ACC 549 Financial
Statement Analysis Project Guidelines
This project consists of six parts. You are to act as a
financial advisor to a client interested in
investing in a particular industry. You will research two
separate companies in the same industry and
provide a recommendation to your client which company, if
any, he/she should invest in. One of the
companies should be a U.S. public company (10-K Annual
Report), the other company should be a
foreign company listed on a U.S. exchange (20-F Annual
Report). Good examples: Ford and Toyota.
Part 1: Selection of
companies
Submit the names of your two public companies to the
instructor for approval. Identify the industry
they are in. Make sure one is a US Company and one is a
Foreign Company listed on a US
Exchange.
Submit to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
of Module 1.
Part 2: Obtain
Financial Statements from SEC.GOV
Obtain six years of financial statements for your company
from SEC.gov. Do not use other sources
(Yahoo Finance or the Company Website) to obtain this
information.
Resources: SEC Edgar Database at sec.gov
1. Go to www.sec.gov
2. Search for Company Filings
3. Enter Company Name, example (Nike Inc.)
4. For the Annual Report select 10-K (or 20-F)
5. Select documents
6. Select form 10-K (or 20-F)
7. This is the entire annual report, you only need the
financial statements
Submit to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
of Module 2.
Part 3: Enter data
into the FSAP (Financial Statement Analysis Package) Excel File Enter the
Balance Sheet and Income Statement amounts for 5 years into
the Financial Statement Analysis
Package Excel file on the Data Tab of the FSAP.
Resource: FSAP Excel file.
Submit to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
of Module 3.
Part 4: Company
Analysis
Write a brief description of the primary business activities
for your assigned companies. Focus more
on their position within the industry, recent developments,
fluctuation in stock prices relative to the
market/industry, and other items of significance that would
impact your investment decision. Do not
focus on the history and background of the company, but
rather on information that would be
relevant to decision makers.
The paper should be 2-3 pages, 12 pt. font, single spaced.
Resources: Annual Report (management discussion and
analysis), Company website, trade
journals.
Submit to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
of Module 4.
Part 5: Industry
Analysis
Summarize the economic outlook for your industry. Look at
recent market activity, recent indicators
impacting your industry. Address recent change in stock
prices. Obtain industry averages for your
ratio, vertical, and common size analysis (see the Analysis
tab of the FSAP). Consider other expert
buy/sell/hold opinions.
The paper should be 1-2 pages, 12pt. font, single spaced.
Resources: Standard and Poor’s Stock Reports or other
Industry Surveys, Mergent’s Industry
Review, Finance.yahoo.com, moneycentral, msn.com,
hoovers.com, other financial websites, annual
reports, and trade journals. Examine recommendations of
other investment websites (buy/sell/hold).
Incorporate peer reviewed academic research articles into
your analysis. Analysis tab of the FSAP
Excel file.
Submit to the Dropbox no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT
of Module 5.
Part 6: FINAL PAPER
1. Include Company Analysis (address prior comments): 2-3
pages
2. Include Industry Analysis (address prior comments): 1-2
pages
3. Include FSAP summary – Summarize the Analysis Tab of the
FSAP which contains Ratios,
Horizontal Analysis, and Common Size Analysis. Summarize the
information in a
professional and organized manor. Do not just cut and paste
the information into your paper.
4. Write a summary of the significant findings from the
financial statement analysis. This should
be 2-3 single-spaced pages, using 12-point font. Address the
Company & Industry analysis.
Address significant Ratios, Horizontal Analysis, and Common
Sized Analysis from the FSAP
(look under the Analysis Tab). Do not address all the ratios
and every line of vertical and
horizontal analysis, just what you feel is important and
significant to your decision. Focus on
the specific items that stood out and impacted your
decision. Include academic research to
support your analysis.
5. Based on your findings, which company, if any, would you
invest in? Include specific support
for your decision based on your findings in the analysis.
Also include support (for or against)
investing in the industry you chose. Include academic
research to support your final decision.
This should be one page, 12-point font, single-spaced.
Resources: Textbook and Academic peer-reviewed journal
articles.
The Final Paper should be 6-9 single-spaced pages plus
tables.
Submit the Project Part 6: Final Paper to Chalk and Wire no
later than Sunday 11:59 EST/EDT of
Module 8. The Project Part 6: Final Paper Chalk and Wire
link is located in the Module 8 folder.
Students who do not submit the assignment to Chalk and Wire
will receive a zero. This is a key
program assessment; the results are used to ensure students
are meeting program goals. Video and
PDF instructions can be found on the course home page. PDF
instructions are also located in the Start Here folder
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