Several sources offer information on ratio analyses of particular industries, most of which are compiled annually. The Risk Management Association publishes its Annual Statement Studies: Financial Ratio Benchmarks. Other pertinent publications include Dun & Bradstreet’s Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios and the Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios, by Leo Troy. These publications provide financial ratios for key industries, as well as condensed common-size balance sheets and income statements. The analyses are divided into several categories based on sales revenue and total assets so that readers can select companies of comparable size.

These publications are organized by industry, as defined by either the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code or North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code. The SIC system was developed in 1939 and 1940 and has been revised several times since then. It assigns a two-digit code to major industry groups and then further identifies specific industries by a four-digit code.1 For example, Major Group 23 is “Apparel and Other Finished Products Made from Fabrics and Similar Materials,” and C&C is classified under SIC code 2329 for “Men’s and Boys Clothing not Elsewhere Classified.”

The NAICS codes, a joint project of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, were first published in 1997. Because this system recognizes changes that have occurred in the global economy since 1940, it provides greater consistency in the classification of firms within industries. As a result, the six-digit NAICS codes are replacing SIC codes in government statistical reporting.2 C&C Sports is classified under industry 315280, “Other Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing.” Exhibit 12.9 reports selected percentages and statistics drawn on C&C’s industry from Dun and Bradstreet’s Key Business Ratios and Risk Management Association’s Annual Statement Studies: Financial Ratio Benchmarks.