You'll always learn more if you take action along with reading about something. Here's a suggestion for something you might do at a club meeting to help you start to learn about balance sheets. Why don't you look up a balance sheet for one of the companies you have invested in or for one you are considering investing in? You can find them by going to finance.yahoo.com and selecting "SEC Filings" in the "Company" section in the left hand column. Balance sheets are included in quarterly filings which are called 10-Q reports and annual filings which are called 10-K reports.

Once you have found a balance sheet, look it over. See if you can see the three sections (Assets, Liabilities and Shareholders Equity) Find the totals for each of the three sections. Does the balance sheet balance? Do Assets=Liabilities+Shareholders Equity?

Typically, at least two reporting period results are shown for you to compare. What differences do you see in the different accounts from time period to time period? Does anything jump out at you as a big change? What kind of questions does that bring up that you'd like to ask? Go ahead and ask them here. The answers are sure to help you learn something else new and might even bring up something it will be important to consider as an investor or potential investor.

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Laurie Frederiksen
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