when it comes to computing return on equity and capital however a more reliable estimate may be obtained if the book value of equity and capital are estimated prior to extraordinary charges not just in the current period but cumulatively over time 
the charges that are the most problematic for a company in the context of its stock prices are those related to restructuring for discontinued operations one time charge examplefor example acme technology company may properly write off costs related to restructuring its file server business as a one time charge however if the company also writes down inventory costs every other quarter and reports these charges as one time charges it is less than clear that these inventory write down charges are truly one time charges and acme s financial circumstances may be somewhat different than investors and analysts are being led to believe by the company special considerationswhile financial analysts may disregard one time charges when making their judgments on a company s earnings stock prices are not so forgiving in fact stock returns have demonstrated a tendency to significantly suffer during periods of frequent one time charges thus it s important for anyone researching a given stock which has been subjected to one time charges to understand the nature of each one time charge they are not all equal in the eyes of the investor or analyst some charges represent good economic decisions made by the company others may reflect that the company s finances catching up with past negative events 