Introduction to the weekly series

- Did you know that on September 30th, 2016, Microsoft had almost $137 billion in cash and short-term investments? - I actually knew that. - Did you know that on January 31st, 2016, Walmart let the world know that its total revenue for the previous fiscal year was over $482 billion? - [Kay] Yeah, I did know that. Did you know that the Bank of America had on December 31st, 2015 over $2.1 trillion in total assets? - Now, how do we know this top secret information about companies? It turns out that all this information and more is readily available about companies if you know where to look. Now, did you know that Microsoft waits about 77 days on average to collect monies from customers that owe it? - [Kay] I knew that. Now, did you know that Walmart's inventory, the items that people go to Walmart to buy, the stuff that sits on the shelves, it sits on those shelves in a Walmart on average about 45 days before it's purchased by you and me? - [Jim] I did know that. Did you know that Boeing, the maker of big airplanes, recognizes revenue differently, depending on whether its contract is with the US Department of Defense or with a commercial aircraft company like Delta? - [Kay] How do we know this information? Well, it's all out there if you know where to look and if you know what to do with the information once you have it. Hi, my name's Kay Stice. I'm an accounting professor at Brigham Young University. This is my brother Jim. - And I'm also an accounting professor at Brigham Young University. Together, we've been exploring the ins and outs of accounting information for over 60 years. We know where it is, what can be done with it, and perhaps more importantly, what can't be done with it. And our objective with this series of accounting and finance tips is to share what we know with you. - We want you to be able to understand accounting information, what it all means, where to find it, and what to do with it once you have it. - Now, accounting scares a lot of people. Many people say, "I'm just not a numbers person." That's okay. If you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide, you're enough of a numbers person to get your head around accounting. - You just need someone who's done this for awhile to guide through the complexities of accounting and finance and make the topics a bit easier to understand. That's where we come in. We've taught accounting and finance in the United States, China, Russia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Europe, and even South Africa, and now we want to share what we know with you. - This series of tips will break accounting and finance down into bite-sized chunks easy to digest and understand. Before you know it, you'll be seeing things that you never noticed before. You will be part of the discussion when it comes to the numbers. - You say you're not a numbers person? Not anymore. Welcome aboard.