Go to the website of a public company that interests you, and find its latest financial statements. (Usually you can find a company’s financial statements in a section called “investor relations.” Often, the company provides SEC filings, and the annual financial statements are in the Form 10-K.) In the financial statements:

A. Look at the company’s balance sheet, and find out what its largest assets and liabilities are.

B. Look at the company’s income statement.

a. What are its major expenses?

b. Does the company show any losses or gains? What are they?

C. Typically, the first footnote lists major accounting policies. From this footnote, identify:

a. What entity is covered? Is it just one company, or a consolidated group of companies?

b. What does the company say is its policy for recognizing income?