Written Report
Prepare a four-page paper addressing each of the topics listed below:
1. How profitable is your company? Referring back to the Variance – Horizontal Analysis on the “Income Statement” tab, identify three to four significant variances and provide explanations for why they are changing. You will find the discussions within the Management, Discussion & Analysis section of your company’s Annual Report/10-K to be helpful. In addition, the Common-Size Vertical Analysis for the income statement may assist in adding additional content. Consider reviewing the performance of a competitor in the same industry or obtaining industry averages as a frame of comparison to your company.
2. What is your overall assessment of your company’s financial performance? Review the Common-Size – Vertical Analysis and the Variance – Horizontal Analysis on the “Balance Sheet” tab as well as the various ratios found on the “Financial Ratios” tab. Assess the company’s performance with regards to asset management, liquidity, and solvency. You do not need to address all of these, only those which are most relevant to your assessment of the company.
3. Would you buy or sell an investment in your company’s stock? Referring to all the information you have gathered and the most recent stock price and price-to-earnings ratio, provide a conclusion as to why you would or would not invest in you company. Your answer should be from the view of a long-term investor; not that of a “day-trader.” Organization. Your report should be organized in a logical manner. Do not simply describe formulas for the various ratios but discuss the drivers impacting the balances used in these formulas. Since your paper is four pages, do not waste space. Statements should be concise. Points will be deducted for obvious statements that are not necessary.
Professional Quality. Prepare your report as a professional-looking document as if you are being paid a great deal of money. Be careful with grammar and spelling; business leaders have limited tolerance regarding basic spelling and grammar mistakes. Report should be prepared using Microsoft Word with double-spacing and one-inch margins.
Proper Referencing. Copying or rewording another report without proper citation and quotation is plagiarism. In the body of the paper, include proper references to all written materials and internet sources with a complete page of sources used at the end. This page will not be counted towards the required four pages.
Your report will be graded based on the comprehensive coverage and accuracy of your analysis, using a clear and concise writing style that is easy to understand, and professional in its appearance. Tables, graphs, charts may be provided, but only if they are relevant and are referred to within the text to add clarity. They are not included in the four required pages.