Reading Financial Reports For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Part V

The Many Ways Companies Answer to Others

Top Five Governmental Regulators You Need to Know

• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has the responsibility to protect investors and facilitate capital formation
• Federal Reserve, which manages the monetary policies of the U.S. government
• Financial Accounting Standards Board, which sets rules for financial reporting in the U.S.
• International Accounting Standards Board, which sets rules for financial reporting internationally
• U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates commodity futures and options markets in the U.S.

Read about whether one international financial reporting standard is likely at www.dummies.com/extras/readingfinancialreports.

In this part…

• Checking out the numbers. Discover the role of auditors.
• Answering to the government. Explore the various government agencies that regulate financial reporting
• Developing international standards. What will they mean for public companies worldwide
• Exploring the role of analysts. Can you trust them?.
• Communicating with the companies in which you invest. What are the options?
• Digging into the games companies play with the numbers on financial reports.