What are Step Costs? Step costs, also called stair-step costs, are costs that do not change in direct proportion to increasing levels of activity. In other words, step costs are constant at a certain activity level but increase or decrease when an activity threshold is met. Understanding Step Costs Step costs are extremely important to…
What is Same-Store Sales? Same-store sales, also known as comparable-store sales, is a financial metric commonly used by companies in the retail industry to evaluate the performance of existing stores. Importance of Same-Store Sales To understand why the same-store sales metric is disclosed, consider the following example: Although the company’s revenues increased year-over-year, the company…
What are the Types of Audit Opinions? In the independent auditor’s report, an auditor can issue one of five different opinions: Clean (unqualified) opinion; Qualified opinion due to a GAAP departure; Qualified opinion due to a scope limitation; Adverse opinion due to a GAAP departure; and Disclaimer of opinion due to a scope limitation. A…
What is Lower of Cost or Market (LCM) Lower of cost or market (LCM) is an inventory valuation method required for companies that follow U.S. GAAP. In the lower of cost or market inventory valuation method, as the name implies, inventory is valued at the lower of original cost or market value. Rationale Behind Lower…
Bloomberg Functions To be more productive, faster, and more efficient when performing financial analysis or research, it’s important to be proficient at using the Bloomberg Terminal. That means knowing the most important Bloomberg functions. Whether you work in investment banking, equity research, or other areas of the capital markets, you’ll have to learn how to…
What is a Prospectus? A prospectus is a legal disclosure document that provides information about an investment offering to the public, and that is required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or local regulator. The prospectus contains information about the company, its management team, recent financial performance, and other related information…
What is CapIQ? CapIQ (short for Capital IQ) is a market intelligence platform designed by Standard & Poor’s (S&P). The platform is widely used in many areas of corporate finance, including investment banking, equity research, asset management, and more. The Capital IQ platform provides research, data, and analysis on private and public companies to help…
Where to Find Public Company Filings and Reports Public company filings are an important source of data and information for financial analysts. Knowing where to find this information is a critical first step in performing financial analysis and financial modeling. This guide will outline the most common sources of public company filings. Company Investor Relations (IR)…
Scholarship Details (U.S.) Apply for CFI’s biannual $500 tuition scholarships. These scholarships are available for US school students enrolled in an Associate, Bachelor, Master, or Doctorate program. Amount: $500 Deadline: March 31, 2022 and November 15, 2022 Level of Study: Associate, Bachelor, Master, or Doctorate Year of Study: All Years Number Available: 2 scholarships per year School of Study:…
