All of the following are steps in the analysis and valuation framework used to understand the fundamentals of a business and determine estimates of its value except:

A$.$

Derive forecasts of future earnings from the firm$$s projected financial statements.

B$.$

Analyze the firm$$s strategy in terms of the competition.

C$.$

Assess the quality of the firm$$s accounting and financial reporting.

D$.$

Obtain the national ranking of the firm$$s external auditors.