Most large companies have a website that contains ‘investor information’ such as the latest set of accounts and any other information relevant to shareholders. On the Internet locate the websites for the following companies using a suitable search engine such as Google or Yahoo!:

Try to locate the overall company website and, starting from the homepage, navigate to the investor relations page (sometimes called ‘financials’). Make a note of what you find in the way of financial accounts and for what year. You may find interim accounts — do not ignore these, as they are useful sources of updated information. Your most important find will be the most up-to-date set of final accounts. Once you have found those accounts:
1. Locate the main sections within the accounts: chairman’s report, operating review, directors’ report, auditor's report, profit and loss account, balance sheet, cash flow statement and notes to the accounts.

2. Identify the main business type and the size of the firm: by its turnover, and by its workforce.

3. Read the auditor's report: locate the phrase ‘true and fair view’. Is this phrase qualified in any way?

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Cobham IBM Marks & Spencer Merrill Lynch Rolls-Royce Royal Bank of Scotland.