Sources used in this document:

At the same time, some of the financial figures that AMD presents in its annual report show operating losses extending back several years before the onset of the recession, in some departments (AMD 2009, pp. 60). The company's responsiveness to this issue seems to have been slower than the annual report indicates; though the organization was spurred into restructuring and divesting itself of some of its less profitable operations by the recession, some of these problems existed previously. The new partnerships that the company formed during the year also seem to be the result of analysis of rising operating costs, especially when paired to the reduced sales and income that the company experienced during 2008. Most of AMD's decision-making appears to come form an analysis of projected (and real) costs and income; it was not until the recession severely hurt income levels that the extra costs the company was accruing became a significant problem.

Conclusion

Many of the major decisions made by AMD in 2008 were, of course, the result of complex and long-term analyses that are beyond the scope of the current paper. Even a brief analysis of the 2008 annual report, however, demonstrates the company's reliance on and utilization of financial data and analyses. It is only with accurate and complete information that responsible and effective decisions can be made, by both investors and the company itself, and AMD definitely strives to provide that in its annual report. This does not prevent the company from presenting the information in such a way that puts it in an advantageous light, however.