common-size financial statements financial statements stated in percentages rather than currency units.

consolidated financial statements financial statements of a company (parent) and the other companies (subsidiaries) it controls, presented as if they all were a single company.

control the ability to dictate policies; with respect to a corporation, control is usually gained through majority ownership of the outstanding common stock.

controlling interest in a corporation, those parties able to dictate policies, usually because they hold majority ownership.

Form 8-K a report describing any unscheduled material event, required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by all companies with publicly traded securities within fifteen days of the occurrence of the event.

Form 10-K a report required to be filed annually with the Securities and Exchange Commission by all companies with publicly traded securities; it includes audited financial statements and other disclosures.

Form 10-Q a report required to be filed quarterly with the Securities and Exchange Commission by all companies with publicly traded securities; it includes unaudited financial statements.

horizontal analysis trend analysis.

interim financial reports financial reports issued between annual reports, usually quarterly.

management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) a section of the Securities and Exchange Commission's required 10-K filing, also included in many companies' annual reports, providing management's analysis of the company's activities and position and detailing why changes occurred from the previous year.

minority interest the noncontrolling ownership of a corporation (subsidiary) in which another corporation (parent) holds a controlling interest.

noncontrolling interest see minority interest.

parent company a corporation that holds a controlling interest in another corporation.

registrants organizations filing registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

registration statement a report required to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission before securities can be issued to the public; must include audited financial statements.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the federal agency that regulates the public issuance and trading of securities and is charged with assuring full and fair disclosure of information by companies with securities held by the public.

subsidiary a corporation that is controlled by another corporation (parent) through a majority ownership of its common stock.

summary of significant accounting policies a required disclosure that must accompany financial statements issued to the public that briefly describes the accounting methods used in preparing the financial statements; usually included as the first note to the financial statements.

trend analysis the examination of a variable or factor over time to determine a pattern.

vertical analysis an analysis of the individual components of the financial statements in relation to one another.