Organizational leaders must be familiar with the content and meaning of the financial information their organization produces. Entities outside the company use this information for a variety of purposes.

Step 1. Research select a major U.S. corporation or other organization that produces public financial statements. Go to the organization's website and review the latest earnings release and information presented in other financial reports.

Step 2. Analyze Determine the major concerns of one of the external users of the company's financial data. Consider how this user may draw on the information presented in the financial reports to determine the financial condition of the company.

Step 3. Prepare Prepare an analysis identifying the organization and its business nature, the financial statements you reviewed, and the outside group you considered. Identify the outside group's major interest in the organization and the financial information this group would be most interested in that tells them about the organization.