Fundamentals of Financial Accounting 4th Edition by Fred Phillips,Robert Libby,Patricia Libby

Exercise 17

Team Research, Financial Analysis, Technology, and Communication: Examining the Balance Sheet
As a team, select an industry to analyze. Using your Web browser, each team member should access the annual report or 10-K for one publicly traded company in the industry, with each member selecting a different company. (See S1-3 in Chapter 1 for a description of possible resources for these tasks.)
Required:
1. On an individual basis, each team member should write a short report that lists the following information.
a. The date of the balance sheet.
b. The major noncurrent asset accounts and any significant changes in them.
c. The major noncurrent liability accounts and any significant changes in them.
d. Any significant changes in total stockholders' equity.
e. Whether financing for the investment in assets primarily comes from liabilities or stockholders' equity.
2. Then, as a team, write a short report comparing and contrasting your companies using the above dimensions. Discuss any similarities across the companies that you as a team observe and provide potential explanations for any differences discovered.