Posted: September 10th, 2021

Term Project Financial Statement Analysis:

GROUP Term Project
Financial Statement Analysis:
M.S. in Accounting
ACC 6XXX

Required:
Download a copy of the latest Annual Report of companies of your choices (whose stocks are publicly traded) from one of the industries listed below. Analyze the financial statements in detail, focusing on the analysis questions below. You may use external corroborating data or information if such data/information aids you in your analysis.

INDUSTRY SIC CODE
1. Food & Kindred Products 2000 – 2111
2. Chemical & Allied Products 2830 – 2836
3. Heavy Machinery & Equipment 3500 – 3569
4. Computers 3570 – 3779, 3670 – 3679
5. Transportation 4000 – 4899
6. Electric & Gas Utilities 4911 or 4931
7. Insurance & Real Estate 6500 – 6999
8. Computer Services (network, programming, internet, etc.) 7370 – 7379
Purpose of the Project:
The purpose of the term project is to apply financial analysis and valuation concepts, tools, and techniques to an issue or situation of particular interest to you. You should organize yourself into teams of two students for the project. In addition to preparing a written report, each team should be prepared to present its project in class.
The term project will give you the opportunity to study, in depth, the implications of a specific accounting issue/controversy, a financial transaction (such as a management buyout, a merger, or acquisition), a particular circumstance (such as financial distress), a single firm or an industry. It will also give you the opportunity to develop your research, report writing, and presentation skills. Your project should evidence detailed analysis of financial statement data, including footnotes.
Your report will be improved if you apply the concepts, tools, and techniques of analysis developed in the course (such as a discussion of accounting issues and choices, and financial analysis, forecasting, and valuation techniques). The project should also include some form of “benchmarking;” that is, a comparison to similar circumstances or firms.
The written part of your project should be no more than 20 pages (double-spaced, word processing font no smaller than 12-point, one-inch margins all around), including tables, graphs, appendices, and references. Also include any supporting financial statements and articles (these do not count as part of the 20-page maximum length).
Structure of the Project
The following are some approaches you might consider. Other forms are possible, but we should discuss your ideas before you try a project that differs radically from all of the suggested approaches.
1. Specific Accounting Issue/Controversy
Select a particular accounting issue/controversy, which has been in the news recently (e.g., accounting for start-up costs and intangibles by internet companies, the write-off of purchased R&D, the management of earnings.) Identify four or five firms that have been involved in or have utilized this particular accounting practice. Analyze the firms’ performances with and without the utilization of the specific accounting practice. How does the choice of this accounting practice affect the ability to evaluate the performance of the firms? What would you recommend?
2. Case Study of One Firm
Select a firm in which you have a particular interest. Analyze this firm’s performance relative to its past performance and relative to the performance of other firms in its industry. Is the performance improving/declining? To what would you attribute the changes? What recommendations would you have to improve the performance further? Given current stock prices, would you recommend a buy/hold/sell strategy? Why?
3. Case Study of One Transaction
Choose a transaction that particularly interests you, such as an initial public offering, management buyout, acquisition, merger, or divestiture. Analyze the price at which the transaction occurred. Was the price “fair” to all interested parties? Was the transaction desirable (based on publicly available information at the time and financial data for comparable firms)? Did the transaction turn out well?

4. Case Study of One Circumstance
Choose a firm that is in a particular circumstance that interests you, such as financial distress, alleged poor management, alleged fraudulent reporting, or strong competitive pressures to restructure. Compare the firm’s financial performance to its own past performance and that of “comparable” firms. Recommend a course of action for management and/or investors to pursue. For firms in financial distress, you should document the symptoms of distress that your analysis uncovers, and comment on the firm’s ability to survive.
5. Valuation of One Firm:
Choose a firm and try to assign a valuation based on the financial statement information. The instructor will provide an Excel spreadsheet template. You need to make a number of assumptions in this exercise, but the instructor will be available for consultation if you choose to do this option.
Project Development Schedule-
1. Week 2 – one-page description of the project is due.
2. Week 4- A two-page outline presenting the characteristics of the accounting issue/controversy, transaction, circumstance, firm, or industry is due. The two-page outline should also indicate significant progress in any business strategy and accounting/financial analysis relevant for your study.
3. Last Week – The final paper is due by the last class.
Tip: Write a page paper – Describe any industry specific accounting problems and practices. Tabulate and compare the accounting methods chosen by your firms in their most recent financial statements. How do these choices affect the ability to make comparisons among firms? Compare the most important financial ratios for your set of firms. How is this comparison affected by your firms’ accounting choices? What do these ratios suggest about firm strategies within the industry? If you were making stock recommendations, would you recommend buy/hold/sell on any of these firms? Why, or why not?
You should support your analytical inferences with figures/computations, making valid or reasonable assumptions as necessary. Your analysis should explore (in depth) the risks, accounting and/or market returns, strengths, opportunities, uncertainties, threats, etc., that face the company

• GROUP Term Project: Please select 2-4 members in the class to become a member of your GROUP
Financial Statement Analysis: MSAC ACCT 604 Fall 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online
Required:
Download a copy of the latest Annual Report of companies of your choices (whose stocks are publicly traded) from one of the industries listed below. Analyze the financial statements in detail, focusing on the analysis questions below. You may use external corroborating data or information if such data/information aids you in your analysis. You can select a company we have discussed in our current class or in a prior class.
Purpose of the Project:
The purpose of the term project is to apply financial analysis and valuation concepts, tools, and techniques to an issue or situation of particular interest to you. You should organize yourself into teams of two students for the project. In addition to preparing a written report, each team should be prepared to present its project in class.
The term project will give you the opportunity to study, in depth, the implications of a specific accounting issue/controversy, a financial transaction (such as a management buyout, a merger, or acquisition), a particular circumstance (such as financial distress), a single firm or an industry. It will also give you the opportunity to develop your research, report writing, and presentation skills. Your project should evidence detailed analysis of financial statement data, including footnotes.
Your report will be improved if you apply the concepts, tools, and techniques of analysis developed in the course (such as a discussion of accounting issues and choices, and financial analysis, forecasting, and valuation techniques). The project should also include some form of “benchmarking;” that is, a comparison to similar circumstances or firms.
The written part of your project should be no more than 20 pages (double-spaced, word processing font no smaller than 12-point, one-inch margins all around), including tables, graphs, appendices, and references. Also include any supporting financial statements and articles (these do not count as part of the 20-page maximum length).
Structure of the Project
The following are some approaches you might consider. Other forms are possible, but we should discuss your ideas before you try a project that differs radically from all of the suggested approaches.
1. Specific Accounting Issue/Controversy
Select a particular accounting issue/controversy, which has been in the news recently (e.g., accounting for start-up costs and intangibles by internet companies, the write-off of purchased R&D, the management of earnings.) Identify four or five firms that have been involved in or have utilized this particular accounting practice. Analyze the firms’ performances with and without the utilization of the specific accounting practice. How does the choice of this accounting practice affect the ability to evaluate the performance of the firms? What would you recommend?

2. Case Study of One Firm
Select a firm in which you have a particular interest. Analyze this firm’s performance relative to its past performance and relative to the performance of other firms in its industry. Is the performance improving/declining? To what would you attribute the changes? What recommendations would you have to improve the performance further? Given current stock prices, would you recommend a buy/hold/sell strategy? Why?
3. Case Study of One Transaction
Choose a transaction that particularly interests you, such as an initial public offering, management buyout, acquisition, merger, or divestiture. Analyze the price at which the transaction occurred. Was the price “fair” to all interested parties? Was the transaction desirable (based on publicly available information at the time and financial data for comparable firms)? Did the transaction turn out well?

4. Case Study of One Circumstance
Choose a firm that is in a particular circumstance that interests you, such as financial distress, alleged poor management, alleged fraudulent reporting, or strong competitive pressures to restructure. Compare the firm’s financial performance to its own past performance and that of “comparable” firms. Recommend a course of action for management and/or investors to pursue. For firms in financial distress, you should document the symptoms of distress that your analysis uncovers, and comment on the firm’s ability to survive.
5. Valuation of One Firm:
Choose a firm and try to assign a valuation based on the financial statement information. The instructor will provide an Excel spreadsheet template. You need to make a number of assumptions in this exercise, but the instructor will be available for consultation if you choose to do this option.
Project Development Schedule-
1. Week 4- one-page description of the project is due.
2. Week 8- A two-page outline presenting the characteristics of the accounting issue/controversy, transaction, circumstance, firm, or industry is due. The two-page outline should also indicate significant progress in any business strategy and accounting/financial analysis relevant for your study.
3. Last Week – The final paper is due by the last class.
Tip: Write a page paper – Describe any industry specific accounting problems and practices. Tabulate and compare the accounting methods chosen by your firms in their most recent financial statements. How do these choices affect the ability to make comparisons among firms? Compare the most important financial ratios for your set of firms. How is this comparison affected by your firms’ accounting choices? What do these ratios suggest about firm strategies within the industry? If you were making stock recommendations, would you recommend buy/hold/sell on any of these firms? Why, or why not?
You should support your analytical inferences with figures/computations, making valid or reasonable assumptions as necessary. Your analysis should explore (in depth) the risks, accounting and/or market returns, strengths, opportunities, uncertainties, threats, etc., that face the company

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