Business Report

This is the first of five projects you will write to incorporate course concepts with information found within your corporation’s SEC10K report.  Focus on telling a story about your corporation and its financial performance and position.

SCENARIO:  You are a new hire for a major corporation completing your eight-week rotation relating to accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, cost control, and profit maximization. As part of your rotation you are learning how accounting information is used by managers throughout the organization to make managerial decisions.  This report will address the below topics, providing senior management a report introducing, explaining, and providing analysis of the financial reports.   Assume senior management does not understand basic accounting concepts and unable to read and interpret the reports without your assistance.  Incorporate and explain accounting concepts learned within the course material (readings and discussions) along with financial analysis as completed within the SEC10K discussion posts.

REQUIREMENT:  Prepare a report for your chosen corporation’s senior managers to interpret and explain the SEC10K financial reports.  The report should be one to two full in pages in length: single spaced, 12 pt. font, one-inch margins, and in your own words.  Make note of the grading rubric which requires you to address project questions, display critical thinking, analysis, research, application of course concepts, write in your own words, and demonstrate a high degree of effective communication (i.e., formal business writing with proper grammar and punctuation).

Overall your goal for Project One is to read the Management and Analysis and introductory pages of your SEC 10-K to learn more about your company and the information reported.  Incorporate concepts from the course readings.

Operations:
What products does your company make and sell?
Do they manufacture their products or purchase from others?

Trends in revenues and impact on inventory and accounts receivable:
Are sales increasing or decreasing year to year?
How does this relate to changes in inventory and accounts receivable?
Business environment:
What issues might your company experience related to risk? Search the PDF version of the SEC 10-K for your company for the word risk.  Are there other companies and brands under your corporation’s control; locations where they operate; and other big picture business concerns?
Income Statement costs:
What are the costs reported as line items on the income statement? Consider how these relate to the operations of the company.  Are they increasing with sales or other changes?
You might also consider the concept of competitive advantage.  Companies are required to disclose certain financial information to comply with good business practices.  How could this impact their competitive advantage with respect to competitors?