In the top-down approach to valuation, industry analysis should be conducted before company analysis because:（）
A. most valuation models recommend the use of industry-wide average required returns, rather than individual returns.
B. the goal of the top-down approach is to identify those companies in non-cyclical industries with the lowest P/E ratios.
C. an industry's prospects within the global business environment are a major determinant of how well individual firms in the industry perform.
参考答案：C
解析：
In general, an industry's prospects within the global business environment determine how well or poorly individual firms in the industry do. Thus, industry analysis should precede company analysis. The goal is to find the best companies in the most promising industries; even the best company in a weak industry is not likely to perform well.