Annual Report Project – USAA
An annual report is an audited corporate document that details the business activity and financial status of an individual company over the previous year. The key elements of an annual report are contained in its financial information. Within the financial information you’ll find the financial statements and Notes to Financial Statements. Include in this section is the Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet. These statements provide detailed figures of the actual financial performance of the company for the previous year. Other financial information included in this section is the Portfolio of Investments, Notes to Portfolio of Investments, and Distribution to Shareholders. Another key component in an annual report is the Manager’s commentary– which is the managerial analysis and breakdown of the financial results and other factors that impact the company’s operations. This information is accompanied by the Auditor’s report which informs you whether the numbers are accurate and whether you should have any concerns about the future operations of the business.
Different factors were influential of how USAA performed during the 2011 period. The primary factor was the market conditions during the period. The year started well, as U.S. markets gained through February, but the combination of the Fukushima earthquake in Japan and political uprisings across North Africa halted the rise in equity prices. In August, volatility spiked and the S&P 500ki sank more than 200 points in a matter of days, as Standard & Poor’s downgraded U.S. sovereign debt to a rating of AA+ following a near default resulting from a congressional stalemate. The U.S. Federal Reserve decided that the American economy needed another boost. The Federal Open Market Committee decided to “twist” the yield curve by buying longer-dated securities and selling