Vertical Analysis: Financial Analysis And Financial Liquidity

Horizontal analysis is the comparison of historical financial information over a series of reporting periods, or of the ratios derived from this financial information. The intent is to see if any numbers are unusually high or low in comparison to the information for bracketing periods, which may then trigger a detailed investigation of the reason for the difference. The analysis is most commonly a simple grouping of information that is sorted by period, but the numbers in each succeeding period can also be expressed as a percentage of the amount in the baseline year, with the baseline amount being listed as 100%.

Vertical analysis is the proportional analysis of a financial statement, where each line item on a financial statement is listed as a percentage of another item. Typically, this means that every line item on an income statement is stated as a percentage of gross sales, while every line item on a balance sheet is stated as a percentage of total assets.

Financial ratio analysis are actually involves the calculation of several ratio that will enable the manager to evaluate the performance and financial status of the company by comparing its financial ratios with the financial ratio of other companies.

Investors often take a close look at liquidity ratios when performing fundamental analysis on a firm. Since a company that is consistently having trouble meeting its short-term debt is at a higher risk of bankruptcy, liquidity ratios are a good measure of whether a company will be able to comfortably continue as a going concern. Any type of ratio analysis should be looked at within the correct context. For instance, investors should always look at a company’s ratios against those of its competitors, its sector and its industry and over a period of several