Comparing across currencies and accounting systems
Selected financial information is provided below for three major pharmaceuticals: Glaxo-SmithKline (Britain), Sanofi-Aventis (France), and Pfizer (U.S.). GlaxoSmithKline”s numbers were taken from the 2008 SEC Form 20-F, it uses IFRS, and the numbers are expressed in British pounds; the numbers for Sanofi-Aventis were also taken from the 2008 SEC Form 20-F and it too uses IFRS, but the numbers are expressed in euros; Pfizer is a U.S. company that uses U.S. GAAP, and the numbers are expressed in dollars and were taken from the 2008 SEC Form 10-K. As of the end of 2008, 1 U.S. dollar was equivalent to .69 British pounds and .71 euros. All numbers are in billions.
|
GlaxoSmithKline |
Sanofi-Aventis |
Pfizer |
|
|
Sales |
24.3 |
27.5 |
48.2 |
|
Total assets |
39.3 |
71.9 |
111.1 |
|
Shareholders” equity |
7.9 |
45.1 |
57.5 |
a. Which company is the largest, and by how much?
b. Explain why it may be difficult to clearly state which is the largest.