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Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
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Financial statement analysis (or just financial analysis) is the process of reviewing and analyzing a company's financial statements to make better economic decisions to earn income in future. These statements include the income statement, balance sheet, statement of cash flows, notes to accounts and a statement of changes in equity (if applicable). Financial statement analysis is a method or process involving specific techniques for evaluating risks, performance, valuation, financial health, and future prospects of an organization.[1]
It is used by a variety of stakeholders, such as credit and equity investors, the government, the public, and decision-makers within the organization. These stakeholders have different interests and apply a variety of different techniques to meet their needs. For example, equity investors are interested in the long-term earnings power of the organization and perhaps the sustainability and growth of dividend payments. Creditors want to ensure the interest and principal is paid on the organizations debt securities (e.g., bonds) when due.
Common methods of financial statement analysis include horizontal and vertical analysis and the use of financial ratios. Historical information combined with a series of assumptions and adjustments to the financial information may be used to project future performance. The Chartered Financial Analyst designation is available for professional financial analysts.
Benjamin Graham and David Dodd first published their influential book "Security Analysis" in 1934.[2][3] A central premise of their book is that the market's pricing mechanism for financial securities such as stocks and bonds is based upon faulty and irrational analytical processes performed by many market participants. This results in the market price of a security only occasionally coinciding with the intrinsic value around which the price tends to fluctuate.[4] Investor Warren Buffett is a well-known supporter of Graham and Dodd's philosophy.
The Graham and Dodd approach is referred to as Fundamental analysis and includes: 1) Economic analysis; 2) Industry analysis; and 3) Company analysis. The latter is the primary realm of financial statement analysis. On the basis of these three analyses the intrinsic value of the security is determined.[4]
Horizontal analysis compares financial information over time, typically from past quarters or years. Horizontal analysis is performed by comparing financial data from a past statement, such as the income statement. When comparing this past information one will want to look for variations such as higher or lower earnings.[5]
Vertical analysis is a percentage analysis of financial statements. Each line item listed in the financial statement is listed as the percentage of another line item. For example, on an income statement each line item will be listed as a percentage of gross sales. This technique is also referred to as normalization[6] or common-sizing.[5]
Financial ratios are very powerful tools to perform some quick analysis of financial statements. There are four main categories of ratios: liquidity ratios, profitability ratios, activity ratios and leverage ratios. These are typically analyzed over time and across competitors in an industry.
DuPont analysis uses several financial ratios that multiplied together equal return on equity, a measure of how much income the firm earns divided by the amount of funds invested (equity).
A Dividend discount model (DDM) may also be used to value a company's stock price based on the theory that its stock is worth the sum of all of its future dividend payments, discounted back to their present value.[8] In other words, it is used to value stocks based on the net present value of the future dividends.
Financial statement analyses are typically performed in spreadsheet software — or specialized accounting software — and summarized in a variety of formats.
An earnings recast is the act of amending and re-releasing a previously released earnings statement, with specified intent.[9]
Investors need to understand the ability of the company to generate profit. This, together with its rate of profit growth, relative to the amount of capital deployed and various other financial ratios, forms an important part of their analysis of the value of the company. Analysts may modify ("recast") the financial statements by adjusting the underlying assumptions to aid in this computation. For example, operating leases (treated like a rental transaction) may be recast as capital leases (indicating ownership), adding assets and liabilities to the balance sheet. This affects the financial statement ratios.[10]
Recasting is also known as normalizing accounts.[11]
Financial analysts typically have finance and accounting education at the undergraduate or graduate level. Persons may earn the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation through a series of challenging examinations. Upon completion of the three-part exam, CFAs are considered experts in areas like fundamentals of investing, the valuation of assets, portfolio management, and wealth planning.
In November 2023, research conducted by Patronus AI, an artificial intelligence startup company, compared performance of GPT-4, GPT-4-Turbo, Claude 2, and LLaMA-2 on two versions of a 150-question test about information in financial statements (e.g., Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, Form 8-K, earnings reports, earnings call transcripts) submitted by public companies to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. One version of the test required the generative AI models to use a retrieval system to find the specific SEC filing to answer the questions; the other gave the models the specific SEC filing to answer the question (i.e., in a long context window). On the retrieval system version, GPT-4-Turbo and LLaMA-2 both failed to produce correct answers to 81% of the questions, while on the long context window version, GPT-4-Turbo and Claude-2 failed to produce correct answers to 21% and 24% of the questions, respectively.[12][13]
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Financial statement analysis (or just financial analysis) is the process of reviewing and analyzing a company's financial statements to make better economic decisions to earn income in future. These statements include the income statement, balance sheet, statement of cash flows, notes to accounts and a statement of changes in equity (if applicable). Financial statement analysis is a method or process involving specific techniques for evaluating risks, performance, valuation, financial health, and future prospects of an organization. It is used by a variety of stakeholders, such as credit and equity investors, the government, the public, and decision-makers within the organization. These stakeholders have different interests and apply a variety of different techniques to meet their needs. For example, equity investors are interested in the long-term earnings power of the organization and perhaps the sustainability and growth of dividend payments. Creditors want to ensure the interest and principal is paid on the organizations debt securities (e.g., bonds) when due. Common methods of financial statement analysis include horizontal and vertical analysis and the use of financial ratios. Historical information combined with a series of assumptions and adjustments to the financial information may be used to project future performance. The Chartered Financial Analyst designation is available for professional financial analysts.
Financial analysis (also known as financial statement analysis, accounting analysis, or analysis of finance) refers to an assessment of the viability, stability, and profitability of a business, sub-business, project or investment. It is performed by professionals who prepare reports using ratios and other techniques that make use of information taken from financial statements and other reports. These reports are usually presented to top management as one of their bases for making business decisions. Financial analysis may determine if a business will: Continue or discontinue its main operation or part of its business; Make or purchase certain materials in the manufacture of its product; Acquire or rent/lease certain machineries and equipment in the production of its goods; Issue shares or negotiate for a bank loan to increase its working capital; Make decisions regarding investing or lending capital; Make other decisions that allow management to make an informed selection on various alternatives in the conduct of its business.
Overtrading is a term in financial statement analysis. Overtrading often occurs when companies expand their own operations too quickly (aggressively). Overtraded companies enter a negative cycle, where an increase in interest expenses negatively impacts the net profit, which leads to lesser working capital, and that leads to increased borrowings, which in turn leads to interest expenses and the cycle continues. Overtraded companies eventually face liquidity problems and can run out of working capital.
A solvency ratio is a financial ratio used to assess an organisation's ability to meet its longer-term obligations and remain financially sound over time. Solvency ratios are used in financial statement analysis to understand leverage and long-term funding capacity, and are also used in regulated sectors as part of supervisory monitoring of financial soundness. The term is used in corporate finance, insurance regulation and pension funding, and the exact definition depends on the context, the accounting basis and, for regulated sectors, the jurisdiction. In corporate finance, solvency ratios are commonly presented as debt ratios and coverage ratios, comparing debt or liabilities with assets or equity, and earnings with interest and other fixed charges. In insurance, solvency measures often compare eligible regulatory capital with a required capital amount under a prudential regime such as Solvency II in the European Union. In defined benefit pension schemes, solvency measures may compare scheme assets with liabilities calculated on a specified valuation basis, including an insurance buyout basis.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Joe Louis.
