Select an industry in which you are interested and select two companies within that industry. Obtain their annual reports by going to each company’s website and downloading the report for the most recent year. (On many company websites, you will need to visit the Investor Relations section or other similarly named link to obtain the company’s financial statements.)

Basic Discussion Questions
For each of the companies you selected, answer the following:
1. Which method is used to calculate the cash provided or used by operations?
2. What items increased cash provided by operations?
3. What items decreased cash provided by operations?
4. Overall, was cash increased or decreased by operating activities?
5. Did investing activities in total increase cash or decrease cash during the year? What were the major uses or sources of cash related to investing?
6. Did financing activities in total increase cash or decrease cash during the year? What were the major uses or sources of cash related to financing?
7. What items (if any) are disclosed as significant noncash financing or investing activities? Now that you have looked at each company’s cash flow statements individually, compare the two companies. What can you tell about each company from its statement of cash flows? Can you tell if one company is stronger than the other from their statements of cash flows? What clues do you have?