This tool displays the impact of performance that differs from the "industry standards", i.e., how much was made or lost by not doing the same as the industry, on the average.  But more importantly, it does this by tracing the investment and utilization of money throughout the business cycle.  This helps show what management areas of the firm have done better than the industry, and where improvements are needed. The analysis begins by considering the average sales that should be generated in the firm, given the asset investment and the industry in which it resides.  Then the sales volume is examined to consider how efficiently each sales dollar contributed to gross profit.   Then operating performance is considered, etc.