Description
Objective:To analysis the financial statements of a publicly
traded company.
Obtain an
annual report from a corporation that is interesting to you. Using techniques
you have learned in the previous weeks, respond to the following questions:
1.
Who
are the firm’s auditors? Do they provide a clean opinion on the financial
statements?
2.
Have
there been any subsequent events, errors and irregularities, illegal acts, or
related-party transactions that have a material effect on the financial
statements?
3.
Describe
the trend in total assets and total liabilities for the years presented.
4.
What
are the company’s three largest assets for the most recent year presented?
5.
What
are the company’s three largest liabilities for the most recent year presented?
6.
What
types of stock does the company have? How many shares are there outstanding for
each type of stock for the most recent year presented?
7.
Does
the company use the single-step or multiple-step income statement or a
variation?
8.
Does
the income statement contain any separately reported items in any year
presented, included discontinued operations or extraordinary items? If it does,
describe the even that caused the item. Hint: there should be a related
footnote.
9.
Describe
the trend in net income over the years presented.
10. Does the company have other
comprehensive income? If yes, what is the nature of the transaction(s)?
11. Does the company use the indirect or
direct method of the cash flow statement?
12. What is the trend in cash from
operations for the years presented?
13. What are the 2 largest items included
in cash from investing activities?
Guidelines
- Papers must 8 to 10 pages
in length (this would be roughly 1/2 page per area included in the
report), 10 point font, double-spaced, include a cover page, table of
contents, introduction, body of the report, summary or conclusion and
works cited. - Even though this is not a
scientific-type writing assignment, references are still very
important. At least 3 authoritative, outside references are required
(anonymous authors or web pages are not acceptable). These should be
listed on the last page titled “Works Cited”. - Appropriate citations are
required. - All DeVry University policies
are in effect including the plagiarism policy. - Papers are due during
Week 6of this course. - Any questions about this paper
may be discussed in the weekly Q&A Discussion topic. - This paper is worth 155 total
points and will be graded on quality of research topic, quality of paper
information, use of citations, grammar and sentence structure.
Grading Rubrics
|
Category
|
Points
|
%
|
Description
|
|
Documentation & Formatting
|
15
|
10
|
|
|
Organization & Cohesiveness
|
15
|
10
|
|
|
Editing
|
15
|
10
|
|
|
Content
|
110
|
70
|
|
|
Total
|
155
|
100
|
A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above
|
Best Practices
The following are the best
practices in preparing this paper.
- Cover Page
– Include who you prepared the paper for, who prepared, and date. - Table of Contents -
List the main ideas and section of your paper and the pages in which they
are located. The illustrations should be included separately. - Introduction –Use
a header on your paper. This will indicate you are introducing your paper.
The purpose of an introduction or opening:
- Introduce the subject and why
the subject is important. - Preview the main ideas and the
order in which they will be covered. - Establish a tone of the
document.
Include in the introduction
a reason for the audience to read the paper. Also, include an overview of what
you are going to cover in your paper and the importance of the material. (This
should include or introduce the questions you are asked to answer on each
assignment.)
- Body of Your Report
– Use a header titled with the name of your project. Example: “An Analysis
of the Financial Statements of Nikeâ€. Then proceed to break out the main
ideas. State the main ideas, state major points in each idea, provide
evidence. Break out each main idea you will use in the body of your paper.
Show some type of division like separate sections that are labeled;
separate group of paragraphs; or headers. You would include the
information you found during your research and investigation. - Summary and Conclusion
– Summarizing is similar to paraphrasing but presents the gist of the
material in fewer words than the original. An effective summary identifies
the main ideas and major support points from the body of your report.
Minor details are left out. Summarize the benefits of the ideas and how
they affect the tourism industry. - Work Cited
– Use the citation format as specified in the Syllabus.
Additional hints on
preparing the best possible project.
- Apply a three step process of
writing… Plan, Write, and Complete. - Prepare an outline of
your research paper before you go forward. - Complete a first draft and then
go back to edit, evaluate, and make any changes required. - Use visual communication to
further clarify and support the written part of your report. You could use
example graphs, diagrams, photographs, flowcharts, maps, drawings,
animation, video clips, pictograms, and tables.
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