Graham And Doddsville

Warren Buffett has often stated that accounting is the language of business, and one can never learn too much about accounting.  Below is a resource of articles on topics such as accounting, valuation, and anything else dealing the language of business.
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General Security Analysis

A.C. Sondhi & Associates, LLC – Ashwinpaul Sondhi is one of the authors of “The Analysis and Use of Financial Statements” by White, Sondhi and Fried.  Mr. Sondhi posts articles about current accounting issues on his site.

“White, Sondhi, Fried” Student Companion Site – “The Analysis and Use of Financial statements” mentioned above is my go-to accounting and financial statement analysis resource.  This site contains the cases, appendix, errata, and updates to reflect new accounting standards.

“Advanced Financial Statement Analysis” – A great tutorial from Investopedia.com on how to understand GAAP financial statements and some of the necessary adjustments to make accounting numbers reflect the economic reality.

“Business Analysis Using Financial Statements” – A free online course via the Sloan School of Management.  I have not yet gone through the material, but hope to when I have some extra time.  According to the website, “the purpose of this class is to advance your understanding of how to use financial information to value and analyze firms.”  Please let me know if you have a chance to review the course.

“How to Read a Financial Report” - This is a Merrill Lynch publication printed in 2000 that provides a clear concise overview of how to read a balance sheet, income statement, and to a lesser extent, a statement of cash flows.

The Investment Professional – This quarterly, published by the New York Society of Security Analysts, Inc. (NYSSA), educates readers in the finance and banking sectors on the forces that shape their business. The journal provides unbiased coverage of industry developments, detailed analyses of current data and trends, engaging profiles of preeminent players, and keen insights into career management.

Softrax Resource Center -  The resource library of a company that provides solutions to complex accounting issues.  The library contains white papers and webcasts discussing ways to deal with these issues.  The resources provided can help decode complex financial statements.

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Balance Sheet

“Goodwill Hunting:  Balance Sheets’ Latest Torment” (Barron’s, 2/16/2009)

“IFRS Spells Write-Downs as Goodwill Withers Away” (The Wall Street Journal, 11/24/2008)

“On the Balance Sheet-Based Model of Financial Reporting” – Columbia Business School Center for Excellence in Accounting and Security Analysis – September 2007

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Cash Flows

Cash Flow Reigns Once Again (The Wall Street Journal, 5/12/2008)

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FASB / IASB

FASB Homepage – The homepage of the Financial Accounting Standards Board.  If you love accounting, this is the website for you!

IAS Plus – Deloitte’s page for news on IASB.

A New Approach to Equity Compensation (Investopedia.com) -  A good explanation of FAS 123R.

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Financial Models

Basic College Accounting – A great intro to (and refresher for) accounting.

Finance 3.0 – A social network dedicated to finance professionals.

Financial Modeling Guide – A resource for financial modeling templates, spreadsheets and tools for analysis.

MacAbacus (beta):  A great new site that takes you through the steps of building both and M&A and LBO model.  Excellent for those of us who didn’t do 2 years in IB.  Includes a complete model template.

SSRN Page for Ignacio Velez-Pareja – A list of academic papers published by Professor Velez-Pareja.  Many are on the topics of accounting, financial statement analysis, and building financial models.

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Global Value Investing

Value Investing – Has it Worked in Emerging Markets? -  A study by The Brandes Institute on applying the concepts of value investing to emerging markets.

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Management Evaluation

Finding Out What Execs Are Paid is Tricky (WSJ, 06/26/09) – A good primer on reading executive compensation tables.

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Marking to Market

When a Loss Is a Gain (WSJ, 05/19/2008) -  An example of how marking-to-market can distort a company’s true gains or losses.

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Normal Earnings

Valuing Cyclicals Like a Pro -  A great article on how to value cyclicals with Peter Supino, and analyst with the Weitz Funds.

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Pensions / OPEBs

Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 158 – There are plenty of places where you can learn the details of pension accounting, but why not go straight to the source?

How to Evaluate Pension Risk (Investopedia.com) – How to adjust financial statements to reflect the true effects of pension accounting.

“The Math Doesn’t Add Up” (Barron’s, 12/8/2008)

New Pension Accounting Rules:  Defusing the Retirement Time Bomb (The CPA Journal, 11/2006)

Beware the Pension Monster (Fortune, 12/9/2002) – A great article about the effects of pension accounting in 2002.  Given recent equity returns, this article remains relevant today.

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Psychology / Behavioral Finance

Your Mind and Your Money – A special NBR report from PBS on Behavioral Finance

“Getting What You Want: A Q&A with the Authors of YES!” (The New York Times, 8/5/2008)

Inside Influence Report – Dr. Robert Cialdini is the president of Influence at Work.

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Return on Invested Capital

Bionic Turtle – A short introduction to the concept of ROIC.

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Screening

“To Pick Winners, Start by Weeding Out the Losers” (The New York Times, 6/10/2007)

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Shareholder Activism

Shareholder Forum Home Page – The benefit of an independently conducted Forum process is in providing both investor and corporate decision-makers with the kind of access to information and free exchange of views that might be sought at a traditional shareholders meeting or analyst conference, but with the non-partisan moderation and timely attention needed to effectively examine alternatives for long-term wealth creation.

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Special Situations

“A Special Situation at Steak and Shake” – The Motley Fool interviews Columbia Business School Graduate and Founder of Denali Investors H. Kevin Byun about his investment in Steak and Shake.

“Special Situations Investing” – A presentation given by H. Kevin Byun at his alma mater, Columbia Business School.

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Valuation

“Discounted Cash Flow Methodology” (Bear Stearns)

“DCF Primer” (Investopedia) 

“Valuation of CDS” (Lehman Brothers – ironic?)

“Valuation Multiples Primer” UBS Warburg”

“The Valuation of a Savings Account – With Seven Insights” (Columbia Business School Professor Stephen Penman)