llSSlOnssed to the1atountingr~etent~rationshersPREFACEShould you save part of your income and investit--or should you spend all of your present income and count on thegovernment, your employer, or your union to finance your future needs?More and more people are now deciding to save and invest; that is, tobuild up their own net worth. This involves the acquisition of invest-ment assets that can be expected to generate income in future years forsecuring personal and family goals--including college education forfamily members, retirement income, and other desired objectives. While many people hope for an instant buildup of their net worththrough lottery tickets or good luck at the gaming tables, the odds areclearly not very attractive. The premise of this book is that the surestroute to successful wealth building involves intelligent investing, finan-cial planning, and the proper use of borrowed funds, and that an under-standing of financial statements and of the fundamentals of financialanalysis is necessary for personal financial success. This book provides a clear exposition of the means by which one canevaluate or monitor one's own net worth position. It also explains meth-ods for analyzing major investments that can produce the desired growthin personal net worth. The chapters in Part 1 describe the financialstatements and financial analysis that facilitate the evaluation of one'soverall financial position, one's personal real estate investments, andinvestment~s in small businesses. Part 2 describes methods for analyzingthe profitability and financial health of large corporations. The stocksand bonds that they issue can serve as an important part of the indi-vidual's investment holdings.