Guide to Analysing Companies, Third Edition [Hardcover]

Bob Vause (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2002 | ISBN-10: 1861973918 | ISBN-13: 978-1861973917 | Edition: 3

How do you tell how well run a company is and how well it is doing? Which ratios and benchmarks should you use to assess performance? What can be done to massage company results? How do you recognise danger signs on the corporate horizon? How do you compare companies operating in different sectors or even different countries? All these important questions as well as many more are answered in this clear and comprehensive guide aimed at anyone who wants to; make sense and practical use of a company's annual report; measure a business against its competitors; judge the creditworthiness of a customer or client; assess the investment potential of a company; put a value on a company.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Shockingly readable - a minor classic.' - Interactive Investor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

A fellow osf the Institure of the Chartered Accountants and of Templeton College, Oxford, where he has taught for more than 20 years, he is a highly-regarded consultant to many large companies.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bloomberg Press; 3 edition (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861973918
• ISBN-13: 978-1861973917
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,379,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking beyond the numbers, April 19, 2008

By 

Bilal Masood (Islamabad, Pakistan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guide to Analysing Companies (The Economist) (Hardcover)

Concise, insightful and easy to read, this book is an excellent introduction for the ordinary people. The books reliance on examples - both real and fictitious - is what makes it stand out from rest of the crowd.

The first section introduces you to various pieces of information on the balance sheets, income and cash flow statements. There are no complicated equations or quick-fix formulate. Instead, there is discussion supported on the true meaning and significance (or insignificance) of various pieces of information that the companies report - what underlying information they reveal and how they can possibly be fudged. The second section brings the information together and shows the reader how to apply it to analyze the operations, trends, strengths and weaknesses of a company.

It is an invaluable tool for those who want to take charge of their investment portfolios and also for those who want a broader understanding of financial aspects of businesses. It will arm you with both the necessary information and the critical insight needed to unearth the truth beneath the numbers.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Analyze This!, August 5, 2009

By 

Larry Underwood "Author - St Louis Cardinals ... (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guide to Analysing Companies (The Economist) (Hardcover)

Bob Vause compiles a handy guide for even the layman to comprehend, in navigating through the frequently muddled world of investing. Choosing the right companies to trust with our investment dollars is a daunting enough task under "normal" market conditions; under the current recessionary climate, it's an absolute necessity to weed out the prenteders from the contenders.

Even then, there are no guarantees; the irrational behavior of investors continues to confuse even the most astute market experts. The past year has befuddled the entire world economic community, as trillions upon trillions of our hard earned dollars has evaporated into thin air.

Perhaps this book will help; it was published over four years ago, when the stock & housing markets were booming. The recent financial meltdown has been rehashed in many books with 20-20 vision; it appears "greed & hubris" have been the biggest culprits, and the vast majority of naive investors were completely fooled by it all.

What makes this book so valuable is its wise advice in spotting the danger signs of pending corporate doom or malfeasence. Investor beware, indeed. Be very careful; it's dangerous out there.

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Detailed knowledge volume, April 3, 2007

By 

Anandasubramanian (CHENNAI, India) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guide to Analysing Companies (The Economist) (Hardcover)

Rather than giving a bunch of formulas to use in Excel, this book actually tries to impart you some knowledge of real world.

While the knowledge maybe old hat for experienced stock analysts, it is NOT for new comers to the field.

And for the Excel script MBAs who try to reduce everything to an equation, sorry dudes.

This book attempts to make u first understand the purpose, goal, and results you would get in a analysis, and then goes about teaching you that analysis.