Special Features

Watch Part 1

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• Baruch College
  Baruch College is part of The City University of New York (CUNY) system. This links to an interactive tutorial developed by the college titled, "Guide to Financial Statements."
• Edgar Database - Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
  This links to information about the SEC's EDGAR database, which public companies use to file their earnings reports and other information. You can search the database for filings made by a company in your investment portfolio.
• Form 10-Q - Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (PDF Document)
  This links to the SEC's Form 10-Q, which public companies use to file their quarterly earnings.
• Grant Thornton
  Grant Thornton is a "global accounting, tax and business advisory" company. The company's CEO, Ed Nusbaum, is interviewed in Part 1 of Suzanne Pratt's series. This links to the company's U.S. website.
• NYU Stern School of Business
  This links to the NYU Stern School of Business faculty web page for Associate Dean Paul Brown. Brown is interviewed in Part 1 of Suzanne Pratt's series.
• Prudential Equity Group
  Prudential Equity Group is a subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Inc. that is focused on equity research. The company's chief investment strategist, Ed Keon, is interviewed in Part 1 of Suzanne Pratt's series. Portions of this website are accessible only to subscribers.

*Clicking these external links will take you off the NBR web site on PBS.org. NBR has no affiliation with these sites.

Watch Part 2

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• NYU Stern School of Business (PDF Document)
  This links to a 2004 report on an earnings study titled, "Restatements of Quarterly Earnings: Evidence on Earnings Quality and Market Reactions to the Originally Reported Earnings."
• SEC Speech
  This 2003 speech by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Cynthia Glassman is titled, "Financial Reform: Relevance and Reality in Financial Reporting." In it, Glassman discusses how the desire to report strong quarterly earnings may drive some companies and their auditors to misuse accepted accounting principles.
• Steinberg Global Asset Management
  Steinberg Global Asset Management is an investment advisory firm based in Boca Raton, Florida. The company's chief investment officer, Richard Steinberg, is interviewed in Part 2 of Suzanne Pratt's series.
• Thomson Financial
  Thomson Financial is a unit of the Thomson Corporation, which is global provider of business information. Various Thomson Financial executives and employees are interviewed in Part 2 of Suzanne Pratt's series.
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
  This links to a transcript of a November 2005 keynote address delivered by the President & CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The address is titled, "Enhancing America’s Long-Term Competitiveness: Ending Wall Street’s Quarterly Earnings Game."

*Clicking these external links will take you off the NBR web site on PBS.org. NBR has no affiliation with these sites.

Watch Part 3

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• "The Art of the Analyst Conference Call and Earnings Forecasts" (PDF Document)
  This article was authored by the corporate law firm Foley & Lardner LLP. It is subtitled "To Guide or Not to Guide," and it offers a look at the earnings conference call from the corporate perspective.
• Harvard Business School
  This links to a June 2001 Harvard Business Review article titled, "The Earnings Game: Everyone Plays, Nobody Wins."
• McKinsey Quarterly
  The McKinsey Quarterly is a journal published by the management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company. This links to a commentary focused on quarterly earnings that was included in the April 2005 edition of The McKinsey Quarterly. The commentary is titled, "How to Escape the Short-term Trap."
• Nasdaq
  This links to the Nasdaq's "Earnings Calendar." The calendar lists public companies expected to release earnings during the current week. The calendar is comprehensive, including companies on the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, etc.
• Schering-Plough
  Schering-Plough is the global pharmaceutical company that is profiled in Part 3 of Suzanne Pratt's series. This links to the "Investor Relations" section of the company's website.

*Clicking these external links will take you off the NBR web site on PBS.org. NBR has no affiliation with these sites.

Watch Part 4

Learn More About This Topic:

• CFA Institute
  The CFA Institute is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to setting ethics and education standards for investment professionals. The organization's managing director, Kurt Schacht, is interviewed in Part 4 of Suzanne Pratt's series. This links to a March 2007 CFA Institute publication titled, "Apples to Apples: A Template for Reporting Quarterly Earnings."
• General Mills
  The CFO of General Mills, the food company with a brand portfolio that includes Cheerios and Green Giant, is interviewed in Part 4 of Suzanne Pratt's series. This links to the "Investors" section of the General Mills website.
• Harvard Business School
  This links to an February 2006 article about quarterly earnings published in Working Knowledge, Harvard Business School's online journal. The article is titled, "Should CEOs of Public Companies Offer Earnings Guidance?"
• Intel
  Comments from the CFO of Intel, Andy Bryant, are included in Part 4 of Suzanne Pratt's series. This links to the "Investor Relations" section of the company's website.
• Lehman Brothers
  Lehman Brothers is an investment bank that sells and manages equities and also conducts equity research. Alan Rifkin, one of Lehman Brothers' retail equuity analysts, is interviewed in Suzanne Pratt's report. This links to information about the company's equity research division.
• National Investors Relations Institute (NIRI)
  NIRI "a professional association of corporate officers and investor relations consultants responsible for communication among corporate management, the investing public and the financial community." Data from the organization is cited in Suzanne Pratt's report.

*Clicking these external links will take you off the NBR web site on PBS.org. NBR has no affiliation with these sites.