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20171114071627acct301a___written_assignment___data_analytics_v2.pdf
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ACCT301A – Group Written Assignment (Due Date: November 9th, 2017)
Insight concerning the performance and financial condition of a company often comes
from evaluating its financial data in comparison with other firms in the same industry. Assume
that you are a group of industry experts rendering investment recommendations to one of your
major clients, Jackson Phillips. Prepare a typed memorandum giving your investment
recommendation addressed to Jackson Phillips.
Required:
Obtain 2015 annual reports from three corporations in the same primary industry. Using
knowledge you obtained from chapters 4 and 5 and any analysis you consider useful, respond to
the following questions:
1. How do earnings trends compare in terms of both the direction (increase/decrease) and
stability of income (income from operations/income from non-recurring items)?
2. Which of the three firms had the greatest earnings relative to resources available? (Hint:
Use return on assets, ROA, income from continuing operations ÷ average total assets.)
3. Which corporation has made most effective use of financial leverage during fiscal year
2015? (Hint: Follow the steps below to assess the relationship between risk and
profitability.)
a. Compare the debt-to-equity ratios (i.e., total liabilities ÷ total shareholders’
equity) of the three firms. Note that shareholders receive no return on their
investments until after all creditor claims are paid. Therefore, the higher the debt
to equity ratio, the higher the risk to shareholders.
b. Compare the return on shareholders’ equity (ROE, income before discontinued
operations and extraordinary items ÷ average shareholders’ equity) of the three
firms. Note that by earning a return on borrowed funds that exceeds the cost of
borrowing the funds (i.e., interest payment), a company can provide its
shareholders with a total return higher than it could achieve by employing equity
funds alone.
c. Evaluate the tradeoffs between risk and profitability made by the three firms in
2015.
4. Of the three firms, which seems riskiest in terms of its ability to pay short-term
obligations (liquidity) and total liabilities (financial flexibility)? (Hint: Use “Current cash
debt coverage ratio” and “Cash debt coverage ratio”)
5. Which one(s) of the three firms would you recommend investing based on the above
analysis?
6. The following questions deal with using the FASB Accounting Standard Codification
(ASC) to answer accounting questions. Given the following scenarios below, where
would you look within the ASC to find guidance? Use the appropriate ASC citation
format in answering this question. Place your answers on a separate sheet following the
memo. This sheet should be the very last page, and does not count towards the length
guidelines discussed below.
a. You are unsure whether a corporation had correctly presented its discontinued
operations on the income statement. Specifically, you are unsure whether the
general presentation guidance within the ASC applies to an oil and gas company.
b. You are reading the footnotes of a company’s financial statements, and they note
that within the revenue number recognized, they include sales of a product where
the buyer has the right to return the product. You are unsure whether the
company has met the appropriate conditions to recognize the revenue from those
sales.
c. You have been hired to help keep accounting records for a film entertainment
company. You are unsure whether and how to measure the value of a liability
already recognized on the firm’s financial statements.
d. You have been tasked with accounting for the income taxes related to a business
combination. A colleague of yours hands you some papers with guidance on how
to complete the task. Unfortunately, you see some terminology that you are
unfamiliar with.
e. A friend from a software company calls you and asks how to treat the following
situation: His company is exchanging a license of its software to a customer in
exchange for a license to the customer’s technology (i.e. a non-monetary
transaction). He wants to know how to record this accounting transaction.
Note: You can obtain electronic copies of annual reports from EDGAR (Electronic Data
Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) at the following URL:
http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html
EDGAR performs automated collection, validation, indexing, and forwarding of submissions by
companies and others who are required by law to file forms with the SEC. All publicly traded
domestic companies use EDGAR to make the majority of their filings. Form 10-K, which
includes the annual report, is required to be filed on EDGAR and the SEC makes this
information available on the Internet. You can also obtain electronic copies of annual reports
from company websites (usually under “Investor Relations”). Do not use quarterly reports (i.e.,
Form 10-Q).
Format and Length Guidelines:
The written assignment consists of a memo of no more than three typed pages (double
spaced, with 12-point Times New Roman font and a minimum of 1” margin from all sides)
conveying your recommendation for the case, as well as an explanation/justification for the
recommendation. You can attach as exhibits any computations or other analyses used to resolve
the case issues (but you must refer to these in your memo). Exhibits will not count towards the
three-page length. You should attach to your memo a copy of the specific pages from the three
annual reports (10-Ks) on which your computations are based.
1. Memos must be written in proper memo format. This format is outlined as follows:
Introduction
• Explain the purpose of the report and provide the set-up for the remainder of paper,
including a brief overview of the contents.
Discussion
• Clearly identify the problem/issue at hand.
•
Elaborate major points and provide analysis of various alternatives. This is the main
part of the paper.
o Good transitions between points are essential here if the argument is to appear
convincing
o Visual aids such as charts/tables/graphs may be referenced here, but should be
included at the end of the paper as attachments.
Recommendations
• Make specific recommendations based on the analysis provided in the discussion.
Conclusion
• Briefly restate important points/findings here and reiterate why the recommended
course of action is best.
2. Each memo must begin with an introductory paragraph stating the purpose of the memo,
and end with a brief concluding paragraph. Use the following headings between the
introductory and concluding paragraphs:
— Earnings Trends
— Relationship between Risk and Profitability
— Liquidity and Financial Flexibility
3. Memos must reference any attached exhibits. Exhibits should be typed (using MS Word
or Excel) or neatly handwritten, and can include computations or any other analyses that
are required in the assignment and/or that you believe are needed to support arguments
advanced in your memo. Exhibits do not count toward the memo’s maximum page
length.
4. The “FROM” line of each memo must include (this part of the memo can be singlespaced):
— Names of the authors;
— Hand-written initials by each author’s name;
— Your class section.
These format requirements insure that everyone has the same amount of space in which to
convey their ideas. If you do not follow one or more of these format requirements, two
points will be deducted.
Additional Resources to Help Advance Your Written Assignment:
• You are strongly encouraged to utilize the writing assistance resources on campus. The
Department of English offers a writing center that is available to all CSUF students. More
information is available online at http://english.fullerton.edu/writing_center/ and you can
schedule appointments for writing assistance at https://fullerton.mywconline.com/.
• Visit the “Tutoring Center” at the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics for
writing suggestions on your work.
Location: SGMH 2404 West Pavilion
Hours: Mon – Thurs: 10:00am – 7:00pm
Phone: (657) 278-2704 Email: mcbetutoring@fullerton.edu
Webpage: http://business.fullerton.edu/StudentServices/Tutoring/default.htm
• “Effective Writing: A Handbook for Accountants”, Claire B. May and Gordon S. May,
10th ed., Publisher: Pearson (ISBN: 0-13-357949-2).
Submission of the written assignment on the due date:
The deadline for submitting the written assignment is the beginning of your class section. You
should also turn in the “Peer Participation Evaluation Form”. The Written Assignment will
not be accepted once the assignments have been collected in your section. In general, neither
excused nor unexcused absences will change the deadlines for the written assignment.
Assignments will NOT be accepted via e-mail.
…
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