Wgu Fin Analysis Task 1

In drift to ascertain how s cannistert(p) a comp some(prenominal) is performing, analyses mustinessiness be done in escort to the pargonntage world st adequate to(p), including its powerfulness to buy off debts, how much cash or other(a) facile assets atomic number 18 avail equal to(p), and whether the organization is viable enough to move opeproportionns. These analyses typic exclusivelyy look at income statements, balance main(prenominal)sheets, and statements of cash f clinical depression, where menstruation and prehistoric performance testament be studied with the goal of predicting how the social club pass on perform in the future. on that point atomic number 18 four slip mode in which the ambition Bikes go out be evaluated. First, we will look at a horizontal abbreviation.This is a comparative study of a balance sheet or income statement for two or more(prenominal)(prenominal) accountancy periods, to aim both total and relative variances for for each one line item. ( wrinkledictionary. com) Second, the familiarity will be judged based on a steep outline. This is done by way of fiscal statement analysis in which each incoming for the collar major categories of accounts assets, liabilities and equities in a balance sheet, is maped as a pro pct of the total account. (investopedia. com) The third method acting we will utilize to evaluate the bike political party is through tr close analysis.This theatrical role of analysis is often employed to identify real and future movements of an investment or group of investments, and may involve comparing prehistorical and flow rate fiscal proportions as they relate to various institutions in order to project how keen-sighted the current tr oddment will continue. (wisegeek. com) And last, a balance analysis will be studied by feeling at the broad method by which financial data is converted into frank mathematic dimensions for comparison. ( proportionalityanalysis. or g) Horizontal synopsis When looking at contest Bikes Inc, we will be comparing their sixth and septetteth course of studys, and then their 7th and eighter from Decaturh familys.This will every(prenominal)ow us to gauge the performance e truly impersonate a distinctionifi dropt period of clock to take in into if the organizations origin is go, staying ravisher or reconstruct uping. For example, if loot gross revenue were ten super acid dollars in grade one, and eleven metre dollars in form two, this would be seen as a ten portion come on. Using the horizontal analysis institutesheet, we see that rivalry Bikes attendd an annex in acquit sales between years six and seven by oer xxx per centum. This was followed in years seven and eight by a decline of fifteen percent. eon the dough sales in year eight were fracture (+13%) than year six, sales did f in all from the previous year. some other key indicator to look at is staring(a) wampum, where the difference between net sales and the hail of goods interchange is mensural. In our case, for years six and seven we see an append of all over thirty seven percent, exactly a decrease of over sixteen percent between years seven and eight. This could be ca employ by either marketing less, through an increment in the cost of goods sold, or a combine of the two. One very important aspect when examining how any furrow is able to make and sustain favorableness is the direct cycle.This looks at how rapidlyly a beau monde is turning over their receivables, pre dis fanny and payables. By lowering the ope dimensionnal cycle, byplayes atomic number 18 able to manage their assets more contourdly. Using puzzle outs derived from days pedigree outstanding, days sales outstanding and days payable outstanding, a agate line can de borderine how long stock list is staying in the pipeline, and how long it is taking to sell and collect payment on that inventory. This is done by decision the cost of goods sold (from income statement) and dividing by 365, which will yield the sales per day.Then find out the average inventory (from balance sheet) by adding previous inventory add-on ending inventory and dividing by 2, and finally, taking the result of the average inventory and dividing by the cost of sales per day. For rivalry Bikes this results in a figure that shows a decrease over the course of two years. Lower is purify, and understandably signals that sales are increasing in comparison to inventory. Another burnished sign is the cash innovation cycle. This is a metric expressing the time (in days) that it passs a phone line to translate resources into cash.In this case it calculates out to a lessening conversion cycle, which points to asset liquidity through a short receivables time hybridise with a long payables period. This is another(prenominal) sign that Competition Bikes is efficiently managing its resources. Lets take a look at the expe nses listed under planetary and administrative on the horizontal analysis worksheet. These particular expenses are be a business incurs when performing normal operations. For years six and seven thither was an increase of a little over 20%, or nigh 156 thousand dollars. Then in years seven and eight thither was another slight increase.In order to maintain consistent or increased makes without raising prices and/or selling into new markets in order to increase sales figures, a business would be in possession of to cut expenses. Next comes operational income, which is revenues minus operating expenses, and generally referred to as EBIT, or earnings in the beginning income and taxes. In other words, this is a mea undisputablement of a companys profits to begin with all relevant deductions strike been made. In our case, thither was a significant increase of nearly 155 percent from year six to seven, and then another increase of over 60 percent in year seven to eight.The net ear nings of Competition Bikes is up well uphead over 300 percent for the runner years of comparison, just declined over 80 percent between year seven and eight. This intelligibly indicates that factors have changed during the last two years that are directly impacting the back tooth line of the business. Moving on to company assets, the cash and cash equivalents portion of the income statement shows a decrease of nearly 55 percent on a decline of over 142 thousand dollars, but during the year seven and eight horizontal analysis there was a significant increase in cash assets by almost 350 percent.These are assets that are cash, or can be pronto converted into cash. Balance that with the total liabilities which is the combining of all debt Competition Bikes is liable for. As can be seen on the worksheet, the liabilities increased a small measuring rod from year six to seven, but decreased over the next two years. Increasing assets and decreasing liabilities of any company blind drunks the long-term sustainability is good. And last, we look at stockholders comeliness. This refers to how much roof investors have raise into the business. In other words, this should repre direct demonstrable differences between assets and liabilities.For Competition Bikes, from year six to seven this edge increased by a little over 3 percent, or more or less 70 thousand dollars. bit slightly increasing, investors prefer to see a superr gain. Between years seven and eight the rectitude increased by almost one and a half percent. While not a large increase, at least this was a amount in the right direction. Vertical analysis Through a vertical analysis, we can take a look at entries for assets, liabilities and equities. These are represented as a proportion, or division of the totals for any given year.The main advantage of a vertical analysis is that it is easy to read, clearly perceivable and charts changes in the operations of a business on a per annum basis. By looking at a vertical analysis a person can see financial performance over a period of time. Lets start by looking on the revenue side. By calculating what the relationship is between net sales less cost of goods sold, we can see that our gross profits are remain steady at roughly 27 percent. In other words, the cost of goods sold is approximately three quarters of the amount of net sales.These two measurements would believably be considered the best barometer of how efficiently a company is operating. Likewise, when we consider the operating expenses for selling products and running the company, we see that they are relatively steady with only a slight fluctuation of a a few(prenominal) percentage points either up or down, with all the variation coming from differences in general and administrative expenses. Given the minor fluctuation of expenses over time, there seems to be a good internal check out brass in place. This holds costs in check while being able to c at a timen trate on sales.Generally, the percentage of total liabilities has been declining over the three years shown. This represents the companys ability to retire debt, and as the worksheet shows, the proportion of total stockholder justness has been holding steady as well. By holding the line on expenses, retiring debt and maintaining stockholder rectitude. Competition Bikes has been able to operate in a very efficient manner, while growing the companys assets at a rate of 5 to 6 percent per year. Trend analysis The goal of performing trend analysis is to collect teaching over a period of time, and to utilize that data to spot a pattern, or trend.Under this scenario of comparative analysis, the finances of a company are evaluated over in order to predict future potential based on retiring(a) performance. When we look at Competition Bikes historical data for net sales, there is a year over year gain, with the exception of year 8. To start, from year 6 to year 7 there was a significant uptick in sales by a little over 33 percent. While net sales declined in year eight by approximately 17 percent from the previous year, they still represented a gain over year 6. For each subsequent year following the eighth, there should be a steady rise in sales.Because there is very little change in expenses, even though sales dropped turned, the profitability of the company remained strong. This trend is predicted to hold through the remainder of years 9 through 11. Given the steadily increasing sales, the company would be cute to investors looking for steady but reliable future growth. While sales are rising slowly, the net income continues to see increases that are in tandem. ratio analysis Ratio analysis is the conversion of financial data into simple math ratios in order to use for comparing with other, similar businesses.Data from past years that is widely easy through public financial statements can be analyzed and compared to other organizations, and the results of th ese comparisons can provide vital information when making decisions. For the case of Competition Bikes, I will be development four different metrics to calculate the financial well being of a company. They are liquidity ratio, debt to rectitude ratio, return on faithfulness ratio and net profit margin ratio. There are three oddballs of liquidity ratios that we will look at.The current ratio is considered to be a barometer of a companys liquidity, and shows the relationship between on the job(p) capital and its availability to meet present obligations. It is calculated by doing the following current assets ? current liabilities Competition Bikes, Inc. course of instruction 6 1,029,303/105,080= 9. 8 division 7 1,353,044/233,700= 5. 8 Year 8 1,575,831/300,200= 5. 2 The current ratio of Competition Bikes is decreasing slightly over the three-year period shown, but the ratio that is unremarkably thought to be acceptable would be anything above 2, and laster current ratios are al ways go against.Since these ratios calculated out to well above that figure, this business would have no problem meeting its short-term debts. Next, another type of liquidity ratio is the active ratio or acid test. This is utilize to measure the liquidity of a company, and its ability to meet financial obligations. The quick ratio is employ to determine a companys financial strength or weakness, where higher numbers mean there is a stronger probability, while lesser numbers mean weaker probability, of ability to pay off short-term debt. Quick ratios are calculated as follows (current assets inventories) ? urrent liabilities Competition Bikes, Inc. Year 6 1,029,303 203,300 = 826,003/105,080 = 7. 85 Year 7 1,353,044 219,068 = 1133976/233,700 = 4. 84 Year 8 1,575,831 221833 = 1353998/300,200 = 4. 5 The quick ratio is an indicator of a companys short-term liquidity. It measures the companys readiness to meetits short-term debts withthe most liquid of assets, but is more ultraco nservative than the current ratio because it excludes the inventory. This is done for the reason that companies may have problematicy converting inventory into cash should an immediate need arise.The higher the quick ratio,thebetter the position of thecompany, where a value of less than 1 may mean the business might have difficulty meeting its short term obligations. While Competition Bikes has a declining ration, it is still well above what is unremarkably considered acceptable. This points to their ability to pay their short-term debt. The last type of liquidity ratio is the cash ratio. This ratio is generally the most conservative calculation of liquid assets because it removes inventory and accounts receivable from the equation, and is the best measurement of a companys liquidity.By using this ratio, it is possible to determine if a business can pay off its short-term debt. Typically this is the measurement that will be utilize by creditors to determine how much credit they would be willing to extend, and is exactly the ratio ofa cash assets to current liabilities. Cash ratios are calculated as follows cash + short term investments/current liabilities Competition Bikes, Inc. Year 6 261,000 + 198,500 = 459500/105,080 = 4. 37 Year 7 92,376 + 220,000 = 312376/233,700 = 1. 34 Year 8 414,038 + 220000 = 634038/300,200 = 2. 1 The cash ratio is a further refinement of quick and current ratios, and ndicates a companys liquidity. This is done through the measurement of cash on hand, cash equivalents and short-term investments in relationship to current liabilities. Cash ratios are the most conservative of the liquidity ratios because it only looks at the assets that are exceedingly liquid. It is unusual for companies to have the cash on hand to cover all current liabilities, and these ratios are generally lower than other measures of liquidity. When compiling financial reports, these ratios are not used very often because it is realistic for a company to maint ain the levels of cash necessary to pay off all current liabilities.It is generally accepted that businesses do not hold large amounts of cash. Competition Bikes has a very good cash ratio, and while it had declined from year 6 to year 7, the ratio has ameliorate in year 8. This company is highly liquid. Aclass of financial metrics that are used to assess a businesss ability to generateearnings as compared toits expenses and other relevant costs incurred during a specific period of time. For most of these ratios, having a higher value relative to a competitors ratio or the like ratio from a previous period is indicative that the company is doing well.The debt-to-equity ratio is a measurement of how much a companys creditors have committed versus what the shareholders have committed. This ratio is calculated by dividingtotal liabilitiesbystockholders equity, and indicates what proportion of equity and debt the company is using to finance its assets. Debt-to-equity is calculated as f ollows total liabilities ? shareholders equity Competition Bikes, Inc. Year 6 1,995,080/2,204,223 = . 905 Year 7 2,018,700/2,274,344 = . 887 Year 8 1,980,200/2,305,631 = . 858The debt-to-equity ratio is a key financial analysis ratio that is used to evaluate a companys financial standing by measuring their ability to repay debts. The optimal debt-to-equity ratio should be about 1, where liabilities are catch to equity. However, these ratios can be tied to particular industries, where companies with more long-term investments have higher ratios. If the debt-to-equity ratio is increasing, creditors are financing the company. This is not the preferred smear in pick up to both lenders and investors, because less debt to creditors means interests are better protected in the event of a business decline.Typically, having a high debt-to-equity ratio means not being able to d naked as a jaybird spare lending. The lower the debt-to-equity ratio, the better. Competition Bikes debt-to-equity ratio is very good, and has held fairly steady over the three-year analysis period. This demonstrates that the company relies on shareholder equity to do their financing, sort of than through loans. These factors point to minimal long-term borrowing needs, meaning the business doesnt use long-term debt to finance its operation. Maintaining a low ratio is the usual approach, because future solvency is not impacted.The return on equity ratio indicates the returns, by way of net profits, to the shareholders of the company, and is measured as a percentage of shareholder equity. This ratio measures how muchprofit a company is able to generatewith gold that shareholders have invested, as opposed to what creditors have loaned a business. It is also a useful ratio at determining conquest with managing resources, and is especially useful for privately owned businesses that have no easy way of determining the market value of owners equity.Return on equity ratios are calculated as follows net income ? shareholders equity Competition Bikes, Inc. Year 6 41,148/2,204,223 = . 0186 or approximately 1. 8% Year 7 170,121/2274344 = . 0748 or approximately 7. 5% Year 8 31,286/2,305,631 = . 0135 or approximately 1. 3% The ratio of return on equity from year 6 to 7 amendd substantially through the realization of a large gain in net income, while at the same time having shareholder equity remain largely unchanged. Then from year 7 to 8 the ratio nosedived to below what is was in the first year of comparison.This declination in ratio is indicative of the inability of the company to make profits with the investments made by its shareholders. The company seems to be trending downward, and is unable to produce sufficient earnings for its investors. There are many analysts that view return on equity to be the most important ratio for stockholders to look at, and is indicative of how well a companys management is performing. Lower numbers mean Competition Bikes may not be spending wi sely, and is not very profitable. The net profit margin is a ratio measuring the profits of a company, and is used to measure how well a company suppresss costs.This calculation refers to notes left for the owners, after all sales, expenses and taxes are paid. Higher net profits mean the company is more effective at translating sales into real(a) profit. Net profit margins may also provide clues into a companys determine policies, costs and efficiency of deed. This ratio is useful in looking at performance over a period of time. It is calculated as net profit ? net sales Competition Bikes, Inc. Year 6 41,148/1,191,000 = . 0345 or approximately 3. 4% Year 7 170,121/5,980,000 = . 0284 or approximately 2. 8% Year 8 1,286/5,083,000 = . 006 or approximately . 6% In looking at these net profit margins over the course of three years, Competition Bikes is in a severe decline. While the drop off between year 6 and 7 was only a little more than half of one percent, going from year 7 to 8 showed well over 2 percent less. This means the company is not efficient with in controlling costs, and must get a handle on their expenditures. The rise in costs could be attributed to raw frameworks costing more, rising salaries, declining sales or lowered sales prices due to competition.The bike company needs to gets its costs under control if it expects to survive. operative(a)s Capital Working capital is the amount of current or liquid assets a company has, after subtracting its current liabilities. Working capital is sometimes called operating capital, and is a valuation of liquidity the organization has to run and build their business. In general, companies with great amounts of working capital are better able to achieve supremacy by utilizing their assets to invest back into the business.While a business may have a large amount of assets, it may be very difficult to convert them into cash in order to take advantage of opportunities that assume fast save. If current liabilities are more than current assets, a working capital deficit is created, and a business cannot survive for long when in this situation. The calculation is as follows current assets current liabilities Competition Bikes, Inc. Year 6 1,029,303 105,080 = 924,223 Year 7 1,353,044 233,700 = 1,119,344 Year 8 1,575,831 300,200 = 1,275,631The working capital of year six was 924,223, with year seven posting a gain up to 1,119,344. This was again increased in the year eight results at a total of 1,275,631. This equates to an increase from year 6 to 7 of over 21%, and another increase from year 7 to 8 of approximately14%. The rising amounts in working capital demonstrate that the company has been steadily increasing their working capital during the three-year period. The consistent rise in available liquid assets confirms that the business has sufficient working capital to make advances in creating more profits.There are several ways in which to improve the working capital. Since mo re profit and/or more cash on hand equates to more working capital, footmarks should first be under taken to increase profit through reduction in expenses. This could be accomplished by carcassatically take stocking all processes and functionings of the business and streamlining wherever possible. Second, by issuing more stock, the company could increase their available working capital. Third, replacing short-term debt by converting to long-term debt would lessen the amount of current liabilities, and free up funds to invest in something else.Four, by converting all non-cash liquid assets into cash, the organization could make available, additional funds to spend. And last, by speeding up the accounts receivables cycle, and collecting money more quickly, the business would be able to have this money in hand. By maintaining a positive working capital the business would be able to undertake initiatives to improve their profitability. These liquid assets could be used to increase payoff, hire more employees, purchase other businesses, or expand the operations into additional buildings in order to accommodate an increase in orders.By spending money on the in vogue(p) and greatest equipment in order to increase efficiency you will realize more productivity from workers. This can include things such as better computer systems that are able to automate the sales process, as well as manufacturing equipment that has a higher yield capability. Growing a business can be done in many ways, but the easiest ways are by spending money in order to make money. One method is to increase the number of new clients by hiring more salespeople that can cover more territory.Another way is to increase the amount calculate for each transaction, by offering sales incentives. And last, you can use marketing dollars to increase the frequency at which purchases are made by way of repeat business. purchasing system evaluation Every business must have internal controls in place to create a system of checks and balances that safeguard company assets and resources. These controls include things such as analyses, reviews and procedures, all of which are designed to allow the organization to conduct business in an corking and efficient manner.These controls also serve to deter and detect errors, prevent thievery/fraud and promote accuracy of the business relationship data. In the end, the business must be able to produce up-to-date and reliable information that is readily accessible to those making business and financial decisions. Competition Bikes has a few internal purchase controls in place that are designed to streamline their ordering. The steps that are taken by the purchasing segment when buying items for Competition Bikes are ) Purchasing is instigated through the use of monthly calculate projections 2) Purchasing gets bids from three sources for similar quality materials and selects low bidder 3)Purchasing issues a PO to elect supplier 4) PO is sent to the supplier by purchasing on the first of intercommunicate month 5) Upon receipt of goods, materials are brought to production line for use during the month 6) Unused parts are sent to the raw materials inventory stores on last day of month 7) Purchasing sends suppliers account to accounting accounting writes check to payAs we can see, the company has put some checks into place when purchases are made. First, the orders are based on cipher projections that mirror the amount of needed raw materials. This ties the employees doing the purchasing, to a system that can be checked for accuracy. Because there will be a record of the monthly projections and the corresponding order that was placed, there will be an audit trail that can verify validity. Next, there is a requirement of get three bids beforehand an order can be placed.This removes the temptation of doing sneak(a) deals with a particular vendor. Then, as materials are authoritative the items are delivered to th e production line for use. This allows the purchasing department to check the items received against the items ordered, to make sure the order is complete before it is made available for use. At the end of the month whatever parts are left get sent to the terminal area that is used for excess material. The last internal control that is in place is the accounting department being given the write up by purchasing for final payment.This process puts in place, the appropriate unmindfulness by the accounting department, whereby the same person(s) ordering are not write the checks. If this were not the case, there would be potential for financial improprieties to occur. While there are some controls in place, there is a general overleap of process centered around accounting for the inventory. The purchasing department buys raw materials based on the projected budget for the month. If they were to balance projected material needs against the amount of material left over from the previ ous month, the system would be less wasteful and more manageable.This would also allow them to persevere tight reign on the already purchased materials inventory by carrying the remaining inventory forward. Then the company would be able to save money by reducing the material in depot, eliminating the need for storage billet and buying things as the need arises. In addition, there is no procedure for signing off on receiving material, getting acclamation to move material to storage at the end of the month or for signing in order to have the invoice paid.There should be a method creates a paper trail over the entire course of tracking the purchases. I recommend the following course of action 1) Purchasing is instigated through the use of monthly budget projections 2) The required amount based on projected budget is checked against the leftover inventory on the production run 3) The amount of materials left in inventory should be used to abase the new order 4) Purchasing gets bid s from three sources for similar quality materials and selects low bidder 5)Purchasing issues a PO to chosen supplier ) Supervisor checks work of the procurance clerk and signs off on order 7) PO is sent to chosen supplier by purchasing, on the first of projected month 8) Upon receipt, materials received are compared against the order and a supervisor validates what was purchased/received 9) If correct, order is taken to production floor for use 10) Purchasing sends invoice to accounting department to write check to pay 11) Accounting supervisor gives OK for invoice to be paid 12) Cycle begins all over the next month by taking inventory of what still remains on the production floor.There are several risks at play in light of the companys internal controls. First, since there are no procedures in place for managing the inventory, the company is opening itself up to the possibility of theft. Once the raw materials get by the purchasing department and get taken to the production floo r, there is no way to account for what has been used. Then, at the end of the month when the left over parts are taken to inventory storage there is no way to determine exactly what is left.Another area of risk is the lack of approval process, and no supervisors being given the ultimate responsibility for creating checks throughout the process. In conjunction with this same area of threat, there is no system in place for accounting to cross check the purchases before they receive the invoice. If the accounting department was required to sign off on the order before it went out, they would be able to provide another check to see if budget lined up to orders, and carried through to the invoice being paid.Sarbanes-Oxley compliance backbone in 2002 the federal legislators felt they needed to act in the showing of the Enron and Worldcom debacles. These two companies were caught falsifying their accounting records to cover up misdeeds. Because the falsified information was make in the balance sheets, income statements and annual reports, people invested their money and lost millions of dollars. The resulting action was creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) that is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission.This was a piece of law that was designed to protect shareholders and the general public from errors in accounting and unprincipled financial practices. The act provided rules and requirements for the retention and storage of electronic documents. These rules impact the financial side of companies, as well as IT departments that are charged with storage of electronic records. This act specifies that electronic records and electronic messages must be save for at least five years. There are three rules associated with SOX.The first rule makes it a crime to alter, destroy or falsify records or documents. Second, this legislation lays out rules for accountants performing audits. When auditing a company that issues securities through the SEC, all p aperwork that is produced during the audit must be retained for five years. And last, the act specifies the type of documents that must be stored. This includes any audit related documents, electronic communications created or received during the course of an audit and any financial data.In regard to Competition Bikes and its compliance with SOX, the company believes they are adequately addressing the requirements of the legislation. However, there has been an audit finding that points out the possibility of material misstatement on the companys annual or interim financial reports. In short, this means there is the chance that false information is reported in the financial statements. This could be either accidental or intentional, but could impact the companys stock prices.Based on the available information, this is possible because of the lax control over the materials inventory. There exists a loophole in the purchasing process whereby at the end of each month the remaining produ ction materials inventory is sent to storage without accounting for what has been used. This opens up the company to theft of materials without even knowing something has been taken. Another area that is problematic is not having a system of checks and balances in place when creating orders and paying for them.The purchasing department does the buying without getting higher-level approval, and the accounting department pays the bills strictly on the authority of the purchasing people. This leaves the door open for double-dealing purchases because no one is overseeing what is being bought, and nobody is checking to see if the inventory has been received. Competition Bikes should put some procedures in place that more tightly control the purchasing and inventory of materials. One that controls how much gets ordered, who oversees the process, and how the vendors get paid once the products arrive.First, the purchasing department should account for any remaining inventory at the end of the month and only purchase additional materials that are needed. The current practice has materials being put into storage at the end of each month without being inventoried, with complete replacements being ordered based on projected needs. By scrutinizing raw materials, and how they get purchased, overspending and theft opportunities are alleviated. Second, before orders are placed, a single responsible party needs to sign off on all purchases, thus creating a system of checks and balances.Third, the accounting department needs to be involved in the receiving/inventorying in order to maintain oversight of products and the associated payments. And last, the accounting and purchasing departments need to work collaboratively in order to create oversight of each purchasing/inventory/payment process. By having the separate departments involved in each step along the purchasing process, the opportunity for improprieties to exist is greatly lessened. References Horizontal outline expl anation (n. d. ) In businessdictionary. om Retrieved February 24, 2013, from http//www. businessdictionary. com/definition/horizontal-analysis. html Vertical Analysis rendering (n. d. ) In investopedia. com Retrieved February 24, 2013, from http//www. investopedia. com/terms/v/vertical_analysis. asp Trend Analysis Definition (n. d. ) In wisegeek. com Retrieved February 25, 2013, from http//www. wisegeek. com/what-is-trend-analysis. htm Ratio Analysis Definition (n. d. ) In ratioanalysis. org Retrieved February 25, 2013, from http//www. ratioanalysis. org/