Business & Finance Homework Help: Interresting financial results| Business & Finance homework help
Comparing financial ratios across different periods is important because it allows you to see how the market or industry has changed. In this way, you can better understand how the company performed in comparison to other companies and if any performance changes can be attributed either to management or external factors.
For example, if we were looking at a hotel chain’s liquidity ratios from 2014 to 2013, it could be helpful to look at overall trends in travel demand for those two years—for instance, did the number of travelers increase or decrease? This broader view allows investors to assess what may have happened at the company and why. We might also compare the financial ratios of an automobile company in 2012 with those from 2011. This is because oil prices could have affected profitability.
Another useful way to evaluate performance is by comparing financial ratios with industry benchmarks. In this case one should take into account both industry averages as well as top performers so that they can measure their assigned company’s performance against others in its specific field. It is also important that, as markets constantly change over time, you use the latest data when making comparisons to get an accurate view of where your company stands against others.