Understanding Financial Statements (Paperback)

by Lyn M. Fraser (Author), Aileen Ormiston (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"My student feedback indicates a sincere appreciation for this text. The freshman marketing major (with no accounting background) found it very easy to read. At the same time, the senior accounting major found it drew material together in a way that he thoroughly enjoyed using it!"-Corolyn E. Clark, Saint Joseph's University "Chapter 5 (The Analysis of Financial Statements) is very well written and organized. It would work well in a beginning Finance class or in a Financial Accounting class."-Richard Brunell, Concordia University "A very detailed discussion on the topic of understanding financial statements."-Ted M. Hammett, Southwestern Oklahoma State University "The greatest strength of this text is it s readability. The writing style is superb. The examples are well chose, explanations are clear."-Solomon S. Smith, Langston University "I use the text in a managerial finance course because it provides an excellent review of accounting, and a concise treatment of financial statement analysis. ...Fraser provides my students with the tools they need."-Eric L. Blazer, Millersville University "The authors display a particularly effective writing style that is interesting and easy to follow."-Charles Fazzi, Robert Morris College --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"It is my view that there are two things that make the Fraser and Ormiston text superior to any of its competitors. The first is the clarity with which it is written. It is straightforward and to the point. It is an excellent text or supplemental text for a course in financial statements analysis for non-accounting majors. In addition, the mini-cases are very useful as is the checklist of items the reader of financial statements should address when trying to make sense of such statements." John Erickson, California State University-Fullerton

"The text is accurate and very efficient in presenting some complex topics in a fundamental way that financial statement users can appreciate. Topics such as depreciation alternatives, inflation accounting, earnings per share, and the equity method are all handled in an appropriate fashion." — Charles Fazzi, Robert Morris College

"I use the text in a managerial finance course because it provides an excellent review of accounting and a concise treatment of financial statement analysis." — Eric Blazer, Millersville University

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 5 edition (November 20, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0136191150
• ISBN-13: 978-0136191155
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,305,714 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding Financial Statements, January 25, 2001

By A Customer

This is a wonderful book for those who are new to the world of corporate finance and do not have a working knowledge of the language of finance. The definitions are clear and the examples are easy to understand. The book is thorough in its coverage of balance sheet, income statements, statements of retained earnings, and cash flow, and explains how to uncover hidden problems in review of a firm's financial statements. This is a great book for students and those who want to have the mysteries of the financial report revealed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll keep this close to your side for years to come..., February 8, 2006

By	FredCritic (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding Financial Statements (7th Edition) (Paperback)

I purchased the fifth edition of this book back in 1997 and still have it. I work through it, from start to finish, every three months in order to keep myself fresh and thoroughly knowledgeable about income statements, balance sheets, and cash flows. The exercises are challenging enough to require you to do a little extra research and thinking on your own, i.e., not everything in the questions can be answered by consulting the book. IMPORTANT NOTE TO PROSPECTIVE PURCHASERS OF THIS BOOK: You will have difficulty thoroughly understanding this material unless you have at least a year of financial accounting coursework under your belt. Although I already had 8 accounting courses under my belt by the time I purchased this book, it helped me understand financials like I had never understood them before. A very useful text for those interested in the analysis of, particularly, the income statement and the balance sheet.

4.0 out of 5 stars More than a "StudentAid", November 11, 2007

By	Michael J. Woolley "The Maverick" (London England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Understanding Financial Statements (8th Edition) (Pie) (Paperback)

This book, authored by the excellent M/s Fraser & published by StudentAid, will be useful both to the successful student and/or the less experienced practioner because it acts as a refresher for those whose student days are almost forgotten as well as a pathfinder for those who want to move on from the banal student text books offered by others. I teach financial analysis and unhesitatingly recommend this to all but the most experienced or competent as a welcome opportunity to learn. Each chapter culminates with a series of questions increasing in difficulty. There are useful hints as to where to find raw & comparative data & some good case studies. For the more experienced, perhaps this will be a little undemanding, in which case try "Financial Statement Analysis & Security Valuation" by Stephen Penman or one of the excellent books by Comiskey & Mulford.