Balance Sheet

Use textbooks to find out the limitations of balance sheet information. This is well documented, and often includes an analysis of their limitations.

When using databases such as Business Source Premier you will need to limit the amount of articles you find by intoducing a couple of keywords such as 'balance sheet' and theory.

For further searching techniques, help and advice use our Invisible Library tutorial Section 6. For evaluation of results see also Section 7.

Corporate Governance

A good definition is always important. This is how Webster's New World Finance and Investment Dictionary ( 2003 )defines Corporate Governance. The historical perspective is also useful.


"The policies, procedures, and rules that determine how a corporation is managed, as defined by the company’s bylaws, corporate charter, policies, and applicable laws. Following the flurry of record-setting corporate bankruptcies in 2001 and 2002, corporate governance became a high-profile topic."

Webster's New World Dictionary (2003) accessed via Credo Reference [online] via http://library.beds.ac.uk on 1st December 2009

Asset backed securities

For the theory about asset backed securities use the Business Source Premier Database, and limiting your search to full text, just search for the phrase in the title.

You will notice a list of suggested search terms appear on the left-hand side of the page.

For press material the Newsbank Database can be used. Do not over-rely on newspaper sources, but they can be useful for examples and case studies.