Working capital reduction is not always a bad thing -- tightening receivables and inventory turns is often considered to be good financial policy. In the case of Unilever, it is important to synthesize the two statements. We can see, for example, that "unusual expense" is the category most responsible for the change in working capital. At this point, it would be advisable to delve deeper into the comments in the

Using these different techniques reveals different information about the company. So for example we know that Tesco earned £67.6 billion in revenue last year, and that this is an increase of 8.1% over the previous year. This is the top line number; we can see that the bottom line number is £3.8 billion, an increase of 11.7% from the year before. This basic analysis reveals that the company has

Accounting The role of financial statements in investing is that they provide a consistent format that can be used by potential investors and other stakeholders to evaluate a company. There are several components that facilitate this happening. For publicly-traded firms, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) play a key role in the creation of financial statements. GAAP is a common set of accounting principles and procedures that companies use to compile their

HP: Financial Statement Analysis There are many approaches one could use to analyze the health, stability as well as financial performance of a business entity. One such approach involves a thorough review of the financial statements of the concerned entity. Regarded the leading personal computers manufacturer in the world, Hewlett-Packard - HP amongst other things concerns itself with the manufacture as well as development of both computer hardware and software. In

The reduction in liabilities represents a move to reduce financial leverage in a period of tightening credit and risk profiles. The cash build-up too is an assertive move to combat liquidity concerns and build structural soundness to the balance sheet. AMD management implicitly understood that their internal financial condition was threatening to unravel the company with stagnant revenues and bloated expenses. As such the repositioning of AMD to take

Internal Decision-Making Despite the highly purposeful construction of the annual report, however, there are no inaccuracies or deliberate attempts to mislead investors immediately apparent in AMD's assessment of its financial situation, and indeed the annual report provides an excellent roadmap for the company's decision-making process during the year. Its divestment of certain operations was a direct response to the reduced capital -- through heightened repayment obligations and the loss in sales