The Definitive Guide to Business Finance: What smart managers do with the numbers, Second Edition

Ten hard questions to ask or be asked

1	Do you believe these numbers? (Trust your hunch if it tells you that something is not quite right.)
2	Are you comparing enough, and like with like? (One figure in isolation is pretty useless. Remember seasonality – and factors which affect seasonal factors, such as unusual weather. Adjust for differences in accounting policies, etc.)
3	Have they told you the whole truth? What figures might have been conveniently brushed aside, or concealed in an average?
4	Are these financial accounts? Management accounts? Has common-sense costing been used?
5	Are the figures based on some generally accepted accounting principles? If so, which ones? Correctly? If not, what accidental or intended trickery might have been perpetrated? ...