Q Search the Ch 04: Assignment - Analysis of Financial Statements One of the most important applications of ratio analysis is to compare a company's performance with that of other players in the industry or to compare its own performance over a period of time. Such analyses are referred to as a comparative analysis and trend analysis, respectively. A common site analysis requires the representation of financial statement data in terms of a single financial statement item (or base account or value). What is the most commonly used base item for a common size income statement? Total liabilities Net sales Total assets Led Stockholders' equity Suppose you are conducting an analysis of the financial performance of Cold Goose Metal Works Inc. over the past three years. The company did not new shares during these three years and has faced some operational difficulties. The company has thus pilot tested some new forecasting strategies for better operations management. You have collected the company's relevant financial data, made reasonable assumptions based on the information available, and calculated the following ratios R