How to Read Annual Reports and Balance Sheets

Annual Reports can be daunting. Many find them overwhelming and even frightening because they do not understand them. Consequently, they look at the net income and if it has increased and a dividend has been paid they look no further in the belief that all is well. This may be far from the truth. In this age of creative accounting and innovative ideas, accounting principles are changed, provisions are manipulated and accounting theory itself is engineered by companies to create profits, sometimes out of thin air. In this book Raghu Palat, in his own distinctive and lucid style explains how one may read annual reports and balance sheets. This concise and practical book is intended for businessmen, managers, students, investors and anyone else who needs to read and wants to understand the Annual Report and Balance Sheet of a company.