Locate and print out the most recent accounts of Marks & Spencer ple from the www.marksandspencer.com web site for comparison with the accounts of Cobham plc. Place the balance sheets and cash flow statements of the two companies side by side and, using the notes to the accounts, compare them.

a. Are there entries in one balance sheet that are not in the other?

b. Where is the manufacturing aspect of Cobham’s business revealed in its balance sheet?

c. Where is the merchant aspect of Marks & Spencer's business revealed in its balance sheet?

d. What percentage of the total assets (fixed and current) of both companies are fixed and what is the likely reason for the differences between them?

e. For both companies: what proportion of the cash inflows during the accounting year come from operating activities?