Field notes on AI in business
Practical writing on AI, automation and the day-to-day work of running a business. From the team that builds and runs AI systems.
Gaap
The Difference Between GAAP and Non-GAAP Earnings and Why It Matters
Nearly every big company reports an adjusted profit number alongside GAAP. Here is how to judge which adjustments clarify and which ones mislead.
Basel IsmailJul 6, 2026
Executive compensation
The Complete Guide to Analyzing Executive Compensation from Proxy Statements
How to read a DEF 14A proxy statement: pay structure, performance metrics, clawbacks, severance terms, and the red flags that signal weak alignment.
Basel IsmailJul 6, 2026
Insider trading
How to Track Insider Buying and Selling with Form 4 Filings
A practical guide to SEC Form 4 filings, covering which insider trades carry real information, how to read 10b5-1 plans, and how to spot cluster buying.
Basel IsmailJul 6, 2026
Alternative data
What Alternative Data Sources Tell You That Financial Statements Cannot
Satellite images, web traffic, job postings, and card data show what a company is doing now, months before it reaches a 10-K. Here is where to look.
Basel IsmailJul 5, 2026
Customer concentration
Customer Concentration Risk: When One Client Can Sink a Company
How to find customer concentration in SEC filings, judge when a dominant customer becomes dangerous, and model what happens if that customer walks.
Basel IsmailJul 5, 2026
Revenue analysis
Revenue Quality Analysis: Separating Sustainable Growth from One-Time Gains
How to pull a company's top line apart using public filings: recurring versus one-time revenue, organic versus acquired growth, and the metrics that reveal durability.
Basel IsmailJul 5, 2026
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Competitive moat
Analyzing a Company's Competitive Moat Using Only Public Filings
How to test competitive moat claims using SEC filings alone: gross margin stability, ROIC persistence, customer concentration, and the tells in Item 1 and 1A.
Basel IsmailJul 5, 2026
AI in finance
How AI Is Changing the Speed and Accuracy of Financial Analysis
Where AI genuinely speeds up company analysis, where it still gets numbers wrong, and working rules for using it on SEC filings without trusting it blindly.
Basel IsmailJul 5, 2026
Management quality
Evaluating Management Quality Without Meeting the CEO
A practical process for judging management from public filings alone: capital allocation record, insider ownership, board quality, and how they explain bad quarters.
Basel IsmailJul 5, 2026
Cash flow
Understanding Cash Flow Statements Better Than 90% of Investors
A practical guide to reading cash flow statements: operating cash flow, free cash flow, capex quality, and the red flags that earnings numbers hide.
Basel IsmailJul 5, 2026
Accounting
How to Identify Accounting Red Flags in Financial Statements
A practical guide to spotting accounting red flags in financial statements, from revenue recognition games to cash flow divergence and the Beneish M-Score.
Basel IsmailJul 5, 2026
Financial ratios
The 7 Financial Ratios That Predict Company Failure Before It Happens
Seven ratios that flag corporate distress early, from the Altman Z-Score to free cash flow yield, and where to pull each number from SEC filings.
Basel IsmailJul 5, 2026
1,319 articles