As a team, select an industry to analyze. MarketGuide provides lists of industries and their makeup at

\v\v\v.marketguide.com/mgi/INDUSTRY/INDUSTRY.html. Each team member should acquire the annual report or 10-K for one publicly traded company in the industry, with each member selecting a different company. (Library files, the SEC EDGAR service at www.sec.gov, Compustat CD, or the company itself are good sources.)

Required:

On an individual basis, each team member should write a short report answering the following questions about the selected company. 1. What formats are used to present the balance sheet and income statement? 2. Find one note that describes an accounting rule applied in the company's statements, one note that presents additional detail about a reported financial statement number, and one note that reports financial information not listed in the statements. What information is provided in each? 3. If an appropriate source is available at your school, using the company's website. The Wall Street Journal Index, or Dow Jones Interactive (or an instructor-assigned resource), find one article reporting the company's annual earnings announcement. How does the date of the announcement compare with the date on the annual report or 10-K? 4. Compute return on equity for the current year. Which company provided the highest return to shareholders during the current year? 5. Use ROE profit driver analysis to determine the cause(s) of any differences.

Discuss any patterns across the three companies that you as a team observe. Then, as a team, write a short report comparing and contrasting your companies using these attributes. Provide potential explanations for any differences discovered.