Hello Jason. Its always a pleasure to read your articles. I especially liked your article "how to be a research analyst". Since I am in process of being a research analyst myself (failed Level 2 at the 10th band and just re-registered for the 2016 exam with even greater enthusiasm) i have a question for you regarding how to dig through all the information embedded in financial statements of listed companies.

You see I would like to understand how the Pakistani cement industry works and i would also like to gather all the information on all the main players within this industry. the purpose of this is that i am better able to analyse and value the players with in the industry. I just downloaded all the annual and quarterly reports of the top two players in the industry and am ready to go. So here's my question.

How do i go about digging into the financials of individual companies in the industry? What should i be looking at first and foremost? if you could kindly provide me with a list of to things to look through, id be most thankful.

regards.
Muhammad Rahim.