Purpose: Financial statements communicate to investors, creditors, andmanagement the financial health of the organization. Companies are aware that finan-cial statements are read by individuals who have varying degrees of understanding of fi-nancial matters. IBM's "Guide to Understanding Financials," which is located on its home-page, is one company's effort to provide online information for novice users. This guidetakes an investor's approach to understanding the different financial statements.Address: http://www.ibm.com/financialguideSteps: Go to the above address.InstructionsAnswer the following questions:

(a) List two required elements in an annual report. List one optional element.

(b) What is the auditors' report?

(c) What financial statements are required in an annual report? What is included in thenotes to the financial statements?

(d) From an investor's perspective, list two general suggestions for an approach to re-viewing financial statements.