Prior to beginning work on this assignment, Read Chapters 12 and 13

Prior to beginning work on this assignment,

• Read Chapters 12 and 13 in the course textbook, Using Financial Accounting Information: The Alternative to Debits and Credits.
• Read Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 in the textbook, Warren Buffet Accounting.
• Read pages 625–626 regarding horizontal analysis in the course textbook, Using Financial Accounting Information: The Alternative to Debits and Credits.
• Read pages 629–630 regarding vertical analysis in the course textbook, Using Financial Accounting Information: The Alternative to Debits and Credits.

For this assignment, you are required to upload your work to your ePortfolio in addition to Waypoint. Learn more about Folio, Ashford’s ePortfolio tool, by viewing the Folio Quick Start Guide (Links to an external site.).

Submit your file to Waypoint using the button below. Then paste the link to your Folio page as a comment in Waypoint so your instructor can access your ePortfolio.

In prior weeks, you learned about the financial statements and financial statement ratios. This week, you will utilize that information, along with Chapter 13 from the course textbook, Using Financial Accounting Information: The Alternative to Debits and Credits, and tips from the textbook, Warren Buffet Accounting, to take a deep dive into one company.

Assume the role of a senior financial analyst who has been assigned to complete a thorough and detailed review for a company of your choice from the list below. Access the company quarterly financial statements (10-Q) for the past two quarters on EDGAR, which is available on the web page, EDGAR Company Filings (Links to an external site.).

Select one of the following companies:

Name

Ticker Symbol

Home Depot

HD

Bloomin Brands

BLMN

Apple

AAPL

Starbucks

SBUX

Gap

GPS

Verizon

VZ

Target

TGT

Cisco

CSCO

Ulta

ULTA

Dollar Tree

DLTR

In your thorough and detailed review, analyze the company’s quarterly financial statements (10-Q) for the past two most current quarters and perform the following:

• Prepare a balance sheet and income statement horizontal analysis for the last two quarters.
• Prepare a balance sheet and income statement vertical analysis for the last two quarters.
• Prepare a liquidity analysis by computing and using the appropriate ratios to assess liquidity.
  • Compute a minimum of three ratios and show your supporting calculations.
• Prepare a solvency analysis by computing and using the appropriate ratios to assess solvency.
  • Compute a minimum of three ratios and show your supporting calculations.
• Prepare a profitability analysis by computing and using the appropriate ratios to assess profitability.
  • Compute a minimum of three ratios and show your supporting calculations.
• Analyze the methods and tips provided in the textbook, Warren Buffet Accounting, to address the following questions:
  • What is your company’s primary revenue, secondary revenue, and gains?
  • What is your company’s primary expenses, secondary expenses, financial activity generated expenses, and losses?
  • What is the revenue trend? Does the 10-K or 10-Q discuss primary revenues, as well as other revenue types?
  • What do the accounting policies say in the annual report (footnotes) regarding the cost of revenue? What are the drivers to the cost of revenue and the trends?
  • Are there any trends in sales and marketing expenses or research and development? Are these amounts reasonable for the type of business?
  • Compare general and administrative expenses to similar companies. Are they reasonable?
  • What is the ratio of net interest income (expense) to income from operations? Is this a safe ratio for the company? Why or why not?
  • What is the income taxes trend? Is the effective tax rate reasonable over time?

Formulate your analysis on the above requirements to discuss the financial health, performance, strengths, and weaknesses of the company, as well as any identified positive or negative trends.

In addition to your written financial statement analysis, you will also need to communicate a high-level summary of your analysis to your selected company’s executive team using Screencast-O-Matic (Links to an external site.). If needed, review the Screencast-O-Matic Quick-Start Guide (Links to an external site.). The summary should be documented with three to five PowerPoint slides, including speaker notes. In addition, include the company’s

• financial health,
• performance strengths and weaknesses, and
• identified positive or negative trends.