An Empirical Investigation into the Development and Application of Methods and Techniques of Financial Statement Analysis

1991 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 01490025
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: 広領域
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Science
• Principal Investigator: KATAOKA Youichi Science University of Tokyo Department of Engineering Professor, 工学部, 教授 (80089309)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): INOOKA Tomonori Science University of Tokyo Department of Engineering Lecturer, 工学部, 講師 (50184776) ; OKUNO Tadakazu Science University of Tokyo Department of Engineering Professor, 工学部, 教授 (30092167)
• Project Period (FY): 1989 – 1990
• Keywords: Financial Statement Analysis Practice / Questionnaire Survey / Empirical Approach / Industrial Sector / Bussiness Indicator / Survey of Current State / Financial Statement Analysis Technique / External Analysis

Research Abstract

The purpose of this study is, by means of a questionnaire survey, to clarify the current state of financial statement analysis done by external business entities, such as banks, fumcial departments of insurance companies, securities companies, lewft companies, investigating firms, or audit firms under the contemporary envirozlment of "intemationffied" and information-oriented economic societty. The andings of this study are as follows :
The business entities principally practices financial statement analysis within the framework of traditional methods or techniques, without regard to their individualities, industrial sectors or sizes.
The business entities relatively attach the greatest weight to profitability analysis, regardless of the purposes of the analysis or industrial sectors. The degrees of importance placed by the business entities on lequidity analysis, growth analysis, or fund flow analysis are not necessarily clear.
The real numbers of sales and ordinary income are generally regarded as the most important business indicators in financial statement analysis. However, the weight accorded by the business entities of other business indicators are very different depending oa the industrial sectors, sizes, or the purposes of the analysis.
The emptical evidences show that most business entities prepare fund statement and statement of changes of fund for fund flow analysis.
Breakeven analysis is generally confidered important as a part of profitability analysis and cost identifiation method is mostly used for cost segregation.
Except for primary financial statements, the successive balance sheets are used most frequently by business entities. Successive income statements and trend income statements are usednext most freqently, although the frequency of the use depends on industrial sectors.
Some business entities are interested in new methods such as multivariate aaalysis. However, few business entities apply and even fewer expressed satisfaction with such methods.
In order to use traditional andnew methods, it is effective to standardize the procedure of finacial statement analysis and to introduceaAI (ArtificialInteligence) approach. Both normative and positive researches are important to achieve this objective.