reading annual reports

[hills]

Hi there I am studying accounting and need to make sense of some NZ annual reports so i can make an investment decision, any help on understanding the financial stuff would be awesome.
Cheers
Hilary[8)]

[thereslifeafter87]

Get some reports.

Read them.

Then get some more reports, and read them too.

Eventually a pattern emerges.

Have fun!

Also, have a look on some of the other investment strategy threads for recommendations of books about investing, and also tips on annual reports.

[Westie]

if you are starting out, then i'd recommend Fridson & Alvarez "Financial Statement Analysis" as a good introductory read.

[whiteheron]

hills

If you are studying accounting that will be a good start , most likely puts you ahead of most of the bunch

Look beyond the individual financial report that you are considering , look at the big picture as well and dont take all information in annual reports as read , remember that the directors will be trying to dress things up as best they can

[blackcap]

and you sometimes find interesting tidbits in the notes.

[Allan]

Your question was about making an investment decision, I have read reports and found it heavy going, and slow. This sounds a little simplistic, but I have taken the advice, find a share thats going up and buy it.The same sage also said dont worry what the market is doing worry about what your shares are doing. Buy the time one report has been read and anaylised,the trends on 100's of shares can be studied.

[Snoopy]

quote:Originally posted by Allan

Your question was about making an investment decision, I have read reports and found it heavy going, and slow. This sounds a little simplistic, but I have taken the advice, find a share thats going up and buy it.The same sage also said dont worry what the market is doing worry about what your shares are doing. Buy the time one report has been read and anaylised,the trends on 100's of shares can be studied.

With respect Allan, Hills stated she was studying accounting and wanted to study accounts to make an investment decision. It was possibly an assignment or something like that, Hills didn't say.

Your statement that this was an investment question only is just your own spin on what you read, and is evidence of poor comprehension on your part - in this instance.

If you think studying charts is some kind of shortcut to doing an accounting assignment quickly, you couldn't be more wrong. If Hills followed your advice she would get 0/10.

SNOOPY

[duncan macgregor]

SNOOPY, my old mate different strokes for different folks. You might be right in what you say, its how you read it. HILLS will find the education section on sharechat will assist in understanding the problems in whatever system she chooses. macdunk

[Lawso]

Most listed company annual reports consist of two parts. The first half contains the [u]fairy stories</u>, the second half carries the [u] concealed facts</u>.

[Lawso]

Hills: Once you've learnt to ignore the former and ferret out the latter, you're on the way to understanding annual reports.