Cengage Learning

Six-Step Analysis Process - The book is structured using a comprehensive and logical six-step fundamental analysis process to evaluate financial statements and value firms. The six steps include economic analysis of the industry, strategic analysis of the firm, accounting quality analysis, profitability and risk ratio analysis, forecasting, and valuation. This framework provides a sensible and intuitive approach for instructors and students. Balanced approach - The text continues to offer a balanced and thorough treatment of the three main elements of financial statement analysis: analysis of firms' strategies (profitability and risk analysis with ratios), accounting quality analysis, and forecasting and valuation. Financial Statement Analysis Package (FSAP) - Faculty and students who use the text are also entitled to use FSAP, which is an extensive, Excel-based analysis package. FSAP enables faculty and students a powerful template package for ratios analysis, financial statement forecasting, valuation, and sensitivity analysis. Instructors find FSAP a great tool to prepare cases and analyze companies. Students find FSAP to be a great tool to analyze and value companies using the methods of the text. Actual Companies Used Throughout: Numerous examples in the text--approximately 10 per chapter--are based on the financial information of actual public companies. Each chapter uses PepsiCo's 2008 financial statements as a continuing case to illustrate the techniques of the chapter. The end of chapter materials for each chapter also contain an integrative case involving Starbucks, so instructors can assign a continuing, integrative case for students to apply their learning. Other real company examples throughout the text include companies students will recognize such as Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, Enron, Sun Microsystems, Amazon, Nokia, Microsoft, and General Electric. Accounting Quality: The text provides stronger-than-ever emphasis on accounting analysis, quality of earnings and persistence, and the quality of financial position. The text emphasizes the role of accounting standards as a solid basis for relevant and reliable information for purposes of analysis and valuation. It introduces students to accounting for all of the major issues associated with financing activities (Chapter 6), investing activities (Chapter 7), operating activities (Chapter 8), and in-depth accounting quality analysis and restatement techniques (Chapter 9).