The Investor's Guide to Understanding Accounts: 10 Crunch Questions to Ask Before Investing in a Company

by Robert Leach

Many investors ignore company accounts because they think they are too difficult. But, as the great investor Peter Lynch said "Investing without looking at the numbers is like playing bridge without looking at the cards". The mission of this book is to explain to ordinary investors, with no accounting knowledge, what to look for in a set of accounts and how to interpret what you find - so that you have an accurate 'health check' on a company in ten simple steps. Robert Leach considers the entire subject from an investor's point of view, by asking - and then answering - the questions which matter most. He also looks at the techniques which companies sometimes use to flatter their accounts, and shows how accounts for companies in different sectors have to be looked at differently. The 10 Crunch 1. Is the company growing? 2. Are costs under control? 3. Does it make a profit? 4. How much cash does it have? 5. Is its market value supported by assets? 6. Is it using debt wisely? 7. Are there any hidden nasties? 8. Is management good enough? 9. Can I expect a reliable income? 10. Are there any threats to my interests?

Genres: Finance

246 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Ugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very accessible style and format, and rather well judged scope and depth for a beginner IMO. If you've read a bit of investing material you'll be familiar with a substantial amount of it, and it's now fairly dated in places, but there are little asides that might be fresh, and it's a decent, clear resource to have on a shelf.