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Challenges in the Business Environment
Tatiana Dunklin
Business and Society 475
Challenges in the Business Environment Assignment 2
Instructor: Daniel Goldsmith
June 6, 2016
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Challenges in the Business Environment
Researching a company’s business environment will provide large amounts of data that could be
used by investors, consumers, and even competitors. A company’s business environment consists
of many things; this essay will review the three most important business environment factors;
income statement, balance sheets, and cash flow. This essay will also compare Apple’s financial
health of top competitors in the Information Technology industry; Hewlett Packard and
Microsoft. These factors are important and provide valuable information about a company
concerning its general financial health. Although financial statements are important, a company’s
technological advantages, globalization, and benchmarking are also important. These topics also
will be discussed in more detail throughout this essay. First, the Income statement of Apple Inc.,
HP, and Microsoft.
Income Statement
What can be said about income statement, otherwise known as a profit and loss statement, is a
summary of a company’s profit or loss during any one given period of time, such as a month,
three months, or one year” (BusinessTown.com, 2003). Apple’s income statement proves its
profits continue to set records in the IT industry. According to Forbes.com statistics, Apple’s total
revenues as of March 2012 equaled more than one hundred eight Billion with a total net income
of more than twenty-five Billion, nearly doubling last year’s earnings. Apple is holding its own,
next to its competitors with HP’s total revenue for the same period reaching more than $one
hundred twenty Billion, with the total net income of more than seven billion, which was down
from the previous year. As for Microsoft, its total revenue for the same period was more than
sixty-nine Billion, with the total net income of more than twenty-three Billion, slightly up from
last year. As company’s become more profitable, the cost of their shares increased.
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Challenges in the Business Environment
Balance Sheet
Unlike the Income Statement, the balance sheet shows the company’s financial condition for a
certain date instead of a certain moment. According to Accounting Coach, the balance sheet
offers a company's financial position at the end of a specified date. Some describe the balance
sheet as a snapshot of the company's financial position at a point a moment or an instant period
in time. According to Forbes.com statistics, as of December 2012.
Apple’s current total assets
equaled more than fifty million with total liabilities and stock equity. Although Microsoft beat
out Apple in total assets, Apple beat its competitors in stock equity. However, the next document
one shall review is the Statement of cash flow; it is the last document in set of financial records
reviewed as part of a company’s financial health.
