Within a continuously competitive global business environment, publicly held companies face constant pressure to generate and report positive financial results. Unfortunately, some leaders may be tempted to report improper or misleading results in order to meet those expectations.

• Examine the critical information that a financial statement reader can learn from the contents of the income statement, the balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows.
• How might an integrated analysis of the statements help in assessing earning quality or detecting earnings management?