JP2025082285A - Financial analysis system, financial analysis method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a financial analysis system, a financial analysis method, and a program for performing analysis before and after the incorporation of a target company for mergers or acquisitions when carrying out M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) or the like.SOLUTION: In a financial analysis system in which a plurality of user terminals, a management server, and a database system are connected via a network so as to enable data communication with each other, the management server includes an acquisition unit 3 that acquires financial information about a plurality of business entities, a processing unit 4 that adds up the financial information about the plurality of business entities acquired by the acquisition unit 3, and an output unit 5 that outputs a result of the addition by the processing unit 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a financial analysis system, a financial analysis method, and a program.

Patent Document 1 describes one aspect of a graph display system. The graph display system described in Patent Document 1 is a system that displays graphs based on welfare consultation-related information collected by government offices and town halls.

In this type of graph system, for example, by displaying information about the financial affairs of a business entity, users have the advantage of being able to easily grasp the financial situation and financial trends of the business entity.

Patent No. 6869408

Incidentally, in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of cases in which mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are being considered. However, a system such as a graph display system that simply displays the financial information of each business entity cannot be used appropriately when considering mergers and acquisitions.

The present invention aims to provide a financial analysis system, a financial analysis method, and a program that can perform analyses before and after the incorporation of a target company in a merger or acquisition when conducting M&A, etc.

The financial analysis system of one aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires financial information of a plurality of business entities, a processing unit that sums up the financial information of the plurality of business entities acquired by the acquisition unit, and an output unit that outputs the result of the summation by the processing unit.

One aspect of the financial analysis method of the present invention is a method executed by a processor, and includes an acquisition step of acquiring financial information of a plurality of business entities, a processing step of adding up the financial information of the plurality of business entities acquired by the acquisition step, and an output step of outputting the result of the addition by the processing step.
A program according to one aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a processor to execute each step of the above-described financial analysis method.

The financial analysis system, method, and program of the above-mentioned aspect of the present invention have the advantage that they can perform analysis before and after the incorporation of a target company in a merger or acquisition when conducting M&A, etc.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a financial analysis system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a user terminal in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a management terminal in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. This is a schematic diagram of a corporate business overview statement. 11 is a screen diagram showing a display example of a display screen of a comparison function with other companies in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a screen diagram showing a display example of a display screen of a comparison function with other companies in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a screen diagram showing a display example of a display screen of a comparison function with other companies in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a screen diagram showing a display example of a display screen of a comparison function with other companies in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a screen diagram showing a display example of a display screen of a comparison function with other companies in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a screen diagram showing a display example of a display screen of a comparison function with other companies in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a screen diagram showing a display example of a display screen of a comparison function with other companies in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a screen diagram showing a display example of a display screen of a comparison function with other companies in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a screen diagram showing a display example of a display screen of a comparison function with other companies in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a screen diagram showing a display example of a display screen of a comparison function with other companies in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a screen diagram showing information on the buying company, the selling company, and the merging company in an example display screen of the other company comparison function in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. FIG. This is a screen diagram showing information on the buying company, the selling company, and the merging company in an example of the display screen of the company comparison function in the financial analysis system of the embodiment. This is a screen diagram showing information on the buying company, the selling company, and the merging company in an example of the display screen of the company comparison function in the financial analysis system of the embodiment. 13 is a display example of a display screen of a management function in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. 1 is a flowchart of an acquisition step in a financial analysis system according to an embodiment. 11 is a flowchart of a comparison function with other companies and a comparison function with one's own company in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. 11 is a flowchart of a management function in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. 13 is a flowchart of a comparison function with other companies in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. 13 is a flowchart of a company comparison function in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment. 11 is a flowchart of a management function in the financial analysis system according to the embodiment.

<Embodiment>

The financial analysis system 100 according to this embodiment is a system that can analyze the financial situation of a target business entity and present information related to management. As shown in FIG. 1, the financial analysis system 100 includes a plurality of user terminals 1 owned by the business entity, a management server 2 (sometimes called a "financial analysis device" or "server device"), and a database system 7.

In the following description, when multiple user terminals 1 are to be distinguished from one another, they will be described as "first user terminal 1a," "second user terminal 1b," etc., and when referring to each of multiple user terminals 1, they may simply be described as "user terminal 1" or "each user terminal 1."

In this specification, "business entity" refers to an entity that conducts business. There are no particular limitations on the type of "business entity," and examples include joint-stock companies, limited liability companies, general partnerships, limited liability associations, general incorporated associations, specified non-profit organizations (NPOs), retail stores, sole proprietorships, and partnerships. There are no particular limitations on the size of the business entity, and it may be any size, such as a large corporation, a small or medium-sized enterprise, or a micro-enterprise.

The business entity may also be a single business division. A business division refers to an organization organized under a head office department in a divisional organization. Examples of a business division include a single business division in a product-based business division organization, a customer-based business division organization, a region-based business division organization, etc.

In the financial analysis system 100 according to this embodiment, information on the business overview of the target entity is acquired, and based on this information, information on management indicators and financial information is calculated, and a "comparison with other companies function" and a "company comparison function" can be executed. Furthermore, in the financial analysis system 100, the user can use the "comparison with other companies function" and the "company comparison function" to provide advice and consulting to the target entity, while also executing a function (called a "management function") to share the information on the business overview of the target entity, and the management indicators and financial information used here among multiple user terminals 1.

The "Comparison with other companies function" is a function that calculates management index values for each business entity from information on the business overview of the target business entity and information on the business overview of other companies, and uses the calculated index values to present a comparison between the company and other companies. The "Comparison with other companies function" is a function that extracts necessary information from information on the business overview of the target business entity, subtracts amounts such as remuneration for the representative, and presents the actual financial situation. The "Management function" is a function that registers, for example, information on the business overview, management index values, financial information, etc. for each business entity, makes it viewable on multiple user terminals 1, and also shares information so that information entered from each user terminal 1 can be viewed on other user terminals 1. The "Comparison with other companies function", "Management function", and "Comparison with other companies function" will be explained in detail later.

The financial analysis system 100 according to this embodiment is mainly configured as a computer system having one or more processors and one or more memories. The financial analysis method according to this embodiment is used on the computer system (financial analysis system 100). In other words, the financial analysis method can also be embodied as a program. The program according to this embodiment is a program for causing one or more processors to execute the financial analysis method according to this embodiment.
(Configuration of financial analysis system 100)
The financial analysis system 100, the financial analysis method, and the program according to this embodiment will be described in detail below.

As described above, the financial analysis system 100 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of user terminals 1, a management server 2, and a database system 7. As shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of user terminals 1, the management server 2, and the database system 7 are connected to each other via a network so that data communication can be performed between them. There are no particular limitations on the network, and examples of the network include the Internet, a dedicated communication line (e.g., a CATV (Community Antenna Television) line), a mobile communication network (including base stations, etc.), a gateway, etc., or a combination of these. Furthermore, the connection between the network and the terminal devices may be either wired communication or wireless communication.
(User terminal 1)

The user terminal 1 is a communication terminal device used by a user of the financial analysis system 100 according to this embodiment. Using the user terminal 1, the user can present information about management to the target business entity. There are no particular limitations on the user terminal 1, and examples of the user terminal 1 include smartphones, tablet terminals, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), mobile phones, notebook PCs (Personal Computers), desktop PCs, and wearable terminals such as smart watches and smart glasses. As shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal 1 includes a communication unit 11, a processing unit 12, an input unit 13, and a display unit 14.

The communication unit 11 connects the user terminal 1 to the network directly or indirectly via another network or a repeater, etc. The communication unit 11 has a communication function with the management server 2 connected to the network. This allows the user terminal 1 to communicate with other user terminals 1, the management server 2, and the database system 7 connected to the network.

The input unit 13 inputs data and control signals from the user terminal 1 to the financial analysis system 100. The input unit 13 is, for example, a user interface. The user interface includes, for example, a touch panel display, and can accept user operations and display information to the user. In this embodiment, the user interface is a touch panel display, but is not limited to this and may have input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a mechanical switch, a gesture sensor, etc. The user interface may also have a voice input/output unit 5 such as a microphone, and a camera.

The processing unit 12 executes the overall processing of the user terminal 1. The processing unit 12 is realized by a processor that executes various processes according to programs stored in the storage. Examples of the processor include a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a microprocessor.

The display unit 14 outputs the processing result obtained by the processing unit 12. Examples of the display unit 14 include a touch panel, a touch display, a liquid crystal display, a head mounted display, a projector, a hologram, projection mapping, a speaker, and a printer.
(Management Server 2)

The management server 2 is a server device that provides the services of the financial analysis system 100 to a plurality of user terminals 1. As shown in Fig. 3, the management server 2 includes an acquisition unit 3, a processing unit 4, an output unit 5, a communication unit 6, and a storage unit 21. In this embodiment, as described above, the management server 2 is mainly configured as a computer system (here, a server device) having one or more processors and one or more memories. The acquisition unit 3, the processing unit 4, and the output unit 5 are realized by one or more processors executing programs.
(Storage unit 21)

The storage unit 21 stores information handled by the management server 2. The storage unit 21 is realized by, for example, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), or the like.
(Acquisition part 3)

The acquisition unit 3 acquires information on the business overview of multiple mutually different business entities. The information on the business overview includes financial information. The information on the business overview acquired by the acquisition unit 3 is stored in the database system 7. The information on the business overview according to this embodiment is acquired from the corporate business overview description. As shown in FIG. 4, the corporate business overview description includes information such as the business entity's sales 81, cost of sales 82, selling and general administrative expenses 83, operating profit and loss 84, assets 85 (including receivables), liabilities 86, and compensation for the representative 87. The acquisition unit 3 acquires information on the business overview from the contents of the corporate business overview description, and records the information on the business overview in the database system 7 in association with the name of the business entity.

Information on business overview does not necessarily have to be obtained from the corporate business overview statement. For example, if the company is listed, it may be obtained from the securities report, or from the Corporate Enterprise Statistics Survey, which compiles statistical data published by government ministries and agencies.

The acquisition unit 3 according to this embodiment can acquire financial information about the business entity by acquiring information about the business overview. Examples of financial information in the corporate business overview statement include the business entity's sales 81, cost of sales 82, selling and general administrative expenses 83, operating profit and loss 84, assets 85, liabilities 86, and compensation for the representative 87. However, the acquisition unit 3 may acquire financial information directly, rather than from information about the business overview. The acquisition unit 3 may acquire financial information from, for example, financial statements (including income statements and balance sheets), trial balances (total trial balance, balance trial balance, total balance trial balance), etc. In particular, when the business entity is a division, it is preferable to use a trial balance, since there are no financial statements for each division.

The acquisition unit 3 can acquire information related to the business overview by, for example, executing OCR (Optical Character Recognition) processing on image data obtained by scanning the corporate business overview description using a terminal device connected to the management server 2. There are no particular limitations on the terminal device connected to the management server 2, and examples of the terminal device connected to the management server 2 include a scanner device, a multi-copy machine, a user terminal 1 equipped with a camera, a facsimile, and a multi-function printer. Furthermore, if the information related to the business overview is recorded in a CSV file, an Excel file, or the like, the acquisition unit 3 may acquire data directly from these files.

The acquisition unit 3 may also acquire information related to the business overview or financial information by using an API (Application Programming Interface) of an external service that provides information related to the business overview. For example, the acquisition unit 3 can acquire information related to the business overview or financial information by using an API that discloses a securities report on the Web or an API that discloses the results of a corporate enterprise statistics survey.
(Processing Unit 4)

The processing unit 4 executes the overall processing of the management server 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing unit 4 includes an accumulating unit 40, an index calculation unit 41, a profit calculation unit 42, an asset calculation unit 43, a debt calculation unit 44, a net asset calculation unit 45, and a sharing unit 46. In FIG. 3, the accumulating unit 40, the index calculation unit 41, the profit calculation unit 42, the asset calculation unit 43, the debt calculation unit 44, the net asset calculation unit 45, and the sharing unit 46 do not represent physical configurations, but rather represent functions realized by the processing unit 4.

The processing unit 4 can calculate management-related index values from the information on the business overview acquired by the acquisition unit 3. Calculations related to management-related index values can be performed by the index calculation unit 41.

The processing unit 4 can also acquire information on the financial affairs of the business entity based on the information on the business overview acquired by the acquisition unit 3, and calculate an amount by adding or subtracting the amount of any item in the "Amount of Remuneration, etc. Relating to Representative" column described in the Corporate Business Overview Explanation from the financial affairs information. This calculation can be performed by the profit calculation unit 42, the asset calculation unit 43, the debt calculation unit 44, and the net asset calculation unit 45.
(Summarization unit 40)

The summation unit 40 sums up financial information of multiple business entities. The financial information summed by the summation unit 40 is recorded in the memory unit 21 separately from the financial information of each business entity. The index calculation unit 41, profit calculation unit 42, asset calculation unit 43, debt calculation unit 44, and net asset calculation unit 45 calculate various figures based on information on the business overview of each business entity, and can also calculate various figures using the summation results by the summation unit 40. By looking at various indexes using the financial information after the summation, the user can easily predict the financial situation after executing M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions).

The aggregation unit 40 records the result of aggregating the financial information of multiple business entities in the memory unit 21, but at this time, the aggregated financial information can also be assigned to a new business entity and registered. This allows calculations to be performed by the index calculation unit 41, profit calculation unit 42, asset calculation unit 43, debt calculation unit 44, and net asset calculation unit 45 described below as financial information for a newly established business entity through a merger of multiple business entities.

A consolidation merger is a method in M&A in which the corporate status of multiple business entities is dissolved and all rights and obligations are transferred to the company established by the merger. Of course, this embodiment can also be used assuming an absorption merger. An absorption merger is a method in M&A in which the corporate status of the main business entity among multiple business entities is retained and the corporate status of the other entities is dissolved.

The following is an example of a method of aggregation by the aggregation unit 40. In the following, a first business entity (e.g., a buyer company) and a second business entity (e.g., a seller company) are given as examples of multiple business entities, but three or more business entities may be used.
(Example of method 1 for combining)

An example of a method of aggregation when financial information is obtained from an income statement that shows the profit and loss for the target period is given. The aggregation unit 40 aggregates financial information (e.g., income statement) for the target period of one of the multiple business entities (here, the first business entity) with financial information (e.g., income statement) for the period corresponding to the target period of another business entity (here, the second business entity).

The target period may be, for example, the accounting period (the period for which financial statements are prepared, such as from April to March of the following year), but is not limited to this and may be any period. For example, if the target period for the first business entity is set to be from April to March of the following year, the combined target period for the second business entity is set to be from April to March of the following year.

More specifically, the aggregation unit 40 aggregates the financial information (e.g., profit and loss statement) of the first business entity for the target period from April 2022 to the end of March 2023 with the financial information (e.g., profit and loss statement) of the second business entity for the period from April 2022 to the end of March 2023.

The aggregation unit 40 can aggregate financial information (e.g., income statement) of multiple business entities by adding financial information (e.g., income statement) of a second business entity for the period subject to aggregation to financial information of a first business entity for the period subject to aggregation.
(Example of method of aggregation 2)

An example of a method of aggregation when financial information is obtained from a profit and loss statement showing the profit and loss for the target period is given. The aggregation unit aggregates the financial information (e.g., profit and loss statement) for the target period of one of the multiple business entities (here, the first business entity) with the financial information (e.g., profit and loss statement) for another business entity (here, the second business entity) that ended either before or after the target period of the one business entity (here, the first business entity), and the financial information (e.g., profit and loss statement) for another business entity selected either before or after the target period of the one business entity (here, the first business entity).

For example, if the target period of the first business entity is set from April to March of the following year, and the accounting period of the second business entity is from January to December, the period to be combined will be either before or after the end of March of the target period of the first business entity (either January to December immediately preceding the end of March, or January to December immediately following the end of March).

More specifically, for the first business entity's target period from April 2022 to the end of March 2023, the second business entity's combined target period will be either January 2022 to December 2022, which is before the end of March 2023 of the first business entity's target period, or January 2023 to December 2023, which is after the end of March 2023 of the first business entity's target period.

The aggregation unit may use the aggregation target period of the person selected by the user, the aggregation target period of the second business entity that ended most recently based on the last day of the target period of the first business entity, etc.
(Example of method 3 for adding up)

An example of a method of aggregation when financial information is obtained from an income statement showing the profit and loss for the target period is given. If another business entity (here, the second business entity) has only a partial period that corresponds to the target period, the aggregation unit 40 aggregates the financial information (e.g., income statement) for the target period of the first business entity with the financial information (e.g., income statement) for only the corresponding partial period of the second business entity.

Examples of cases in which an entity has only a partial period that corresponds to the target period include cases in which the entity goes out of business or is closed during the target period, or has been newly established only recently.

For example, if the target period for the first business entity is set to be from April to March of the following year, and the second business entity goes out of business in the middle of the target period (for example, in September), the aggregation unit 40 can set the target period for aggregation to be from April to September for the second business entity.

More specifically, the aggregation unit 40 aggregates financial information regarding the first business entity for the target period from April 2022 to March 2023 with financial information regarding the second business entity for a portion of the aggregation target period from April 2022 to September 2022.
(Example of method of summation 4) PL

An example of a method of aggregation when financial information is obtained from an income statement showing the profit and loss for the target period is given below. For example, if the second business entity has only recently been established, financial information (e.g., income statement) per unit month is calculated from a corresponding portion of the period, financial information (e.g., income statement) of the second business entity for the target period is calculated from the financial information (e.g., income statement) per unit month, and the financial information (e.g., income statement) of the second business entity for the period corresponding to the target period is aggregated.

For example, if the target period for the first business entity is set from April to March of the following year, and the second business entity was established in December, the aggregation unit 40 calculates financial information for one month (e.g., a profit and loss statement) from financial information from December to March of the following year (e.g., a profit and loss statement).

Then, in order to obtain financial information (e.g., an income statement) for the target period, i.e., one year, from the financial information for one month (e.g., an income statement), the financial information (e.g., an income statement) for one month can be multiplied by 12 to obtain financial information (e.g., an income statement) of the second entity for the period corresponding to the target period.
By adding this to the financial information for the first business entity for the period in question, financial information (for example, profit and loss statements) for multiple business entities can be added together.
(Example 5 of the method of aggregation)

In the above aggregation method, financial information has been obtained from the income statement, which shows the profit and loss for the target period. Below, we will give an example of an aggregation method when financial information is obtained from the balance sheet, which shows the financial position at the target time.

The aggregation unit aggregates the financial information of one of the multiple business entities (here, the first business entity) as of the last day of the target period with financial information (e.g., balance sheet) of another business entity (here, the second business entity) as of the last day of the period corresponding to the target period.

For example, if the accounting period of the first entity and the accounting period of the second entity are the same (e.g., from April to March of the following year), the amount of the first entity as of the end of March and the amount of the second entity as of the end of March are added together.

More specifically, the summing unit 40 sums the amount as of the end of March 2023, which is the accounting period of the first business entity, and the amount as of the end of March 2023, which is the accounting period of the second business entity.
(Example 6 of the method of aggregation)

An example of an aggregation method when financial information is obtained from a balance sheet that represents the financial state at the target time is given. The aggregation unit aggregates the financial information (e.g., balance sheet) as of the last day of the target period of one of the multiple business entities (here, the first business entity) with the financial information (e.g., balance sheet) of another business entity (here, the second business entity) that ends either before or after the last day of the target period of the one business entity (here, the first business entity) and is at the last day of the target period selected either before or after.

For example, if the target period for the first entity is set from April to March of the following year, and the accounting period for the second entity is from January to December, the amount as of the last day of either the accounting period before or after the end of March in the target period for the first entity (either January to December immediately preceding the end of March, or January to December immediately following the end of March) will be the period to be added together.

More specifically, the aggregation unit 40 determines, as the aggregation target period for the second business entity, either the amount as of the end of December 2022, which is the last day of the accounting period from January to December 2022 that is prior to the end of March 2023 of the target period of the first business entity, or the amount as of the end of December 2023, which is the last day of the accounting period from January to December 2023 that is after the end of March 2023 of the target period of the first business entity, compared to the amount as of the end of March 2023 of the first business entity.

The aggregation unit may use the last day of the accounting period of the party selected by the user, or the last day of the accounting period of the second entity that ended most recently based on the last day of the target period of the first entity, etc.
(Example 7 of the method of aggregation)

An example of an aggregation method when financial information is obtained from a balance sheet that represents the financial state at the target time is given. The aggregation unit aggregates financial information (e.g., balance sheet) for a target period of one of a plurality of business entities (here, the first business entity) with financial information (e.g., balance sheet) of another business entity (here, the second business entity) as of the end date of only a portion of the corresponding period, when the other business entity (here, the second business entity) has only a partial period that corresponds to the target period.

For example, if the target period for the first business entity is set from April to March of the following year and the second business entity goes out of business during the target period (for example, in September), the aggregation unit 40 can use the amount of the second business entity as of the end of September as the target period for aggregation.
More specifically, the summing unit 40 sums the amount of the first business entity as of the end of March of the following year with the amount of the second business entity as of the end of September.
(Indicator calculation unit 41)

The index calculation unit 41 calculates management index values for each specified period from the information on the business overview acquired by the acquisition unit 3 or the financial information aggregated by the aggregation unit 40. Management index values refer to numerical values that make it easier to grasp the situation regarding management, finance, and/or accounting from sales, cost of sales, and selling and administrative expenses. Examples of index values include sales operating profit margin, sales labor cost ratio, total capital operating profit margin, total capital turnover ratio, liquidity ratio on hand, cash conversion cycle, monthly loan sales ratio, current ratio, liquidity ratio, equity ratio, accounts receivable turnover ratio, inventory asset turnover period, and purchase payable turnover period. In this specification, "selling and administrative expenses" refers to selling expenses and general administrative expenses, i.e., "selling and administrative expenses."

The operating profit margin on sales is an index value that shows the ratio of operating profit to sales. It is possible to determine whether a target business entity is operating in the black or not by using the operating profit margin on sales. The operating profit margin on sales can be calculated as follows: Operating profit margin on sales (%) = operating profit ÷ sales x 100. It can also be calculated as operating profit = sales - cost of sales - selling and general administrative expenses.

The labor cost to sales ratio is an index value that shows the ratio of labor costs to sales. The labor cost to sales ratio can be used to determine whether labor costs are high compared to an entity's revenue. The labor cost to sales ratio can be calculated as follows: Labor cost to sales ratio (%) = labor costs ÷ sales x 100. Labor costs can also be calculated as: executive compensation + employee salaries + employee benefit costs.

Return on capital is an index value that shows the ratio of profits to total capital. Return on capital can be used to determine whether invested capital is being used efficiently to generate revenue. Return on capital can be calculated as follows: Return on capital (%) = Operating profit ÷ Total capital.

Total capital turnover is an index value that shows the degree of effective capital utilization. It is possible to judge how efficiently total assets generate sales by using the total capital turnover. Total capital turnover can be calculated as follows: Total capital turnover (turnover) = sales ÷ total capital.

The liquidity ratio is an index value showing short-term payment ability, and is an index value showing the ratio of liquid assets to sales. The liquidity ratio can be used to determine how many months a company will be able to continue making payments if sales are assumed to be zero. The liquidity ratio can be calculated as follows: Liquidity ratio (%) = (cash deposits + securities) ÷ sales.

The cash conversion cycle is an index value that shows the number of days from purchase to collection of cash. It is possible to judge whether a company's cash flow is good or not by using the cash conversion cycle. The cash conversion cycle can be calculated as follows: Cash conversion cycle = accounts receivable turnover days + inventory turnover days - accounts payable turnover days.

The monthly debt sales ratio is an index value that shows how many times the debt is compared to monthly sales. The monthly debt sales ratio can be used to determine whether the debt is too large and whether there is sufficient capacity to repay the debt. The monthly debt sales ratio can be calculated as follows: Monthly debt sales ratio (times) = debt ÷ average monthly sales.

The quick ratio is an indicator that shows the ratio of current assets, such as cash and securities, to current liabilities that are due for repayment or payment within a short period of time. The quick ratio rule can be used to judge an entity's short-term debt repayment ability. The quick ratio can be calculated as follows: Quick ratio (%) = current assets ÷ current liabilities × 100.

The liquidity ratio is an index value that shows the ratio of current assets to current liabilities. The liquidity ratio can be used to judge an entity's short-term (within one year) safety (ability to make payments). The liquidity ratio can be calculated as follows: Liquidity ratio (%) = current assets ÷ current liabilities x 100.

The equity ratio is an index value that shows the ratio of equity to total capital. The equity ratio can be used to determine whether a company's financial soundness is high or low. The equity ratio can be calculated as follows: Equity ratio (%) = Equity ÷ Total capital × 100.

The accounts receivable turnover ratio is an index value that shows the ratio of sales to accounts receivable. The accounts receivable turnover ratio can be used to determine whether accounts receivable are being collected efficiently. The accounts receivable turnover ratio can be calculated as follows: Accounts receivable turnover ratio (times) = Sales / Accounts receivable.

The inventory turnover period is an indicator that shows the ratio of inventory to sales. It can be used to measure how long it takes for inventory owned by a business entity to be sold. The inventory turnover period can be calculated as follows: Inventory turnover period (turnover) = sales ÷ inventory at the end of the period.

The payables turnover period is an indicator of the period from when goods are purchased until accounts payable or bills payable are settled. The payables turnover period can be used to determine whether a business partner's cash flow is appropriate. The payables turnover period can be calculated as follows: Payables turnover period (months) = payables / purchases per month.

In this way, the index calculation unit 41 according to this embodiment can calculate various types of index values, but the above examples are merely illustrative and may be configured to calculate other index values.

The index calculation unit 41 calculates an index value related to management for each predetermined period. The "predetermined period" here means a period required to calculate an index value, and may be determined appropriately according to the index value, or may be selected arbitrarily by the user. Examples of the predetermined period include three months, six months, and one year. For example, when calculating the operating profit margin on sales, if three months is selected as the predetermined period, the index calculation unit 41 can calculate three-month operating profit ÷ three-month sales × 100 every three months for one year or more (preferably for multiple years). The index value calculated by the index calculation unit 41 is stored in the database of the database system 7.
(Profit calculation unit 42)

The profit calculation unit 42 calculates the amount obtained by subtracting the representative's compensation from the business entity's operating profit (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "profit amount after excluding the representative's compensation") based on the information on the business overview acquired by the acquisition unit 3 or the financial information aggregated by the aggregation unit 40. By looking at the profit amount after excluding the representative's compensation, the user can properly determine whether the business entity's actual profit is increasing or decreasing in terms of operating profit.

Here, "operating profit" is calculated by net sales - cost of sales - selling and general administrative expenses, where selling and administrative expenses include personnel expenses, including executive compensation. Executive compensation also includes the compensation of the representative. When reporting information on the business overview, a business entity may set the compensation for the representative high in order to save on taxes. This is because if the compensation for the representative is high, selling and administrative expenses will also be high, resulting in a smaller operating profit. For this reason, simply looking at the operating profit may not be able to accurately determine whether the profit of the business entity is actually on an upward or downward trend. Therefore, the profit calculation unit 42 makes it possible to evaluate the actual profit amount by calculating the profit amount by subtracting the compensation for the representative from the business entity's operating profit.

In this embodiment, the "Remuneration" item in the "10. Amount of Remuneration, etc., for Representative" column in the Corporate Business Overview Statement is used as "Remuneration for Representative". This is subtracted from the operating profit to calculate the profit amount excluding the representative's remuneration. However, in the present invention, the amount of remuneration for the representative may be extracted from the account item breakdown attached to the corporate tax return as "Remuneration for Representative".
The amount calculated by the profit amount calculation unit 42 is stored in the database of the database system 7.
(Asset amount calculation unit 43)

The asset amount calculation unit 43 calculates the amount (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "asset amount after excluding the representative's claim amount") obtained by subtracting the amount of the claim against the representative (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "claim amount") from the amount of the entity's assets (total assets) based on the information on the business overview acquired by the acquisition unit 3 or the financial information added up by the addition unit 40. By looking at the asset amount after excluding the representative's claim amount, the user can determine the extent of the entity's actual assets in terms of the asset amount.

Here, "assets" include the business entity's claims against the representative (e.g., loans, etc.). When the representative borrows money from the business entity, he or she is essentially obligated to repay the business entity, but since he or she may think of the business entity as his or her own, he or she may leave the money unrepaid. In other words, the amount shown as the asset amount will be higher than the actual asset amount, making it impossible to accurately evaluate the asset amount. Therefore, the asset amount calculation unit 43 makes it possible to evaluate the actual asset amount by calculating the amount obtained by subtracting the claim amount against the representative from the business entity's asset amount.

In this embodiment, the "claim against the representative" is calculated by adding up the "loan" and "advance payment" in the "10. Amount of remuneration, etc. paid to the representative" column in the Corporate Business Overview Statement. This is subtracted from the amount of assets to calculate the amount of assets after excluding the amount of claim against the representative. However, in the present invention, the amount of claim against the representative may be extracted from documents such as a loan agreement or a corporate tax return as the "amount of claim against the representative."
The amount calculated by the asset amount calculation unit 43 is stored in the database of the database system 7 .
(Debt amount calculation unit 44)

The debt calculation unit 44 calculates an amount (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "debt amount after excluding representative debt amount") obtained by subtracting the amount of debt to the representative (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "claim amount") from the debt amount of the business entity based on the information on the business overview acquired by the acquisition unit 3 or the financial information added up by the addition unit 40. By looking at the debt amount after excluding the representative debt amount, the user can determine how much the business entity's actual debt amount is in terms of the debt amount. "Debt amount" here means "debt" as stated in the corporate business overview statement.

Liabilities include loans owed to the representative. A business entity may borrow from its representative to carry out temporary cash flow management. In this case, the amount shown as liability (debt amount) includes the amount owed to the representative, so there may be cases where the entity is numerically insolvent but is not actually insolvent, making it impossible to accurately evaluate the amount of debt. Therefore, the debt calculation unit 44 calculates the amount of debt of the business entity excluding the amount owed to the representative, making it possible to evaluate the actual amount of debt.

In this embodiment, the "amount of debt to the representative" is the sum of "Borrowings" and "Loans received" in the "10. Amount of Remuneration, etc., to the Representative" column in the Corporate Business Overview Statement. This is subtracted from the amount of debt to calculate the amount of debt after excluding the amount of debt to the representative. However, in the present invention, the amount of debt to the representative may be extracted from documents such as a loan agreement or a corporate tax return as the "amount of debt to the representative."
The amount calculated by the debt amount calculation unit 44 is stored in the database of the database system 7 .
(Net Asset Amount Calculation Unit 45)

The net asset calculation unit 45 calculates the amount of the business entity's net assets excluding loans to the representative (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "net asset amount after excluding the representative's loan") based on the information on the business overview acquired by the acquisition unit 3 or the financial information aggregated by the aggregation unit 40. By looking at the net asset amount after excluding the representative's loan, the user can determine the actual financial condition of the business entity, such as whether it is insolvent.

Here, "net assets" refers to the assets of an entity that have no repayment obligation. In other words, net assets are the capital remaining after deducting the amount of liabilities, which are borrowed capital, from the assets (total assets). If an entity has just been established and has no liabilities, the net assets will be the same as the capital. Since the amount of net assets includes loans to the representative, the net assets calculation unit 45 makes it possible to evaluate the actual amount of net assets by calculating the amount obtained by deducting the amount of loans to the representative from the amount of the entity's net assets.

In this embodiment, the "Loans to Representative" is the "Loans" in the "10. Amount of Remuneration, etc. to Representative" column in the Corporate Business Overview Statement. This is added to the net assets to calculate the net assets excluding the loans to the representative.
The amount calculated by the net asset amount calculation unit 45 is stored in the database of the database system 7.
(Shared part 46)

The sharing unit 46 allows the database information recorded in the database system 7 to be shared among multiple user terminals 1. For example, information related to the business overview is recorded in the database in association with the business entity. Therefore, even if the first user terminal 1a is used to record information related to the business overview, the information related to the business overview can be shared with the second user terminal 1b. In addition, the database records, from the information related to the business overview, each index value, operating profit, profit amount after excluding the representative's compensation, asset amount, asset amount after excluding the representative's credit amount, debt amount, debt amount after excluding the representative's debt amount, net asset amount, and asset amount after excluding the representative's borrowings in association with the business entity. Therefore, this information can be synchronized among multiple user terminals 1, and the information can be shared among multiple user terminals 1.

The sharing unit 46 can also share information recorded using the first user terminal 1a (e.g., comments, evaluations, etc. about a business entity) with the second user terminal 1b. This allows information about a business entity to be shared with other users.
(Output Unit 5)

The output unit 5 displays the results of processing by the processing unit 4 (e.g., calculation results, etc.) on the display unit 14 of the user terminal 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the output unit 5 includes an index output unit 51, a profit output unit 52, an asset output unit 53, a debt output unit 54, a net asset output unit 55, and a management screen output unit 56. In FIG. 3, the index output unit 51, the profit output unit 52, the asset output unit 53, the debt output unit 54, the net asset output unit 55, and the management screen output unit 56 do not represent physical configurations, but rather represent functions realized by the output unit 5.

Here, the above-mentioned "other company comparison function" is a function of comparing the target business entity (including a newly established business entity registered as a newly established business entity) with other companies using index values related to the management of the target business entity. The other company comparison function can be realized by the index output unit 51 of the output unit 5. The "own company comparison function" is a function that allows the financial status of the target business entity to be compared when the representative's remuneration and the like are excluded and when they are not excluded. The own company comparison function can be realized by the profit output unit 52, the asset output unit 53, the net asset output unit 55, and the debt output unit 54. The "management function" is a function of sharing information on the business overview, index values, and information on the financial status of the target business entity among multiple user terminals 1. The management function can be realized by the above-mentioned sharing unit 46 and the management screen output unit 56.
(Indicator output unit 51)

The index output unit 51 displays the calculation results by the index calculation unit 41 on the display unit 14 of the user terminal 1. The index output unit 51 displays a graph based on the index value for the time (period) calculated by the index calculation unit 41.

Here, Figs. 5 to 13 show an example of the display screen 9a on the display unit 14 output by the index output unit 51. As a graph, the index output unit 51 displays a line graph with the horizontal axis representing time (period) and the vertical axis representing the index value, as shown in Fig. 5 etc. Here, a display screen showing the on-hand liquidity ratio as an example of an index value is shown and explained.

The index output unit 51 first displays a graph area 91 with the index value on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. At this time, a threshold value of the evaluation criterion may be displayed according to the index value. In this embodiment, the threshold value of the evaluation criterion is displayed as "excellent" when it is 200% or more, and as "improved" when it is 100% or less.

The index output unit 51 displays a graph for each of the following: the index value for the target business entity is "our company", the average value for small and medium-sized enterprises in the field to which the business entity belongs is "small and medium-sized company", the average value for large enterprises in the field to which the business entity belongs is "large company", the index value for the seller company (second business entity) is "other company", and the index value for the newly established business entity after the merger is "merged company". Note that the index value for small and medium-sized enterprises uses the survey results from the Corporate Enterprise Statistics Survey, and the index value for large enterprises uses the average value obtained from securities reports. Here, published average values are used, but it is also possible to obtain information on the business overview of specific competitors and use the index value calculated from this.

As shown in FIG. 5, the index output unit 51 displays a graph area 91, and then displays a line graph of the target business entity on the graph area 91, as shown in FIG. 6 and subsequent figures. As a method for displaying the line graph, the entire graph may be displayed at once, but the index output unit 51 according to this embodiment displays the index values against time in succession along the horizontal axis to display the line graph. This makes it easier for the user to understand the line graph, and the user can easily understand the index values.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, an icon 92 is displayed at the position of the index value (450%) corresponding to the one year period from April 2015 to March 2016 for the target business entity, for example, and is moved linearly toward the position of the index value (0%) corresponding to the one year period from April 2016 to March 2017, with the movement trajectory being displayed as a graph. Similarly, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, 2018, 2019, ... are displayed continuously along the horizontal axis up to 2022.

The term "continuous display" here means that the icon 92 is displayed without interruption along the horizontal axis. Therefore, when displaying the graph, it does not matter whether the icon 92 moves without stopping or pauses. In this embodiment, the icon 92 moves from one end of the horizontal axis to the other end (i.e., from March 2016 to March 2022) without stopping, but the icon 92 temporarily stopping for each fiscal year also falls under the category of continuous display.

Next, as shown in Figures 8 to 10, the index values for the icon 92 of the small or medium-sized enterprise (labeled "B" in the figure) displayed at the position corresponding to 2016 (220%) are displayed consecutively along the horizontal axis.

Then, as shown in Figures 11 to 13, the index values for the large company icon 92 (labeled "C" in the figure) displayed at the position corresponding to 2016 (120%) are displayed consecutively along the horizontal axis. Similarly, graphs are displayed for the seller company and the merging company.

This allows users to visually grasp the changes in index values for the target entities, small and medium-sized enterprises, large enterprises, sellers and merging companies, making it easy to understand the process of change and the degree of growth of the entities.

In this embodiment, the indicator output unit 51 displays the graph area 91, and then displays the business entity, small and medium-sized enterprises, large enterprises, seller companies, and merged companies in that order. However, for example, after displaying the graph area 91, the business entity, small and medium-sized enterprises, large enterprises, seller companies, and merged companies may be displayed consecutively along the horizontal axis at the same time.

The index output unit 51 can clearly indicate which index value each line graph represents by displaying an icon 92 at the end of the horizontal axis of the line graph. The diagram displayed in the icon 92 may be changed by the user as appropriate, or an image such as a photograph may be used.

Also, as shown in FIG. 13, for example, the display screen 9a is provided with tabs for selecting "yearly comparison" and "three-month comparison." By selecting "three-month comparison," a line graph of index values for three months (for example, January to March of the current year) can be displayed. By selecting "yearly comparison," a line graph of index values for one year (for example, April of the previous year to March of the current year) can be displayed. Here, only two tabs, "yearly comparison" and "three-month comparison," are provided, but it would also be possible to select, for example, "four-month comparison," "six-month comparison," etc. as appropriate. It would also be possible to display the trend in index values for every three months of the year.

Moreover, by selecting the "Advice" tab, advice according to the index value is displayed. In this embodiment, it is possible to know at a glance whether the index value is excellent or needs improvement just by looking at the line graph, but by selecting the "Advice" tab, more specific advice can be displayed. The advice may be a comment corresponding to the index value that is recorded in advance, or the index value may be presented to an expert and advice may be provided in real time using a chat function or the like.
(Profit Output Unit 52)

The profit output unit 52 displays the calculation result by the profit calculation unit 42 on the display unit 14 of the user terminal 1. The profit output unit 52 displays a graph based on the result calculated by the profit calculation unit 42.

Here, Figures 14 and 15 show an example of the display screen 9b on the display unit 14 output by the profit output unit 52. Figure 14 is a graph showing the company's sales and operating profit, and Figure 15 is a graph showing the sales and operating profit of the buyer company (the company), the seller company (the other company), and the merged company. The profit output unit 52 displays a bar graph with the horizontal axis representing time (period) and the vertical axis representing monetary amount.

Here, the graph is displayed as a bar graph, but it may be displayed as other graphs such as a pie chart, a bar graph, or a histogram. On the display screen, below the graph area, the sales revenue, operating profit (or profit amount excluding representative compensation), and the ratio of operating profit to sales for the fiscal year corresponding to the graph are shown in a table. In FIG. 15, the three bar graphs corresponding to each fiscal year are arranged in the order of the buyer company (our own company), the seller company (the other company), and the merged company, and in the table, from top to bottom, they represent the buyer company (our own company), the seller company (the other company), and the merged company. The user can switch between a screen showing information only about the company and a screen showing information about the company, the other company, and the merged company as appropriate by operating the screen.

The display screen has tabs for "Financial Statement" and "No Representative's Compensation." When "Financial Statement" is selected, normal operating profit without representative's compensation is displayed. When "No Representative's Compensation" is selected, the profit amount after representative's compensation is excluded is displayed. Figure 14 shows the display screen when "No Representative's Compensation" is selected, and the profit amount after representative's compensation is excluded is displayed in the "Operating Profit" item. The graph shows sales revenue in a light-colored graph, and operating profit or profit amount after representative's compensation is excluded in a dark-colored graph. For each graph, the height from the horizontal axis to the top indicates the amount.

In this embodiment, the display screen 9b displays the operating profit including the amount of compensation for the representative and the profit amount excluding the representative compensation in a switchable manner by using the tabs at the top. Therefore, the user can evaluate the actual profit amount of the business entity, not including the representative compensation, by comparing the operating profit and the profit amount excluding the representative compensation.
(Asset amount output unit 53, debt amount output unit 54)

The asset amount output unit 53 displays the calculation results by the asset amount calculation unit 43 on the display unit 14 of the user terminal 1. In addition, the debt amount output unit 54 displays the calculation results by the debt amount calculation unit 44 on the display unit 14 of the user terminal 1. The asset amount output unit 53 and the debt amount output unit 54 display graphs based on the results calculated by the asset amount calculation unit 43 and the debt amount calculation unit 44.

Here, FIG. 16 illustrates an example of the display screen 9c output by the asset amount output unit 53 and the debt amount output unit 54. The graph displays a bar graph with the horizontal axis representing the period and the vertical axis representing the amount. In this embodiment, the asset amount (asset amount after excluding the representative debt amount; written as "Debt" in FIG. 15) is shown above the horizontal axis as a reference, and the debt amount is shown below, so that the debt amount and the debt amount can be displayed on one screen. In each target period, the three bar graphs are arranged in the order of the buyer company (our company), the seller company (other company), and the merged company. Although not shown in particular, as shown in FIG. 14, it is also possible to switch to a screen that displays the debt amount and the debt amount of only our company. Note that in the present invention, the debt amount and the debt amount may be displayed on separate screens. In the display screen 9c, the debt amount, the debt amount, and the difference between the debt amount and the debt amount for the year corresponding to the graph are displayed in a table below the graph area.

The display screen 9c displays the asset amount after the representative claim amount is excluded as the asset amount, and displays the debt amount after the representative debt amount is excluded as the debt amount. Then, the difference between the asset amount after the representative claim amount is excluded and the debt amount after the representative debt amount is excluded is displayed as the difference. However, the display screen 9c may be configured to display the asset amount before the representative claim amount is excluded and the debt amount before the representative debt amount is excluded as the asset amount. For example, the display screen may be configured to switch between the asset amount before the representative claim amount is excluded and the asset amount after the representative debt amount is excluded by using a tab at the top. Similarly, the display screen 9c may be configured to switch between the debt amount before the representative debt amount is excluded and the debt amount after the representative debt amount is excluded by using a tab at the top. This allows the user to evaluate the actual asset amount and the actual debt amount while comparing the asset amount and/or debt amount including the claim and debt to the representative with the asset amount after the representative claim amount is excluded and/or the debt amount after the representative debt amount is excluded.
(Net Asset Amount Output Unit 55)

The net asset amount output unit 55 displays the calculation results by the net asset amount calculation unit 45 on the display unit 14 of the user terminal 1. The net asset amount output unit 55 displays a graph based on the results calculated by the net asset amount calculation unit 45.

Here, FIG. 17 illustrates an example of the display screen 9d output by the net asset output unit 55. The graph displays a bar graph with the horizontal axis representing the period and the vertical axis representing the amount. For each target period, the three bar graphs are arranged in the order of the buyer company (the company itself), the seller company (the other company), and the merged company. In this embodiment, when each graph extends downward from the reference horizontal axis (the line marked "Insolvency"), it can be evaluated as "Insolvency," and when each graph extends upward from the reference horizontal axis (the line marked "Capital"), it can be evaluated as having a larger net asset amount. In the graph area, a line that is different from the other lines is displayed as "Capital" on the line corresponding to the capital of the target business entity.

The display screen 9d has tabs for "Financial Statement" and "No Representative Loan." When "Financial Statement" is selected, the entity's net assets are displayed. When "No Representative Loan" is selected, the net assets after excluding the representative's loan are displayed. Figure 16 shows the display screen 9d with "No Representative Loan" selected.

In this manner, in this embodiment, the display screen 9d can be switched between displaying the net assets amount including the loan to the representative and the net assets amount excluding the representative's loan by using the tabs at the top. Therefore, the user can evaluate the actual net assets by comparing the net assets amount including the loan from the representative with the assets amount excluding the representative's loan.
(Management screen output section 56)

The management screen output unit 56 displays the information shared by the sharing unit 46 on the display unit 14, collectively for each business entity. Hereinafter, a mode in which information on the business entity's management indicators calculated by the indicator calculation unit 41 and information on the business entity's revenues calculated by at least one of the profit calculation unit 42, the asset calculation unit 43, the debt calculation unit 44, and the net asset calculation unit 45 are displayed is referred to as a first mode. A mode in which the management screen output unit 56 displays the display screen 9e is referred to as a second mode.

Here, FIG. 18 illustrates an example of a display screen 9e output by the management screen output unit 56. The display screen 9e shows an example of a screen for registering information about a business entity in a database from the first user terminal 1a.

Display screen 9e displays the business entity's corporate information (e.g., the age of the representative, the average age of employees, etc.), the company's evaluation (e.g., a five-point scale based on the user's subjective opinion), an estimate of surplus funds, the possibility of closing the deal (e.g., a scale from A to E based on the user's subjective opinion), and comments about the entity. The user uses first user terminal 1a to input information about the entity. Also, the user uses first user terminal 1a to input information about the business overview. The information input through display screen 9e is also shared with second user terminal 1b by sharing unit 46. That is, management screen output unit 56 can display information about the business overview on first user terminal 1a and second user terminal 1b.

For example, as shown in FIG. 18, a user can subjectively select an importance index, a safety index, a profitability index, and a capital efficiency index to evaluate a company. The importance index is an index that indicates the importance to the user. The safety index is an index that indicates the level of financial safety. The profitability index is an index that indicates the level of profitability. The capital efficiency index is an index that indicates the efficiency of fund recovery. All are expressed on a 5-point scale, with 1 being the lowest, 5 being the highest, and 3 being the average.

For example, in terms of the possibility of closing a deal, each user shares their impression of the target business entity by rating it as A: extremely likely, B: highly likely, C: neither likely nor unlikely, D: unlikely, or E: extremely unlikely.
The display screen 9e also has a comment field. By entering information in the comment field, it is possible to share information specific to a business entity.

When executing the second mode, the processing unit 4 performs authentication to determine whether the operation is performed by a user authorized to use the second mode. Examples of authentication include a login ID and password, biometric authentication, and two-step authentication that issues an authentication code. Examples of biometric authentication include fingerprint authentication, face authentication, voice authentication, vein authentication, and iris authentication. Note that authentication may be performed using only a password.

By using these management screens to share information related to business entities among multiple user terminals, multiple users can effectively utilize a wide variety of information in their sales activities.
(Communication Unit 6)

The communication unit 6 connects the management server 2 to the network directly or indirectly via another network or a repeater, etc. The communication unit 6 has a communication function with the user terminal 1 connected to the network and the database system 7. This allows the management server 2 to communicate with the user terminal 1 connected to the network and the database system 7.
(Database System 7)

The database system 7 stores a database. The database system 7 may be realized by a server. The database stores information on the business overview and index values calculated by the index calculation unit 41 in association with the business entity. As described above, the database also stores each index value, operating profit, profit amount after excluding the representative's remuneration, asset amount, asset amount after excluding the representative's credit amount, debt amount, debt amount after excluding the representative's debt amount, net asset amount, and asset amount after excluding the representative's borrowings in association with the business entity.

The database also records information about business entities, such as contact information for the business entity (address, telephone number, etc.), email address of the business entity's person in charge, website address, past transaction information (transaction history, transaction amount, estimated amount, discount amount, etc.), industry, annual turnover, capital, age of representative, average age of employees, location of interview, etc.
(flowchart)

An example of the operation of the financial analysis system 100 according to this embodiment will be described using a flowchart. The financial analysis system 100 according to this embodiment executes an acquisition step for acquiring information regarding the business overview, a processing step for aggregating information regarding the finances of multiple business entities, and an output step for displaying the results of the processing step (this method is sometimes referred to as a "financial analysis method").

As an example of an acquisition step, a flowchart for acquiring information on an entity's business overview is shown in FIG. 19. First, the management server 2 requests that the business overview description be read, for example, using the user terminal 1 (ST1). At this time, the management server 2 specifies the import method for the corporation's business overview description (ST2). Examples of the import method include photo data captured using the camera of the user terminal 1, text data, etc.

The management server 2 performs OCR processing on the imported business overview description (ST3). The management server 2 then stores the contents of the business overview description in the database (ST4).

The user uses the user terminal 1 to check the information on the business overview of the business entity, and if there is anything that needs to be corrected, the user uses the user terminal 1 to make the corrections (ST5). When the corrections are made using the user terminal 1, the management server 2 updates the contents of the database for the parts that have been corrected. This allows the financial analysis system 100 to obtain information on the business overview and information on finances.
Next, an example of the other company comparison function and the company comparison function using processing steps and display steps will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 20, the user uses the user terminal 1 to display the management screen of the business entity and display information on the business entity's business overview (ST11). In this state, when the user executes, for example, a function to compare other companies (ST12), the management server 2 references information on the business overview of the business entity to be executed using the function to compare other companies from the database and calculates index values related to the business entity's management (ST13). The management server 2 then displays graphs of index values, etc. on the display unit 14 of the user terminal 1. The user checks the display screen displayed on the user terminal 1 (ST14).

In FIG. 20, "analysis information" refers to at least one of the processing results by the index calculation unit 41, the processing results by the profit calculation unit 42, the processing results by the asset calculation unit 43, the processing results by the debt calculation unit 44, and the processing results by the net asset calculation unit 45.

Figure 22 shows a sequence diagram of the other company comparison function. As shown in Figure 22, in order to execute the other company comparison function, information on the business overview of an entity other than the target entity is acquired in advance and registered in a database. Then, when a user executes the other company comparison function using the user terminal 1, as described above, the management server 2 refers to information on the business overview of the entity to be executed using the other company comparison function from the database, and calculates index values related to the management of the entity. Then, a graph is displayed on the user terminal 1.

Fig. 23 shows a sequence diagram of the company comparison function. As shown in Fig. 23, when a user executes the company comparison function using the user terminal 1, the management server 2 generates display information including the representative's remuneration and display information not including the representative's remuneration, and displays them on the user terminal 1. Here, "display information including the representative's remuneration" refers to any of the profit amount including the representative's remuneration, the profit amount including the representative's credit amount, the net asset amount including the representative's borrowing, and the debt amount including the representative's debt amount. "display information not including the representative's remuneration" refers to any of the profit amount after excluding the representative's remuneration, the asset amount after excluding the representative's credit amount, the net asset amount after excluding the representative's borrowing, and the debt amount after excluding the representative's debt amount.
Next, an example of the process of the management function by the sharing unit 46 and the management screen output unit 56 will be described with reference to FIGS.

When a user uses the user terminal 1 to display the management screen (ST21), the management server 2 generates list data of information regarding the business overview of multiple business entities (ST22). The management server 2 displays a list on the user terminal 1 based on the generated list data (ST23). Based on the displayed information, the user can input specific conditions according to their purpose and rearrange the display of multiple business entities (this is sometimes called "sort display"), and can check information about the business entities based on the displayed information.

In addition, while the above example shows the management screen output unit 56 performing list display and sort display in response to user operations, for example, the user may input desired conditions and perform aggregate display to display a list of business entities that meet the conditions. Also, after performing aggregate display, sort display may be performed.

In this way, the financial analysis system 100 according to this embodiment is used to combine the company comparison function, the other company comparison function, and the management function. For example, assume that an insurance sales representative owns a user terminal 1 (first user terminal 1a; sometimes referred to as the "sales representative terminal"), and the sales representative's superior owns another user terminal 1 (second user terminal 1b; sometimes referred to as the "superior terminal"). In this case, the sales representative can use the first user terminal 1a to perform a company diagnosis for the person in charge of the business entity, and execute the first mode to obtain information on the company's financial status, asset status, and the like while performing the company diagnosis. That is, when performing a company diagnosis for the person in charge of the business entity, the sales representative can input information on the business overview using the first user terminal 1a, and present a graph (at least one of Figures 5 to 16) showing management index values and actual profit amounts minus the representative's compensation, and provide useful information to the person in charge of the business entity.

On the other hand, when the business entity's representative is not looking at the display, the sales representative can run the second mode at hand to check information such as the business entity's surplus, the representative's age, the average age of employees, the company's evaluation, the possibility of closing a deal, annual sales, and capital, and can make decisions such as, for example, making aggressive sales pitches to companies with large surpluses or selling health insurance according to the representative's age and the average age of employees.

Furthermore, if the manager of the sales representative executes the second mode using the second user terminal 1b, the manager can share the information of multiple business entities entered by multiple sales representatives. Furthermore, by executing aggregate display, list display, sort display, etc., the desired information can be obtained efficiently.
<Modification>

The above embodiment is merely one of the various embodiments of the present disclosure. Various modifications of the embodiment may be made depending on the design, etc., as long as the object of the present disclosure can be achieved. Below, modifications of the embodiment are listed. The modifications described below may be applied in appropriate combination.

In the above embodiment, the information on the business overview was obtained from the corporate business overview explanation as an example, but as mentioned above, information obtained from securities reports, corporate enterprise statistics surveys, financial statements, and tax returns may also be used. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 3 may acquire information on finances from corporate business overviews, financial statements, trial balance sheets, account item breakdown statements, or accounting ledgers. Furthermore, financial information may be acquired from multiple types of information. Furthermore, information on financial statements includes, for example, balance sheets, profit and loss statements, sales and general administrative expense breakdowns, and statements of changes in shareholders' equity.

A trial balance does not contain any information equivalent to the statement of changes in shareholders' equity in a financial statement, but it does contain information equivalent to the balance sheet, income statement, and selling, general and administrative expenses breakdown in a financial statement.
An account item breakdown statement is a document that lists the specific contents and amounts of the account items listed on the balance sheet, income statement, and selling, general and administrative expenses breakdown.

Accounting books include information from main and subsidiary ledgers. Main ledgers include information from the diary, journal, and general ledger. Subsidiary ledgers include information from the customer ledger, supplier ledger, cash book, deposit book, expense ledger, and fixed asset ledger.

The acquisition unit 3 acquires an amount related to profits (for example, the amount of operating profit (operating loss)) based on at least one of the information in a corporate business overview statement, financial statement, trial balance, account item breakdown statement, or accounting ledger.
In the case of a corporate business overview statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount stated in the "operating profit and loss" column as the amount relating to profit, as described above.

In the case of a financial statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount stated in the "operating profit amount" (operating loss amount) in the profit and loss statement of the financial statement as the amount related to profit. Note that since the financial statement is free-form, it also includes a description equivalent to "operating profit amount."

The processing unit 4 may also calculate the amount related to profits using the amounts stated in the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, sales and general administrative expense breakdown, and statement of changes in shareholders' equity included in the financial statement, and the acquisition unit 3 may acquire the calculated amount related to profits.

In the case of a trial balance, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount in the trial balance that corresponds to the "operating profit amount" (operating loss amount) in the profit and loss statement of the financial statement as the amount related to profit. Note that since the trial balance is free-form, it also includes the description equivalent to the "operating profit amount."

The processing unit 4 may also calculate the amount related to profit using the amounts listed in the trial balance that correspond to the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, selling and general administrative expenses breakdown, and statement of changes in shareholders' equity in the financial statement, and the acquisition unit 3 may acquire the calculated amount related to profit.

In the case of an account item breakdown statement or accounting book, the processing unit 4 may calculate the amount related to profit using the amounts of the items listed in the account item breakdown statement or accounting book, and the acquisition unit 3 may acquire the calculated amount related to profit.

The acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount of executive compensation for the representative based on at least one of the information in the corporate business overview statement, financial statement, trial balance sheet, account item breakdown statement, or accounting ledger.

In the case of a corporate business overview statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount stated in the "Remuneration" section of the "Amount of Remuneration, etc. Relevant to the Representative" as the amount of executive remuneration for the representative, as described above.

In the case of a financial statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount listed in "executive compensation" on the income statement of the financial statement as the amount of executive compensation for the representative. Since the financial statement allows free writing of descriptions, it also includes descriptions equivalent to "executive compensation." More specifically, the income statement includes items for selling, general and administrative expenses. Amounts related to executive compensation may be listed under these selling, general and administrative expenses. In such cases, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount related to executive compensation.
Here, in selling, general and administrative expenses, executive compensation is usually listed as the total amount (if there are multiple directors, the combined executive compensation of all directors).

Therefore, when only the representative director is paid executive compensation, the acquisition unit 3 determines that the amount in the executive compensation item is the amount for the representative, and acquires the amount in this executive compensation item as the amount of executive compensation for the representative.

To determine whether only the representative director is paid executive compensation, for example, information from a full historical facts certificate is obtained, and if the representative director is the only director listed there, it is determined that only the representative director (representative) is paid executive compensation.

In addition, the number of directors is recorded in advance in the database system 7, and if there is only one director, it can be determined that only the representative director is receiving executive compensation. As an alternative method, a flag can be stored in the database system 7 indicating whether there is only one director or not.

Selling, general and administrative expense items may be listed in a document separate from the income statement. The separate document is called a selling, general and administrative expense breakdown sheet. The selling, general and administrative expense breakdown sheet includes information on the item of executive compensation and its amount.

In addition, in the sales and general administrative expenses breakdown sheet, executive compensation is usually stated as a total amount (if there are multiple directors, the combined amount of executive compensation for all directors). In that case, if only the representative director is paid executive compensation, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount of the executive compensation item as the amount of executive compensation for the representative. The determination of whether only the representative director is paid executive compensation is the same as described above.

The statement of changes in shareholders' equity may include bonuses to directors. Bonuses to directors are usually listed as a total amount (if there are multiple directors, the combined amount of executive compensation for all directors).

Therefore, if only the representative director is paid an executive bonus, the acquisition unit 3 determines that the amount of the executive bonus account is the amount for the representative, and acquires it as the amount of executive compensation for the representative. The determination of whether only the representative director is paid an executive bonus is the same as described above. The amount of the executive bonus is added to the amount of executive compensation, and the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount of the executive bonus as part of the amount of executive compensation for the representative.

The account item breakdown statement includes, for example, information on the "Breakdown of executive compensation, allowances, etc. and personnel expenses." The "Breakdown of executive compensation, allowances, etc. and personnel expenses" includes information on the breakdown of executive compensation, allowances, etc. and personnel expenses.

The breakdown of executive compensation and allowances includes, for example, information on duties, name, relationship to representative, address, full-time/part-time, total executive salary, salary for employee duties, salary for non-employee duties, retirement benefits, etc.

The breakdown of executive compensation allowances, etc. includes the name, job title, and amount for each executive. Therefore, the acquisition unit 3 searches for the representative director by job title, and acquires the total amount of the representative director's salary as the amount of executive compensation for the representative. The breakdown of personnel expenses includes information on executive compensation allowances, employee salary allowances, employee wage allowances, etc.

In the personnel expense breakdown, the executive salary is recorded as the total amount (if there are multiple directors, the combined amount of executive compensation for all directors). Therefore, if only the representative director is paid an executive salary, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount recorded in the personnel expense breakdown as the amount of executive compensation for the representative. The determination of whether only the representative director is paid executive compensation is made in the same manner as described above.

In the case of a trial balance, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount listed in the portion of the trial balance that corresponds to "executive compensation" in the profit and loss statement of the financial statement as the amount of executive compensation for the representative. Note that, because trial balances allow free writing, they also include entries that correspond to "executive compensation" in the profit and loss statement of the financial statement. Note that executive compensation is usually recorded as a total amount (if there are multiple directors, the total amount of executive compensation for all directors). In that case, if only the representative director has been paid executive compensation, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount of the executive compensation item as the amount of executive compensation for the representative. The determination of whether only the representative director has been paid executive compensation is the same as described above.

In the case of accounting books, the processing unit 4 may calculate the amount of executive compensation for the representative using the amounts of the items recorded in the accounting books, and the acquisition unit 3 may acquire the calculated amount of executive compensation for the representative.

The total amount is recorded in the accounting books (if there are multiple directors, the combined amount of executive compensation for all directors). Therefore, if only the representative director is paid executive compensation, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount of the item recorded in the accounting books as the amount of executive compensation for the representative. The determination of whether only the representative director is paid executive compensation is made in the same manner as described above.

The acquisition unit 3 acquires the total amount of assets based on at least one of the information in the corporate business overview statement, financial statement, trial balance, account item breakdown statement, or accounting ledger.
In the case of a corporate business overview statement, as described above, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount stated in the "total assets section" as the total amount of the assets section.

In the case of a financial statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount listed in the "Assets section total" on the balance sheet of the financial statement as the total amount of the assets section. Note that, since financial statements are free to write, they also include descriptions equivalent to the "Assets section total."

In the case of a trial balance, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount recorded in the portion of the trial balance that corresponds to the balance sheet of the financial statement as the total amount of the assets section. Note that, because the trial balance is free-form, it also includes an entry equivalent to the "total of assets section."

In the case of an account item breakdown statement or accounting book, the processing unit 4 may use the amounts of the items listed in the account item breakdown statement or accounting book to calculate the total amount of the assets section, and the acquisition unit 3 may acquire the calculated total amount of the assets section.

The acquisition unit 3 acquires the amounts of accounts that are claims against the representative based on at least one of the information in the corporate business overview statement, financial statements, trial balance, account item breakdown statement, or accounting books.

In the case of a corporate business overview statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amounts of "loans" and "advance payments" in the "amount of remuneration, etc. paid to the representative company" stated in the corporate business overview statement as the amounts of accounts that are claims against the representative.

In the case of a financial statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires, for example, amounts such as "loans," "advance payments," or "advance payments" on the balance sheet of the financial statement as the amounts of accounts that are claims against the representative. Note that, because the financial statement is free to write, it also includes descriptions equivalent to "loans," "advance payments," or "advance payments."

In the case of a trial balance, the acquisition unit 3 acquires, for example, the amounts recorded in the portion of the trial balance that corresponds to the balance sheet of the financial statement as the amounts of the accounts that are claims against the representative. Note that, because the trial balance is free-form, it also includes entries equivalent to "loans," "advance payments," or "payments in advance."

The acquisition unit 3 acquires the total amount of the liabilities based on the information recorded in at least one of the corporate business overview statement, financial statement, trial balance, account item breakdown statement, or accounting books. In the case of the corporate business overview statement, as described above, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount recorded in the "total amount of liabilities" in the corporate business overview statement as the total amount of the liabilities.

In the case of financial statements, the acquisition department acquires the amount recorded in the "total liabilities" section of the balance sheet of the financial statements as the total amount of the liabilities section. Note that, because financial statements are free to write, this also includes entries equivalent to the "total liabilities" section.

In the case of a trial balance, the acquisition section acquires the amount recorded in the portion of the trial balance that corresponds to the balance sheet of the financial statement as the total amount of the liabilities section. Note that, because trial balances are free-form, this also includes entries equivalent to the "total amount of liabilities section."

In the case of an account item breakdown statement or accounting books, the amount of the items listed in the account item breakdown statement or accounting books may be used to calculate the total amount of the liabilities section and obtain this amount.

The acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount of the account that is a debt to the representative based on at least one of the information in the corporate business overview statement, financial statement, trial balance, account item breakdown statement, or accounting book.

In the case of a corporate business overview statement, the Acquisition Department acquires the amounts of "loans" and "suspense receipts" in the "amount of remuneration, etc. paid to the representative" stated in the corporate business overview statement as the amounts of the items that are liabilities to the representative.

In the case of a financial statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amounts entered in the "loans," "temporary receipts," and "deposits" on the balance sheet of the financial statement as the amounts of the accounts that are liabilities to the representative. Note that, because the financial statement is free to write, it also includes entries equivalent to "loans," "temporary receipts," and "deposits."

In the case of a trial balance, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount recorded in the portion of the trial balance that corresponds to the balance sheet of the financial statement as the amount of the account that is a debt to the representative. Note that, since the trial balance is free-form, it also includes descriptions equivalent to "loans,""temporaryreceipts," and "deposits."
In the case of account item breakdown statements or accounting books,

The processing unit 4 may calculate the amount of the item that is a debt to the representative using the amount of the item listed in the account item breakdown statement or accounting book, and the acquisition unit 3 may acquire the calculated amount of the item that is a debt to the representative.

The acquisition unit 3 acquires the total amount of the net assets section based on at least one of the information in the corporate business overview statement, financial statement, trial balance, account item breakdown statement, or accounting ledger.
In the case of a corporate business overview statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount of the "total net assets section" stated in the corporate business overview statement as the total amount of the net assets section.

In the case of a financial statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount recorded in the "total net assets" section of the balance sheet of the financial statement as the total amount of the net assets section. Note that since financial statements are free to write, the acquisition unit 3 also acquires the description equivalent to the "total net assets" section.

In the case of a trial balance, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount recorded in the portion of the trial balance that corresponds to the balance sheet of the financial statement as the total amount of the net assets section. Note that, because the trial balance is free-form, it also includes an entry equivalent to the "total net assets section."

In the case of an account item breakdown statement or accounting book, the processing unit 4 may calculate the total amount of the net assets section using the amounts of the items listed in the account item breakdown statement or accounting book, and the acquisition unit 3 may acquire the total amount of the calculated net assets section.
The acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount of the loan based on at least one of the information in the corporate business overview statement, financial statement, trial balance, account item breakdown statement, or accounting ledger.

In the case of a corporate business overview statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount of "loans" in the "amount of remuneration, etc. related to the representative" stated in the corporate business overview statement as the amount related to the loan from the representative.

In the case of a financial statement, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount listed in the "Borrowings" column of the balance sheet of the financial statement as the amount related to the loan from the representative. Note that, since the financial statement is free-form, the acquisition unit also acquires the description equivalent to "Borrowings."

In the case of a trial balance, the acquisition unit 3 acquires the amount recorded in the portion of the trial balance that corresponds to the balance sheet of the financial statement as the amount related to the loan from the representative. Note that, since the trial balance is free-form, it also includes entries equivalent to "loans."

In the case of an account item breakdown statement or accounting book, the processing unit 4 may calculate the amount related to the loan from the representative using the amount of the item listed in the account item breakdown statement or accounting book, and the acquisition unit 3 may acquire the calculated amount related to the loan from the representative.

Loans usually include amounts borrowed from persons other than the representative. If there is no person other than the representative director, the acquisition unit 3 determines that the loan has been made only from the representative director, and acquires the above loan as the amount related to the loan from the representative. The determination of whether there is a person other than the representative director is the same as described above.

It is not essential for the financial analysis system 100 that the multiple functions in the financial analysis system 100 according to the above embodiment are concentrated in one housing. The components of the financial analysis system 100 may be distributed across multiple housings. At least some of the functions of the financial analysis system 100 may be realized by the cloud (cloud computing) or the like, or may be distributed across the cloud and edges. The cloud may be on the Internet or on-premise.
In addition, in the embodiment, the management server 2 and the database system 7 may be integrated into one housing.

In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the output unit 5 displays the results of processing by the processing unit 4 (e.g., calculation results, etc.) on the display unit 14 of the user terminal 1, but the output also includes making the results of processing available for download as a file. The format of the output data may be, for example, a text file, a CSV file, a PDF file, a spreadsheet file, a text file, a presentation file, an image file, a video file, a music file, HTML, or XML.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Financial analysis system 1 User terminal 1a First user terminal 1b Second user terminal 14 Display unit 2 Management server 21 Storage unit 3 Acquisition unit 4 Processing unit 40 Addition unit 5 Output unit

Claims (21)

An acquisition unit that acquires financial information of a plurality of business entities;
A processing unit that sums up the financial information of the plurality of business entities acquired by the acquisition unit;
an output unit that outputs the result of the summation by the processing unit;
Equipped with
Financial analysis system. the plurality of entities are different entities;
The financial analysis system of claim 1 . At least one of the business entities is a division;
The financial analysis system according to claim 1 or 2. The processing unit sums, for the financial information of one of the plurality of business entities for a target period, the financial information of another business entity for a period corresponding to the target period.
The financial analysis system of claim 1 . The processing unit sums, for the financial information of one of the plurality of business entities during the target period, the financial information of another business entity that ended either before or after the target period of the one business entity, and the financial information of the other business entity selected either before or after the target period of the one business entity.
The financial analysis system of claim 1 . The processing unit sums, when one of the plurality of business entities has only a part of a period corresponding to the target period, the financial information of the other business entities for only a part of the period corresponding to the target period.
The financial analysis system of claim 1 . When one of the plurality of business entities has only a partial period corresponding to the financial information for the target period of the other business entities, the processing unit calculates the financial information per unit month from the corresponding partial period, calculates the financial information of the other business entities in the target period from the financial information per unit month, and sums up the financial information of the other business entities in the period corresponding to the target period.
The financial analysis system of claim 1 . The processing unit sums the financial information of one of the plurality of business entities as of the last day of a target period with the financial information of another business entity as of the last day of a period corresponding to the target period.
The financial analysis system of claim 1 . The processing unit sums, with respect to the financial information as of the last day of a target period of one of the plurality of business entities, the financial information of another business entity as of the last day of a target period that ends either before or after the last day of the target period of the one business entity and is selected either before or after the last day of the target period of the one business entity;
The financial analysis system of claim 1 . The processing unit sums, for the financial information of one of the plurality of business entities for a target period, the financial information of the other business entities as of the end date of the corresponding partial period when the other business entities have only a partial period corresponding to the target period.
The financial analysis system of claim 1 . The output unit outputs the result of the summation by the processing unit and information regarding the financial affairs of each of the plurality of business entities before the summation.
The financial analysis system according to claim 1 or 2. The output unit outputs an average value related to the finances of small and medium-sized enterprises and an average value related to the finances of large enterprises in addition to the result of the summation by the processing unit and information on the finances of each of the plurality of business entities before the summation.
The financial analysis system of claim 8. The output unit outputs the result of the summation by the processing unit and information regarding the finances of only one of the plurality of business entities.
The financial analysis system according to claim 1 or 2. An acquisition unit that acquires financial information of a plurality of business entities;
A processing unit that sums up the financial information of the plurality of business entities acquired by the acquisition unit;
an output unit that outputs the result of the summation by the processing unit;
The output unit causes the display unit to display the
Financial analysis system. A storage unit that stores the result of the summation by the processing unit as information regarding the financial affairs of the new business entity,
The financial analysis system according to claim 1 or 2. The acquisition unit acquires financial information from one or more types selected from a corporate business overview, a financial statement, a trial balance, an account item breakdown statement, and an accounting book;
The financial analysis system according to claim 1 or 2. The acquisition unit acquires financial information from one or more types selected from a corporate business overview, a financial statement, a trial balance, an account item breakdown statement, and an accounting book;
The financial analysis system according to claim 1 or 2. The acquisition unit acquires financial information from an income statement,
The financial analysis system according to any one of claims 4 to 7. The acquisition unit acquires financial information from a balance sheet.
The financial analysis system according to any one of claims 8 to 10. A financial analysis method executed by a financial analysis system, comprising:
acquiring financial information for a plurality of entities;
a processing step of aggregating financial information of the plurality of business entities acquired by the acquisition step;
an output step of outputting the summed result obtained by the processing step;
Equipped with
Financial analysis methods. A program for causing a processor to execute each step of the financial analysis method according to claim 20.