Description
Book SynopsisFINANCIAL FINE PRINT
A must-read for any investor serious about knowing what they own. With the help of some of the best financial detectives, Michelle Leder provides a roadmap for delving beneath the surface ? where most investors dare not tread.
?Herb Greenberg, Columnist, TheStreet.com and Fortune magazine
Obfuscators beware! Michelle Leder has cracked the code. In this invaluable guide to combing the footnotes of financial statements for indicators of accounting tricks and attempts to hide the bad news needles in a haystack of numbers. This is a clear, sensible, and, above all, practical guide that will be indispensable for anyone who invests in, does business with, or works for a corporation.
?Nell Minow, Editor, The Corporate Library
Too many companies would prefer that you not read the footnotes, observes former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt. That should be incentive enough to delve into them. In fact, not only do companies prefer you i
Table of Contents
Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Don’t Get Fooled Again 7
Chapter 2 Reading the Fine Print Like a Pro 19
Chapter 3 You Don’t Need to Be a Pro 37
Chapter 4 Charge It! 49
Chapter 5 Optional Illusions 67
Chapter 6 All in the Family 85
Chapter 7 Pensions in Wonderland 103
Chapter 8 Debt by Many Other Names 125
Chapter 9 Five Common Ingredients 139
Chapter 10 Changing the World 153
A Few Final Words 163
Appendix A A Cheat Sheet for Reading Key SEC Filings 165
Appendix B A Brief Walk through Qwest’s Fine Print 169
Notes 175
Index 183
