How do such lives compare with those used by our competitors?

It is important that as a non-accountant you should grasp the significance of this chapter. The decisions that your accountants will have taken in making a series of last minute adjustments to the financial accounts (particularly for stocks, depreciation, accruals and prepayment, and bad and doubtful debts) will have a significant effect on the amount of profit that the entity has earned during the year.