Acct 212: Individual Learning 55 Questions

Acct 212name Individual Learning 55 Ques

Choose a company whose name begins with the same letter as your last name from Standard & Poor’s Net Advantage or the EDGAR database. Locate the most recent annual report, and answer the questions provided, using Word for questions 1–49 and 53–55, and Excel for questions 50–52. Ensure to include formulas in your Excel answers and justify your conclusions in complete sentences in your Word document. Both documents must be uploaded into the assignment link.

Paper For Above instruction

In this assignment, students are tasked with conducting a comprehensive financial analysis of a publicly traded company, selected based on the initial letter of their last name. The process involves multiple steps, including researching the company's publicly available financial data, analyzing its financial health, and interpreting its operational and strategic position.

The first component requires gathering general information about the choice company, such as its name, location of headquarters, fiscal year-end, primary products or services, and stock market details like stock exchange, ticker symbol, and current market price. These foundational facts not only set the context for the analysis but also help in understanding the company's market positioning.

Further, students must construct a stock price graph to visualize the high and low stock prices for each quarter over the past two years. This visual representation provides insight into stock volatility and investor confidence. Additionally, information about the company's transfer agent and its location, competitors, and online presence, including whether its annual report and financial statements are available online or on annualreports.com, must be compiled to assess transparency and accessibility.

On the financial performance front, students analyze cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities over recent years, noting changes and identifying any non-cash transactions. Exploration of the discrepancies between net income and cash from operations enhances understanding of accruals versus cash basis. Significant investing and financing activities, including major inflows and outflows, are identified to assess liquidity and operational efficiency.

Moreover, questions about the company's retained earnings, dividend payout policies for common and preferred stock, and class structures deepen the understanding of corporate finance strategies. The analysis extends into footnote disclosures to evaluate accounting policies, valuation methods, leased assets, foreign currency policies, and any legal issues reported through lawsuits. Earnings per share for the recent years provide key profitability metrics.

The report includes an assessment of the independent auditors' opinions, responsibilities of both auditors and management, and what these opinions imply about financial statement quality. Management’s report revealing leadership’s views on financial integrity and the role of the audit committee further clarify corporate governance.

Using Excel, students must perform detailed financial statement analyses—including common-size analysis, horizontal analysis, and ratio calculations per the specified textbook ratios. These analyses evaluate liquidity, efficiency, profitability, and solvency, with brief conclusions drawn after each category about the company’s financial health and trends.

The final analytical section invites students to articulate an outlook on the company’s future, considering their findings. They must state whether they are optimistic or pessimistic and justify whether they would consider investing in the company’s stock or bonds, based on the comprehensive analysis.

References

• Brigham, E. F., & Houston, J. F. (2021). Fundamentals of Financial Management (15th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Gibson, C. H. (2018). Financial Reporting & Analysis (13th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Higgins, R. C. (2018). Analysis for Financial Management (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
• Rappaport, A. (1986). Creating Shareholder Value. The Free Press.
• Sudarsanam, S. (2003). Creating Value from Mergers and Acquisitions: The Challenges. Pearson Education.
• Penman, S. H. (2012). Financial Statement Analysis and Security Valuation (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
• Ross, S. A., Westerfield, R. W., & Jaffe, J. (2021). Corporate Finance (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
• White, G. I., Sondhi, A. C., & Fried, D. (2020). The Analysis and Use of Financial Statements (4th ed.). Wiley.
• FASB. (2020). Accounting Standards Updates. Financial Accounting Standards Board.
• SEC. (2023). EDGAR Database. Securities and Exchange Commission.