An Evaluation of the Financial Performance of a Business
Coursework Assessment Assessment Title: An Evaluation of the Financial Performance of a Business MODULE TITLE: Accounting and Finance for Business ASSESSMENT NAME: Individual coursework ASSESSMENT FORMAT: Report WORD COUNT: 3,000 words report +/– 10% LEARNING OUTCOMES ADDRESSED: This assignment is designed to assess learning outcomes: ▪ Evaluate the reliability and usefulness of publicly available corporate report information and the role of this information in informing business decisions. ▪ Identify principles underpinning information technology and the ability to assess the strengths and weaknesses of digital skills in relation to financial information. 1 1. ASSESSMENT SUMMARY: You are required to analyse the recent financial performance of a major UK company from the assigned list provided including a financial comparison with one of its direct competitors. The report should conclude with an investment recommendation for a potential equity investor (i.e., whether to buy, sell or hold the company’s shares). Using financial ratio analysis as well as other techniques, you are required to use the company’s latest Annual Report and to make comparisons with the performance of one other company in the same industry. When writing the report, your focus should be on the main company, using the other company and any industry average data as a benchmark for comparison. Do not write your report as if you are analyzing the two companies separately. You are required to write a 3,000-word report to an investor, containing a detailed analysis of the financial position and the financial performance of the company. Given that the latest annual report and the financial accounts of any company are already out of date by the time it is made available, you will be expected to show knowledge of the present and likely future economic & business environment within which the company is operating in order to make informed comments on the financial ratios that you calculate. The completed coursework is to be in the form of a written report. You MUST include relevant extracts from the latest Annual Reports, namely the Income statement, and the Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet) – with notes to the accounts where appropriate. These extracts should be included within the appendices to your report. They will be required to support your ratio calculations and your analysis, and their inclusion is essential. 2. DETAILED ASSESSMENT GUIDE AND STRUCTURE: You are required to address each of the following tasks within your written report: Criteria for Assessment 1. Executive Summary: Max Max word marks count guide for each section 100 words 5% This should focus on the objective (s) of the report and its main findings, conclusions, and recommendations. 2 Criteria for Assessment 2. Introduction: Max Max word marks count guide for each section 300 words 10% This section should provide a brief background of the company, highlighting the main markets, sources of revenue, and the nature of the industry in which the company operates. 3. Financial Analysis a) Financial Ratios Calculation: You need to calculate a comprehensive set of ratios for at least two years (you can do more if you wish) for your allocated company and for the company you have selected for comparative purposes. These ratios should cover the following five core areas: 50% 2,000 words a) Profitability b) Liquidity c) Efficiency d) Financing e) Investment potential APPENDICES should include the following information (not to be part of the word count): ▪ Ratio calculations. You should calculate the financial ratios. The calculations should be presented in clearly prepared tables, either in Excel or Word. A copy of the tables should be pasted into the main report as an appendix. ▪ Please ensure that you include the workings for all ratio calculations in the appendix of your submission. If you DO NOT provide these workings to support your ratio calculations, your marks for this part will be reduced. ▪ Relevant extracts from the latest Annual Reports of the two companies, including: – The Income statement, – The Balance Sheet – Notes to the accounts where appropriate If you do not provide these extracts to support your ratio calculations, your marks for this part will be reduced. b) Financial Statements Analysis: An interpretation and assessment of each company’s recent financial performance and position based exclusively on the 3 Criteria for Assessment Max Max word marks count guide for each section financial statements in the Annual Reports. This analysis and assessment should cover the following five core areas: a) Profitability b) Liquidity c) Efficiency d) Financing e) Investment potential 4. A discussion of the limitations of your analysis. 10% 300 words 10% 300 words An explanation of the limitations of your analysis, including the financial ratio analysis technique. Also, provide a reflection on the usefulness of financial ratio analysis in evaluating the financial performance of companies. 5. Conclusion: Clearly stated and reasonable recommendations and conclusions. Clear advice is given to the investor which has been logically derived from previous analysis and supported by evidence from the Annual Report and any wider news and literature. 6. Structure, presentation, and Harvard referencing: 15% The report is well presented with effective use of tables, charts, and appendices. Material is coherently structured. Give clear references using Westminster Harvard Referencing Style. The report should be professionally prepared, and the text should be carefully spell checked and proofread. In addition, the report should provide a logical and clearly written argument to support the conclusions reached in each section. 3. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 3.1 List of allocated companies for assignment A list of the companies from which you choose two will be made available on Blackboard. Please click the link titled ” Select two companies for your coursework” on blackboard and follow the steps below to select two companies for your coursework. 1. Step One: Identify your seminar group. 2. Step Two: Once you have determined your seminar group, select two companies from the same sector or industry that are relevant to your group. 4 3. Step Three: Add the names of the selected companies and your seminar group to the Excel sheet under the “list of students” tab. Please ensure to enter this information in the box corresponding to your name. Also, please inform your seminar tutor as soon as possible as to which companies you wish to choose. The latest financial statements of a company will be found on its website, as well as other websites such as Yahoo Finance. 3.2 Word Count The word count for the report is 3,000 words, excluding any figures, graphs, appendices, and the list of references. Some flexibility is permitted in the word count, up to 10% of the total. 3.3 An individual reflective Statement Student must also include around 200 words of Reflective Statement (not part of the 3,000 words) detailing what you have gained from carrying out the assignment. You should particularly focus on the skills that you have acquired and developed whilst carrying out this assignment. Such skills might include researching a company, collecting and analysing financial information, time management, learning how to present information etc. The skills might also include skills connected with working online, a practice which is likely to become more common in the future. 3.4 Useful Websites The latest financial statements of a company can be found on the company’s website. You will probably find that www.uk.yahoo.com/finance, and www.lse.co.uk are useful sites for this coursework, as is www.ft.com. There are many other financial websites that contain useful information, and you are encouraged to find these sites for yourselves. 3.5 Useful tips · Your analysis should cover the financial position and performance of the business over at least the last 2 years. · Calculations should NOT be shown in the body of the report. These should be included in an appendix. · Add an Executive Summary upfront. This should focus on the objective (s) of the report and its main findings, conclusions, and recommendations. · Introduction to the report should summarize its objective(s) and contents. 5 · Provide a brief overview of the company’s business and the market in which it operates. · Pay special attention to the organization and layout of your report. · Clear conclusion and recommendations should be given at the end. 3.6 Writing the report. A report should convey information in the most succinct form possible, so as to inform the reader in a time-effective way. It should summarize your findings in a concise style and should not use slang or informal phrases. You should use the Word spell-check and grammar-check facility. The report should include: · A title page. · A contents page, listing the different sections, with page numbers, preferably using a Word Table layout. · An introduction, to explain the report’s objective, and the methods used to compile it. · The body of the report should be subdivided into logical sections. It should be written with clearly constructed paragraphs that discuss the main findings, which are well supported by academic sources and should include references as appropriate. · A conclusion which sums up your findings in a concise way. · A references section, which lists out in full all the sources of information used in the report. · This report (Word or PDF) must be typed and presented in a professional manner. You should use Arial, font size of 12, and 1.5 spacing. 6
Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers
Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.
Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS
Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?
Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.
We write plagiarism Free Content
Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.
Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.
