The comparison is made against industry averages or other statements. The idea is to focus on meaningful comparisons such as total debt to total equity on the Balance Sheet to find out how much of the assets are funded by borrowing. Uses SIC codes . The source of the industry financial data is from corporate income tax returns filed with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Data are grouped into 13 categories by size of assets for each industry.
Corporate performance is profiled in two analytical tables for each industry.
Ratios are arranged by SIC code . Arranged by broad category, then by industry group and line of business. Published by RMA, a national organization of bank loan officers . RMA surveys its membership to obtain sample financial statements of businesses seeking bank financing . While this is a very detailed source of composite financial information, RMA cautions that the figures be viewed as general guidelines because of the limited samples within industry categories.