The Numbers Game

For 30 years the writer has been making sense of the numbers in annual reports, mining statements and investment prospectuses. Money is at some degree of risk whatever you do with it, and the world of finance and investment can be erratic, complex and confusing. Starting with the annual report and the balance sheet, Sykes works through assets and liabilities, the profit and loss account, tax and cash flow, looking at case studies of individual companies and how they are valued by the stockmarkets versus their "true" value. Light on accountancy theory and heavy on practical experience, Sykes shows both the new and the experienced investor how to read the signposts, identify the danger signs and avoid the pitfalls. If this book helps you to avoid even one financial mistake it will have paid for itself! Trevor Sykes' Pierpont column and his other pieces in the Financial Review are perhaps the most read financial columns in Australia.