Profitable companies have several ways to attract investors. Share buybacks or stock splits can make stock ownership attractive. Year-over-year revenue growth is another reason for investors to buy shares. For some solid, mature companies, offering dividends is a great way to show investors that the company is strong. Well, how do dividend distributions affect whatRead More…

Recent history has delivered some significant swings in the stock market, leaving most investors scratching their heads in awe. It is not uncommon to see intraday ranges of 500 points. Since August 2, 2011 – when the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 263 points – there have been 21 trading days where the averageRead More…

Kenneth Lay. Bernie Ebbers. Dennis Kozlowski. Bernie Madoff. The list of disgraced – and convicted – perpetrators of financial malfeasance has continued to grow since the dawn of the new millennium. A lack of ethical behavior has led to catastrophe for several companies. Beyond the legal consequences, there are financial implications that follow a decisionRead More…

Companies need capital for a variety of needs – purchasing capital equipment, acquiring real estate, paying expenses and so on. The two primary financing strategies, debt instruments and equity participation, offer advantages depending on the reason for borrowing the money. Debt Financing Using debt for business purposes is often the method of choice when revenueRead More…

With stock prices getting beaten down, there must be a lot of bargains out there now, right? Maybe not. Some advisors, such as Merrill Lynch, caution investors to avoid declining stocks which may be perceived as good value but suffer from weak underlying fundamentals. By using a statistical model that analyzes pricing and momentum, brokeragesRead More…

In 2014, the SEC is set to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as a requirement for publicly owned companies. The plan, according to SEC Deputy Chief Accountant Paul Beswick, is to provide a period of “condorsement” (whereby jurisdictions are allowed to either converge or endorse the new standards) then converge existing GAAP rulesRead More…

Despite the fact that the top US corporate tax rate – 35% of net income – is among the highest in the world, today’s incorporated businesses are paying historic lows when filing Form 1120. This has led to speculation that Congress will act on tax reform for US corporate citizens. A recent report by theRead More…

Form 8-K is used to disclose “material corporate events” that occur between 10-Q filings. The purpose of the 8-K form is to ensure public disclosure of events that can impact stock trading decisions, so investors and intermediaries can have knowledge of current company activities.  One of the recently added reasons for requiring 8-K filing comesRead More…

Natural disasters, war, worker strikes, and logistics problems are just a few occurrences that can happen in a global economy to disrupt just-in-time inventory planning. Even pirates are getting in on the action of disrupting supply channels. Who would have thought that piracy would be a concern in the 21st century? Just-in-time inventory planning workedRead More…

Financial officers are tasked with determining what the value of the company is at specific times. Most likely you’ll estimate a range of values rather than a firm figure, because there are so many variables to consider. Income, asset-based and market valuations are popular approaches. Often, cash flow is a key determinant when a businessRead More…