employees in business today are expected to be conversant with reported accounting information as part of their regular job responsibilities. However, they often have little formal training in using such information. For example, in most Western countries, corporate directors and senior executives are legally responsible for the content and quality of publicly reported accounting statements, yet typically have no accounting background or experience to help in the discharge of these responsibilities. The theme of the book is financial reporting as an essential and significant part of corporate governance. There is continuous pressure on companies from government and stakeholder groups to improve their governance and accountability structures and procedures. This book reveals how financial statements and related disclosures assist in good governance and accountability by providing relevant and reliable accounting signals of managerial performance.