A Market-by-Market Look at Accounting Changes

In preparing our ranking issue, we have tried to be as consistent as possible, though this has not been an easy task given the wide variety of accounting procedures and practices. From year to year the challenge remains the same, constructing complete income statements from non-standardized numbers and notes that may or may not reveal the needed information, or reformatting balance sheets into traditional assets equal liabilities plus owners equity.

As with any task of this nature, the key is in the preparation. Before we began, we contacted different accountants, bankers, investors and owners around the world to find out which figures they consider the most important and what format would be the fairest and most informative. In our conversations we identified two major issues: One, where should the gains or losses from ship sales go-up top in operating profit or down below as an extraordinary item? Two, when figuring return on equity and earnings per share, should we use net income or earnings before taxes or profits after taxes but before appropriations?

This is only an excerpt of A Market-by-Market Look at Accounting Changes

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