Financial Analysis Assignment
This is an individual assignment that focuses on Dun and Bradstreet's key business ratio analysisand a current financial situation analysis.
By completing this assignment, students will meet the outcome(s):
analyze and synthesize strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to generate, prioritize, and implement alternative strategies in order to write and present a strategic plan
evaluate the outcomes of selected strategies to determine their success and impact on the achievement of an organization's vision and mission
Required Elements to include in Financial Analysis:
Students will be provided with a list of publicly traded organizations from which to choose;
Students will be required to create a quantitative financial spreadsheet with key financial ratios;
Complete the financial ratios using the template provided;
Include an additional financial ratios that you believe relevant or important to your analysis;
Provide a detailed, written analysis of the findings from the financial analysis;
a trend analysis of the latest three years of key balance and income statement information, including a spreadsheet depicting the trend as well as a detailed, written analysis of the information (spreadsheet will be provided)
Demonstrate critical thinking in the assessment.
 
Required Formatting of Paper:
This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and three to four page written analysis excluding the title page, reference page and .spreadsheets;
Completed spreadsheets with the most recently reported three years of financial statements and presented as an appendix;
This paper should be written in the third person.  No script should contain the words “I or we;”
Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and instructor’s name;
This paper should be written in the third person.  No script should contain the words “I or we;”
Include references with at least one reference other than the textbook;
Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page.  You are expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions will be taken when quotes are used and found to be unnecessary;
Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.
Financial Analysis Assignment Template
Your response for the Financial Analysis Assignment should measure, record, and present the financial performance of your firm. Your analysis shall be conducted on a year-to-year basis using the firm’s most recent three years Balance Sheets and Income Statements except for final partial-year data, as appropriate (e.g., 4
th
quarter 2012*). Use the template below as a guide for developing your response for the Financial Analysis Assignment.
Financial Analysis Assignment Cover Sheet
List of Illustrations
Table of Contents
(Start of Topic Outline for Body of Paper)
I.          Introduction
II.         Summary of Operations ($000)
A.         Net Sales
B.         Gross Margin
C.         Operating Margin
D.         Income before Taxes
E.         Net Income
F.         Summary of Operations Data Assessment/Interpretation
III.        Financial Position ($000)
A.         Working Capital
B.         Net Property, Plant & Equipment
C.         Total Assets
D.         Long Term Assets
E.         Stockholders’ Equity
F.         Financial Position Data Assessment/Interpretation Summary
IV.        Financial Ratios to cover four (4) categories of the firm’s performance; minimum one ratio from each category.
A.         Liquidity
B.         Leverage
C.         Profitability
D.         Efficiency
E.         Financial Ratios Data Assessment/Interpretation Summary
V.         Historical view of the financial performance; 3-year Trend Analysis for relevant financial performance variables
A.         Comparisons with at least 2 major competitors
B.         Comparison with Industry Standards
C.         Supplemental Data
D.         Historical Financial Performance and 3-year Trend Analysis Data Assessment/Interpretation Summary
(End of Topic Outline for Body of Paper)
References
Appendix (Examples of Typical Appendices)
1.         Industry Statistics
2.         Company Income Statements
3.         Company Balance Sheets
4.         Company Quarterly Statements
5.         Competitor #1 Income Statements
6.         Competitor #1 Key Statistics
7.         Competitor #2 Income Statements
8.         Competitor #2 Key Statistics
*
If year-end Financial Statements for the entire FY 2011 are not available (FY 2011 is not concluded), analyze performance for the available quarters –identify the FY termination date
.
Grading Rubric for Financial Analysis (10%)
 
Outstanding
Superior
Good
Substandard
Failure
 
 
3
2.55
2.25
1.95
1.65
 
Critical thinking/reasoning
demonstrates a high degree of critical thinking, is consistent in accurately interpreting questions & material; provides solid assumptions, reasoning & claims; thorough analysis & evaluation with sound conclusions
shows good critical thinking; accurately interprets most questions & material; usually identifies relevant arguments/reasoning/claims; offers good analysis & evaluation with fairly sound conclusions
shows occasional critical thinking; questions & material is at times accurately interpreted; arguments/reasoning/claims are occasionally explained; offers fair analysis & evaluation with a conclusion
shows little critical thinking, misinterprets questions or material; ignores or superficially evaluates; justifies little and seldom explains reasoning; draws unwarranted conclusions
lacks critical thinking consistently offers biased interpretations; ignores or superficially evaluates; argues using poor reasoning, and/or unwarranted claims
 
 
 
 
 
 
3
2.55
2.25
1.95
1.65
 
Application of concepts/development
arguments or positions are well-supported with evidence from the readings/experience; ideas go beyond the course material and recognize implication and extensions of the material and concepts
arguments or positions are mostly supported by evidence from the readings and course content; ideas presented demonstrate student’s understanding of the material and concepts
arguments are more often based on opinion or unclear views than on position grounded  in the readings of material or external sources of material
arguments are frequently illogical and unsubstantiated; student may resort to ad hominem attacks on the author instead of making meaningful application of the material
a meaningful attempt to explain or support ideas does not exist
 
 
2
1.7
1.5
1.3
1.1
 
Attention to instructions
demonstrated full understanding of requirements responded to each aspect of assignment
demonstrated understanding of requirements; missed one minor aspect of assignment
demonstrated some understanding of requirements; missed a key element or two minor aspects of assignment
failed to show a firm understanding of requirements; missed two key elements or several minor aspects of assignment
did not demonstrate understanding of assignment requirements
 
 
1.00
0.85
0.75
0.65
0.55
 
Accuracy of Data/Presentation Points
data is accurate, relevant, and supports narrative for all assignment tasks requiring supported data.
majority of data supported the narrative or with little data being incomplete, inaccurate, or not relevant for assignment task.  Data supported the majority of the assignment tasks on a continuum of well to very well.
most data supported the narrative or few or the supporting data is incomplete, inaccurate, or not relevant for assignment task.  Data reasonably supported the assignment tasks.
missing some supporting data for narrative or some of the supporting data is incomplete, inaccurate, or not relevant for task.  Data failed to accurately support some of the assignment tasks.
no supporting data for narrative or the majority of the supporting data is incomplete; inaccurate or not relevant for task.  Data failed to accurately support the task
 
 
1.00
0.85
0.75
0.65
0.55
 
Clarity, including grammar/ APA style
writing is clear and easy to follow; grammar and spelling are all correct;  formatting gives a professional look and adds to readability; no APA style errors
most ideas are presented clearly; occasional spelling and/or grammar issues; attempts in-text citation and reference list but 1 or 2 APA style errors are present
wordy; some points require rereading to understand fully; more than an occasional spelling and/or grammar; attempts in-text citation and reference listing; APA style errors are present: inconsistencies in citation usage can be found throughout the document
unclear and difficult to understand; frequent spelling and grammar issues; attempts either in-text citation or reference list but omits the other
largely incomprehensible writing/poorly written in terms of mechanics and structure; no attempt at APA style
 
 
Strategic Dissection
In this exercise, students will identify strategies presented in this course that are currently being used by the organization discussed in the mission and vision paper.  The strategies should be identified and discussed at corporate, business, and functional levels.
By completing this assignment, students will meet the outcome(s):
evaluate the outcomes of selected strategies to determine their success and impact on the achievement of an organization's vision and mission
Required Elements to include in Strategic Dissection:
Identify strategies
Discuss strategies used at the corporate, business and function levels using the concepts learned in the course.
Demonstrate critical thinking in the assessment.
 
Required Formatting of Paper:
This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and two to three pages in length excluding the title page and reference page; 
Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and instructor’s name;
This paper should be written in the third person.  No script should contain the words “I or we;”
Include references with at least one reference other than the textbook;
Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page.  You are expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions will be taken when quotes are used and found to be unnecessary;
Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.
 
Grading Rubric for Strategic Dissection (10%)
 
Outstanding
Superior
Good
Substandard
Failure
 
 
3.50
2.98
2.63
2.28
1.93
 
Critical thinking/reasoning
demonstrates a high degree of critical thinking, is consistent in accurately interpreting questions & material; provides solid assumptions, reasoning & claims; thorough analysis & evaluation with sound conclusions
shows good critical thinking; accurately interprets most questions & material; usually identifies relevant arguments/reasoning/claims; offers good analysis & evaluation with fairly sound conclusions
shows occasional critical thinking; questions & material is at times accurately interpreted; arguments/reasoning/claims are occasionally explained; offers fair analysis & evaluation with a conclusion
shows little critical thinking, misinterprets questions or material; ignores or superficially evaluates; justifies little and seldom explains reasoning; draws unwarranted conclusions
 
 
lacks critical thinking consistently offers biased interpretations; ignores or superficially evaluates; argues using poor reasoning, and/or unwarranted claims
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.50
2.98
2.63
2.28
1.93
 
Application of concepts/development
arguments or positions are well-supported with evidence from the readings/experience; ideas go beyond the course material and recognize implication and extensions of the material and concepts
arguments or positions are mostly supported by evidence from the readings and course content; ideas presented demonstrate student’s understanding of the material and concepts
arguments are more often based on opinion or unclear views than on position grounded  in the readings of material or external sources of material
arguments are frequently illogical and unsubstantiated; student may resort to ad hominem attacks on the author instead of making meaningful application of the material
a meaningful attempt to explain or support ideas does not exist
 
 
1.50
1.28
1.13
0.98
0.83
 
Attention to instructions
demonstrated full understanding of requirements responded to each aspect of assignment
demonstrated understanding of requirements; missed one minor aspect of assignment
demonstrated some understanding of requirements; missed a key element or two minor aspects of assignment
failed to show a firm understanding of requirements; missed two key elements or several minor aspects of assignment
did not demonstrate understanding of assignment requirements
 
 
1.00
0.85
0.75
0.65
0.55
 
Clarity, including grammar
writing is clear and easy to follow; grammar and spelling are all correct;  formatting gives a professional look and adds to readability
most ideas are presented clearly; occasional spelling and/or grammar issues
wordy; some points require rereading to understand fully; more than an occasional spelling and/or grammar
unclear and difficult to understand; frequent spelling and grammar issues
largely incomprehensible writing/poorly written in terms of mechanics and structure
 
 
0.50
0.43
0.38
0.33
0.28
 
Adherence to APA style  (6
th
ed.)
no APA style errors
attempts in-text citation and reference list but 1 or 2 APA style errors are present
attempts in-text citation and reference listing; APA style errors are present: inconsistencies in citation usage can be found throughout the document
attempts either in-text citation or reference list but omits the other
no attempt at APA style