So, I've been pondering the big question! Accounting is about understanding the realities of business; what is really going on in a firm. Or is it??? I may change my mind several times over the duration of this subject but my view at the moment is that a financial statement is only as reliable as the person that wrote it. A financial document is an extremely small snapshot of what is really going on in a company; the personal assessment of the person that wrote it. To truly understand a business you have to look at its economic and business realities. What is going in in the real world that will directly impact this company's ability to make money? Using this hand in hand with the financial records of a firm will give a much better picture of the financial reality for that firm. What are your thoughts on this?

I've included a link to the main page of LVMH and also the financial statements for 2011; 2012 and 2013.


LVMH main page: http://www.lvmh.com/


Financial documents 2013: http://www.lvmh.com/uploads/assets/Com-fi/Documents/en/Reports/LVMH_2013_financial_documents_VA.pdf


Financial documents 2012: http://www.lvmh.com/uploads/assets/Com-fi/Documents/en/Reports/Documents_financiers_2012_VA.pdf


Financial documents2011: http://www.lvmh.com/uploads/assets/Com-fi/Documents/en/Reports/Reports_2011/Documentsfinanciers31122011VA.pdf