Financial Fine Print: Uncovering a Company's True Value

The investment club that I'm in wound up losing a lot of money on Healthsouth, so we've been very cautious over the past year. But with the market rising, we know that all of this caution has wound up costing us money. Luckily, one of our members received Financial Fine Print as a Christmas present this year. Over the past month or so, this book -- now dog-eared -- has made its way to all 15 of us and we now feel as if we're better investors as a result. I finally decided to buy my own copy because I think it's one of the best books available for individual investors who are looking to do their own research on stocks. There's so many great examples of the sorts of things companies try to hide from their investors in their SEC filings -- information investors need to have before they put their money on the line.One of the things our group has done over the past month is to go back and look at Healthsouth's SEC filings to see if we would have made the same mistakes. Now armed with Ms. Leder's expert advice, we found numerous "red flags" that would have prompted us to sell the stock before Healthsouth's problems became so apparent. Yes, hindsight is always 20-20, so it's easy to say that now. But we all still feel that we've learned so much from this book that we can now invest with a lot more confidence, instead of being pre-occupied with the fear that we're buying another company that's much more interested in enriching its executives at the expense of their shareholders.Most of the other accounting-related books our group has read -- and we've read a bunch -- all seem to be aimed at a professional audience and can be a bit dry unless you're the type of person who thinks FASB is fascinating. Not this book. Using easy to understand language and examples that help you put the complicated accounting into perspective, this excellent book is an individual investor's best friend!

Is there any way an ordinary investor can protect themselves from shady corporate accounting? YES!! Michelle Leder's book Financial Fineprint has given me the tools to become a better investor. Not only does she do an excellent job of breaking down annual reports and SEC filings in a very organized and clearly written manner , she also provides an invaluable service by guiding the reader through the footnotes of financial statements, pointing out indicators of accounting tricks and obscuring tactics. Ms. Leder gives the average investor the means to find out for themselves about the companies they invest with. I can now spot those Inflated profits, questionable related party transactions, hidden expenses, etc., before I decide to buy a particular stock. This book is not simply a "How to" book, however, as it is written in a more narrative and reader friendly style, with personal accounts and fun annecdotes. I highly reccomend this book for anyone who wants to have as much knowledge at their fingertips as possible before making important financial decisions.

Financial Fine Print is an essential book for the small investor. It takes the fear and intimidation out of reading financial footnotes. As a CPA I found it very enlightening. It was a quick read and gives the small investor a better understanding of the companies they plan to invest in.

If you're an amateur investor looking to take the next step in your investment education Financial Fineprint is the book for you.Ms. Leder's easy to read book provides its readers with the tools they need to spot potential red flags contained in the footnotes that accompany all financial statements. Investors armed with this knowledge should be able to spot potential problems in their existing portfolio and spot potential problems in future investments. This will hopefully save them from painful portfolio losses.

In the aftermath of the corporate accounting scandals, it's hard to know what companies to trust enough to put your money behind them. Financial Fine Print has helped me research companies much more thoroughly. By showing me step-by-step methods to dissect the footnotes in the corporations' financial statements and annual reports, I've learned where all of the unflattering yet legally accountable information is usually hidden in order to make better decisions. I heartily recommend this book for any savvy investor who is unwilling to invest in a company without having personally researched it first.