Interpreting Company Reports

Interpreting Company Reports and Accounts

Tenth Edition

Geoffrey Holmes, Alan Sugden and Paul Gee

The tenth edition of Interpreting Company Reports and Accounts guides the reader through the many conventions and complexities of company accounts, explaining how to assess the financial and trading position of a company from year to year, how to spot undue risk-taking and 'cosmetic accounting', and where to look for clues on the quality of management.

This book is intended as a practical guide to the interpretation of reports and accounts.  Frequent reference is made to the legal and accounting requirements in the UK, both as regards IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) and UK GAAP (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). This is done in the context of interesting information to look out for, rather than how a set of accounts should be prepared.

Packed with relevant real world examples, this highly accessible book shows readers how to analyse company reports and accounts, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The analysis is illustrated with numerous  published accounts extracts and examples and references to corporate websites

Key Features

• Key points from company accounts are highlighted and explained throughout the book.
• Each topic chapter examines the implications of adopting IFRS
• The chapter 'Putting it all together' takes readers step by step through the reports, accounts and press cuttings of an AIM company.
• The authors comment as well as inform - previous editions highlighted the serious weaknesses of both Polly Peck and Maxwell Communications Corporation well ahead of their collapse.

New to this edition:

• Explains the key differences between UK GAAP and IFRS

• Analyses how companies present the impact of the transition from UK GAAP to IFRS

• Coverage of small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) reporting

• Includes recent developments in narrative reporting:  Operating and Financial Review Developments;  Business Review;  and Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting

Interpreting Company Reports and Accounts is suitable for intermediate or advanced undergraduate accounting and finance courses, as well as MBA courses. The book is recommended reading for several professional examinations and will also be highly relevant to practitioners.

Geoffrey Holmes FCA, FTII was, for more than 20 years, the highly regarded and much respected Editor of Accountancy, the Journal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Alan Sugden is a Sloan Fellow of the London Business School and a retired director of Schroder Investment Manageme...