Question

You are a professional financial analyst that is employed to help evaluate possible merger and acquisition candidates. You have already reviewed the numbers, and the company seems solid on paper. You are unable to make a visit to the company yourself and are instead sending one of your direct reports to conduct the visit on your behalf. This is his first site visit, and he wants to review the work you have already done to familiarize himself with the company and asks for advice on things to look for. You offer to give advice on ways to find out if the company is "cooking its books" and what to look for when you conduct a "smell test."

What financial ratios should he be looking at and what do they tell you?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

Below are some of the financial ratios he should consider:

a) Financial leverage ratios: This is used to measure the company earnings to service debt payments.

b) Return on investment: This is the ratio that is used to evaluate the profitability of the firm and the profit that is available to the stakeholders after all payments have been made.

c) Price to Earnings Ratio: This is an indicator of the price of the company's stock concerning the earnings per share. It is used to analyze if the stock price is over-priced or under-priced.