ACC561 Week 3 Financial Statement Analysis and Decision Making Activity

Purpose of Assignment 

The activity requires students to perform research and analysis on competing companies and the potential implications of international standards. This real-world analysis is key to understanding how a company's profitability, liquidity, and solvency can be useful for all users. Students also learn to analyze financial statements and use managerial tools to make decisions from an investor's and creditor's standpoint. 

Assignment Steps 

Resources: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), websites such as Annual Reports (AnnualReports.com) 

Tutorial help on Excel® and Word functions can be found on the Microsoft® Office website. There are also additional tutorials via the web offering support for Office products. 

Select two competing companies, one of which must be an international company, and locate annual reports for these two companies on the Internet. 

Research the two companies on the Internet and download the Income Statement, Statement of Shareholders' Equity, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows. 

Develop a minimum 525-word examination of the financial statements and include the following:

• Make a 5-year trend analysis for each company, using      2011 as the base year, of:
  
  
  
  • Net sales.
  
  
  • Net income. Discuss the significance of the trend       results.
  
  
  
  


• Compute for 2015 and 2014 the:
  
  
  
  • Debt to assets ratio.
  
  
  • Times interest earned. How would you evaluate each       company's solvency?
  
  
  
  


• Compute for 2015 and 2014 the:
  
  
  
  • Profit margin.
  
  
  • Asset turnover.
  
  
  • Return on assets.
  
  
  • Return on common stockholders' equity. How would you       evaluate each company's profitability? 
  
  
  
  


• Evaluate the financial opportunity presented by the      companies. If you were a creditor, which company would you be more likely      to lend money to? Defend your decision.


• Which company would you recommend as an      investment?  Discuss the items that were considered in your decision.


• Research global implications for the international      company selected. How might changing environmental factors affect      organizational choices? 


• Consider the ethical climate (internal or external) of      your chosen companies. Describe the ethical issues and impact on the      stakeholders. What has been/is being done to resolve these issues? Do you      agree with these methods for resolution? If not, what might you do      differently?

Show your work in Microsoft® Word or Excel®. 

Complete calculations/computations using Microsoft® Word or Excel®. 

Include the four financial statements along with your assignment.

Format your assignment consistent with APA guidelines.

Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.