Fundamental analysis worldwide : investing and managing money in international capital markets, Vol. 1

Armed with high-speed modems and real-time software tools, investors now have access to vital, up-to-the-minute information about financial conditions everywhere in the world. Yet, for all that modern information and telecommunications technology has done to facilitate history’s first true global economy, it has done little to solve an old and increasingly frustrating problem. Accounting standards and financial reporting requirements can vary radically from one country to the next. As a consequence, analysts run the risk of seriously misinterpreting crucial financial information in assessing the investment potential of individual international offerings.

Now, in a book whose time has come, Haksu Kim describes his unique standardized method of reporting international corporate financial information. Using the tools and techniques contained in this book/disk set, you can confidently evaluate the stock of any international corporation on the basis of comparable data and develop customized client databases.

In this eye-opening first volume, Mr. Kim explains how his breakthrough system works and how to make it work for you. With the help of numerous real-world examples and myriad charts, graphs, and other graphical indexes, he comparatively reviews the three primary data sources of international security analysis—income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements—as well as secondary sources, including diversification of operating activities, diversification of capital, shareholders’ information, and management information. He then shows you how to use the software tools provided on the enclosed disk to create a sophisticated analytical database with which to run detailed comparative analyses by referencing those data sources as well as macroeconomic information, by country and by industry.

At last, the flood of financial information regularly released to the public by corporations around the world can be a source of enlightenment rather than confusion. Investors, securities analysts, creditors, and researchers can develop rational, standardized methods for analyzing this data with reasonable certainty that specific types of information will carry consistent meaning from company to company, from industry to industry, and from region to region.