Financial Statement Analysis Project for FIN515, Week 2

This project, designed for FIN515, requires students to perform a financial statement analysis of a chosen company, comparing its performance to industry standards. The project involves forming teams, selecting a company with debt, and downloading its 10-K report. Students are instructed to conduct a comprehensive ratio analysis, including a DuPont analysis, and at least six additional relevant ratios covering profitability, debt management, liquidity, asset management, and market value. They must then compare their company's ratios to industry averages obtained from online databases, interpret the results, and prepare a PowerPoint presentation with an accompanying oral presentation using Webex or Voicethread. The project emphasizes APA standards and requires participation from all team members. The rubric assesses the selection of ratios, calculation accuracy, evaluation quality, and presentation format.

FIN515—Week 2 Project: Financial
Statement Analysis
As the new financial manager of your company, the CEO has asked your team to provide a brief
analysis of the company’s performance to present at the upcoming board of directors meeting.
The CEO has asked that you assess the company’s performance against your company’s
industry. Thus, to do this, you will need to use ratio analysis or other techniques to determine
areas in which the company is doing well, as well as areas that management should look at.
Here are the steps for the project:
1. Select your teammate. Each team should be made up of two members.
2. Determine which company you will analyze for the project. Your selection may be
subject to your professor’s approval. The company that you select will likely be used
for all four team projects. As such, be sure that the company has debt on its balance
sheet, as this will be a requirement for future projects.
3. Go to the website for your company and download the 10-K report for the most
recent year.
4. Perform your ratio analysis on your company:
a. A good place to start would be to perform a complete DuPont analysis of the
company. The DuPont analysis might provide guidance as to what particular
areas of the company should be examined next and what ratios should be
calculated. Be sure to include ratios that cover the following areas:
i. Profitability
ii. Debt Management
iii. Liquidity
iv. Asset Management
v. Market Value
b. In addition to the DuPont analysis ratios, be sure to present and discuss at
least six relevant ratios that your team feels may best assess the company’s
performance.
c. Using an online database, such as bizstats.com or a similar database, capture
the ratio averages for your company’s industry to evaluate your company’s
performance.
d. Provide an analysis that compares your company’s ratios to the industry
standards. There is no need to explain the purpose of the ratios. Rather, be
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The copyrights in these materials are owned by DeVry Educational Development Corp. and other copyright owners as indicated
herein. No part of these works may be reproduced or used, distributed, published, displayed, transmitted in any form or by any
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FIN515—Week 2 Project: Financial
Statement Analysis
sure to provide an interpretation of the results. This may entail some
research from news sources on the company’s recent performance.
e. Prepare a PowerPoint presentation that summarizes the comparison of your
company’s ratios against the industry ratios, as well as your analysis. APA
standards are to be followed for all portions of this presentation, including
but not limited to proper references and citations.
f. Using Webex or Voicethread, prepare an oral presentation that presents
your PowerPoint presentation. Each team member must participate in this
presentation.
© 2015 DeVry Educational Development Corp. All rights reserved.
The copyrights in these materials are owned by DeVry Educational Development Corp. and other copyright owners as indicated
herein. No part of these works may be reproduced or used, distributed, published, displayed, transmitted in any form or by any
means – graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, Web distribution or information storage and retrieval
systems – without the prior written consent of DeVry Educational Development Corp. or the respective copyright owner.
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Rubric: First Project
FIN515
Possible
Points
0-3 4-6 7-9 10-12
No referent
provided.
Insufficient or
incorrect ratios
used.
Some ratios
questionable.
Inappropriate
referent selected.
Ratios mostly
appropriate.
Appropriate
referent
selected.
Ratios and
referent
appropriate.
0-2 3-4 5-6 7-8
Calculations not
provided or are
generally incorrect.
Not all calculations
Provided, or some
calculations are
incorrect.
Calculations are
nearly but not
totally provided
or correct.
Calculations
are provided
and are
correct.
0-3 4-6 7-9 10-12
No evaluation, or
evaluation not
based on findings
Minimal or incorrect
Evaluation, or
evaluation not
original.
Evaluation
generally correct.
May be not
completely
supported by
findings or
insufficient in
quantity.
Evaluation
fully
supported by
findings.
0-2 3-4 5-6 7-8
Significant
problems with
presentation or format.
Minor problems with
writing or presentation..
Writing and
presentation
generallycorrect with a few
exceptions.
Virtually no
errors in
writing or
presentation.
Form 8
Ratios selected 12
Calculations 8
Evaluation 12
Criteria and Point Range
FIN515—Week 2 Project: Financial
Statement Analysis
© 2015 DeVry Educational Development Corp. All rights reserved.
The copyrights in these materials are owned by DeVry Educational Development Corp. and other copyright owners as indicated
herein. No part of these works may be reproduced or used, distributed, published, displayed, transmitted in any form or by any
means – graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, Web distribution or information storage and retrieval
systems – without the prior written consent of DeVry Educational Development Corp. or the respective copyright owner.
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