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A Manager’s Guide to Financial Analysis, Sixth Edition

A Manager's Guide to Financial Analysis, Sixth Edition

Author: Eliot H. Sherman
Testing Format: multiple choice
Your Price: $159.00
ISBN: 9780761215615
Format: Paper or Softback

Overview

Priceless insight using Powerful FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

Financial analysis is the key to smarter business decisions. It helps companies chart the best course of action—whether identifying operational improvements, evaluating investment choices, or preparing for an acquisition. Covering in-depth financial statement analysis, ratio analysis, asset management, capital structure, and more, this comprehensive course gives students the tools they need to crunch the numbers, focusing on prediction rather than reporting.

Students will learn how to:

• Connect a company’s past experience to future expectations

• Apply the right analytical techniques to problems or decisions

• Identify and explain deviations from anticipated results

• Make needed adjustments to financial statements, taking into account current values, off-balance-sheet financing, and unrecognized items

• Use financial ratios to analyze trends, identify issues, and compare results to the competition and the industry as a whole

• Evaluate capital investments using net present value, internal rate of return, profitability index, and other methods

• Manage current assets including cash, credit and collections, and inventory

• Build a robust financial forecast

• Determine a company’s optimal capital structure and debt policy

• Measure the financial impact of a merger or acquisition

Now completely revised, the sixth edition of A Manager’s Guide to Financial Analysis includes a chapter on forecasting and valuation; sections on alternative asset management, liability and equity; guidance on analyzing return on equity (ROE) using DuPont Analysis; coverage of total asset turnover; updated information on stock repurchases; a glossary of key terms; as well as exercises and review questions throughout to help increase comprehension and reinforce new skills.

Who Will Benefit

Designed for managers who have a basic understanding of accounting and of the structure of financial statements.

Table of Contents

About This Course xi

How to Take This Course xiii

Pre-Test xv

Introduction xxi

1 Financial Decision Making and the Techniques Used in Financial Analysis 1

Financial Analysis

The Role of the Financial Analyst

Financial Management and Financial Analysis

Activities and Financial Statements

Business Strategy

Competitive Environment

The Application of Analytical Techniques for Specific Problems

Primary Goal of Financial Analysis

Long-Range versus Short-Range Goals

The Balanced Scorecard

Techniques Presented in This Course

Recap

Review Questions

2 Financial Statement Analysis 17

Differing Viewpoints

The Basic Structure of Financial Statements

Financial Statement Analysis

Recap

Review Questions

3 Ratio Analysis for Financial Statements 39

Ratio Analysis

Profitability Ratios

Liquidity Ratios

Activity Ratios

Debt and Equity Ratios

Using Financial Ratios

Using Financial Ratios in Analysis

Important Considerations Concerning Financial Statement Information

Alternative Asset Management Treatments

Alternative Liability and Equity Treatments

Recap

Review Questions

4 Analyzing Current Asset Management 85

Cash Management

Accounts Receivable: Credit and Collection Policies

Inventory Management Considerations

Recap

Review Questions

5 Evaluating Capital Investment Proposals 105

The Capital Budgeting Process

Determining the Cost of Capital or Discount Rate

The Cash Flow from an Investment

Risk and Capital Investments

Evaluating Capital Investments

The Post-Audit

Recap

Review Questions

6 Forecasting and Valuation 143

Forecasting the Future

Constructing a Valuation Model

Recap

Review Questions

7 Capital Structure and Dividend Policy 155

Issues in Capital Structure and Dividend Policy

Business and Financial Risk

Optimal Capital Structure

Dividend Policy

Recap

Review Questions

8 Mergers and Acquisitions 171

Motives for Mergers

Search and Screening

Measuring the Financial Impact of an Acquisition

The Impact on Earnings per Share

The Impact on the Price-Earnings Ratio

Valid and Invalid Motives for Merging

Expected Return from an Acquisition or Merger

Recap

Review Questions

Answers to Quick Quiz Questions 191

Bibliography 197

Additional Resources 199

Glossary 201

Post-Test 213

Index 219