1- All required references material will be provided as necessary

2- For the discussion board questions, 2 paragraphs maximum to answer. And

3 replies to students (150- 200 words per each reply)- students answers
will be provided via email once they posted
3- See the presentation requirements (team project) at the end of this page.

Due
Date

Assignment

Discussion
Board

Feb 12th

Legrand Case Study

Read through the Legrand: Lighting Their
(Electricity) Load and use the information
in the exhibits, answer the case
discussion questions and prepare the pro
forma Return on Investment worksheet
using the ROI MajorCap Excel file as an
example. This article can be found in your
Harvard Business Review course pack.

Capital Investments
Using the same company
from Weeks 1 & 2 (or a new
company in your
discussion):

Has the
company increased
production, made a
significant capital
investment (i.e.
purchased new
equipment or
implemented new
computer systems) in
the most recent fiscal
cycle?

Where did you

find this information?

What analysis
might they have
performed and how do
you think the decision
was made?

Considering
their cash position and
bottom line, do you think
this was the correct
decision? Provide
specific examples in
your response.

Feb 17th

Americhem Case Study

Read the case study, Americhem: The
Gaylord Division (A-1), and prepare a short
(less than three pages) summary outlining
the PBR budgeting solution. Compare and
contrast the PBR Model with the
traditional budgeting model. The article
can be found in your Harvard Business
Review course pack.

Budget Processes
Compare and contrast the
budget and forecast
processes. Discuss the
following:

Why are these

estimates important to
an organization?

Is there a
better way to measure
success?

What are
some shortcomings to

the budgeting process?

What are
some ways to make
certain that estimates
are relevant?

Feb 22nd

Sustainability Reporting
You have just been announced as the
Head of Corporate Social Responsibility
and Sustainability for a large public
company. Using the currently published
Sustainability Report and Global
Guidelines, analyze the work your
company has already accomplished,
strengths/weaknesses/gaps to the global
guidelines What still needs to be done?
Write an executive summary reporting
your analysis and the work you will do in
the next year to improve upon the current
strategies and reporting.

Sustainability Reporting
Research
In the Company you have
been analyzing, search to
see if you are able to find a
Corporate Sustainability
Report. If you are able to
find one, use that as your
base for answering the
Discussion Board Questions.
If not, go to the GRI website,
and select a different CSR.

Is the
company using the GRI
Framework?

Provide a brief
analysis on the topics
covered in the report.
Do you feel that they
have addressed all CSR
aspects relevant to the
company? Why or why
not?
What opportunities do you
see for auditors and
consultants in this area?

Feb 27th

Olympus Case Study

Read through the case, using information
from readings and articles. Write a short
summary (no more than 3 pages)
identifying red flags, internal control
breakdowns and if what Corporate
Governance controls could have avoided
the situation. What would you have done
differently? This article can be found in
your Harvard Business Review course
pack.

Internal Controls
You have been asked to join
the board of a large
corporation. What are some
of the first questions that
you should ask and what are
the expected answers you
should receive?
Sarbanes/Oxley 10 Years
Later
In the video The Sarbanes
Oxley Act - The First
Decade", between minutes
34- 50, there is a discussion
about internal controls, the
impact on organizations.

Listen to the commentary

and discuss your opinions
on Sarbanes/Oxley impacts
on the economy, is it
effective? If so why did we
have another economic
event in 2008? Incorporate
the readings from Chapter
15 and the Financial
reporting Fraud articles into
your responses.
The required video link can
be found in the Week 6
resources section.

Mar 2nd

Acquisition Analysis - see assignment

description included in Week 2 and the
assignment rubric included in the
syllabus. For your final, individual
submission, please copy and paste your
YouTube link to a Word document and
submit that Word document. I will review
and grade your presentation from the link
you submit in the Word document against
the assignment rubric in the course
syllabus.

How will you apply what you

have learned?
Take a look back at the last
6 weeks.
How will you apply
what you have
learned to your
current career or
your next job?
What will you do
differently in your
current job based on
what you have
learned in this
course?
Was there anything
in the material that
surprised you?

Acquisition Analysis Review

Thursday by 11:59 PM - one group member needs to post the YouTube link in this
discussion board by clicking the "Add a New Discussion Board". From this point
forward, all questions and answers should take the form of a reply.
Friday & Saturday all students will view at least one other presentation and post
replies in the form of questions to the presentations. All students should post at
least 1 substantive question.
Sunday group members will be responsible for answering questions that arose
from the general classroom. This response can take the form of one consolidated
response. Answers will need to be complete by 11:59 PM EST.

Presentation requirements (team project) COMCAST COMPNAY- DUE DATE Feb 18th
The goal of this project is to complete a comprehensive analysis of a publicly traded company.
By completing this project you will have mastered financial reporting at a sufficient level to step
into any role in an organization. You will have the opportunity to share what you have learned
about your chosen company and to educate the rest of the class with your findings and your
analysis.
What we will be looking for as you present your projects:
1. Completeness. Do not leave anything out that is required.
2. Logical conclusions based on your analysis. For instance, what conclusions can you
draw from a companys financial statements if the company is more heavily financed by
non-owners than by owners. Considering the other factors youve discovered about this
company, what might you predict for the future of this company?
The main purpose a stakeholder has in analyzing a company is to gauge the profitability of the
company and to determine the likelihood that the company will sustain this position, grow or
decline. The financial statements, the notes to the financial statements, the annual report, the
press, etc give us clues to help make these predictions. Here, you are not required to calculate

the metrics. You are required to explain what the metrics attempt to measure, and what the
metrics tell us about the company.
Reminder: It is very important to label all numbers with dollar signs ($) or percent signs (%) as
necessary. Also, label dollar amounts as billions ($B) or millions ($M) as needed.
Project requirements:
1. Create a PowerPoint or Prezi presentation that addresses the following:
a. Introduce yourselves. Leave it blank

b. Introduce the company and why you chose it.

Indicate the:
o Companys names (see Morningstar Quote page)
o Ticker symbol (see Morningstar Quote page)
o Industry (see Morningstar Quote page)
o Sector (see Morningstar Quote page)
o State or other jurisdiction of incorporation (first page of 10-k)
o Name of stock exchange registered (first page of 10-k)
o Who provide the audit? Were any concerns raised regarding either the
financial statements or internal controls? (Audit reports)
o List principal segments of business (See the 10-K, Item 1. Business) and
verbally describe these.
o List and discuss the most popular products or services provided by your
chosen company.
o Any major competitors. (Morningstar.com, Quote Page Industry Peers)

c. Describe the competitive environment in which your chosen company operates. Using
information available to you (annual reports, online sites, media outlets), assess your
companys business landscape using either Porters Five Forces or a SWOT analysis.
Using the 10-K: Risk Factors, Legal Proceedings, Management Discussion and Analysis:
Describe any opportunities, growth prospects, new products or services, new markets,
issues with competitors, market share, business risks, litigation, problems, restructurings,
layoffs, funding problems related to pensions or retiree health care benefits, or any major
issue or situation confronting the company that is described in the above sections of the
10K SEC filing.
d. Include accounting basics:

Accounting standards used (U.S. GAAP, IFRS or other)

Date of most recent fiscal year-end

Proportion of short-term and long term assets compare and comment
Proportion of liabilities to equity -- compare and comment
Return on Assets, Profit Margin, Asset Turnover
o Comment and discuss these results ( you can find and/or determine
these ratios on Morningstar.com Quote page or Key Ratios page)
o Which company performed better? Compare and discuss their
relative profitability and productively.
Analyze cash flow:
o Comment on operating cash flow relative to net income. Any
major activity in investing and financing cash flows (Module 2,
#3)

e. Key statistics (for each company and the industry average)

Market capitalization (Morningstar.com, Quote Page Industry Peers)

o Compare market cap to book value (total equity) of your companies.
Comment on the market to book ratios. What is the difference and what
can you infer from this? (Reuters.com, Financials)
Net Income (Morningstar.com, Quote Page Industry Peers)
Revenue growth (three years Mornigstar.com Quote page)
Net income growth
Beta
Employees
o Give a verbal (write it down) summary/conclusion of the size of the
company relative to the industry, growth performance and beta.

f. Growth ((Reuters.com, Financials)

1 year

3 years

5 years

Sales
EPS
Dividend

Give a verbal (write it down) summary/conclusion regarding companys

growth performance

g. Financial Strength (Reuters.com, Financials)

Company
Current Ratio (MRQ)
LT Debt to Equity (MRQ)
Total Debt to Equity (MRQ)

Industry

Give a verbal(write it down) summary/conclusion regarding companys

liquidity and solvency

h. Profitability Ratios
Company

Industry Ave

Gross Margin 5yr ave

Operating Margin 5yr ave.
Net Profit Margin 5yr ave.
Return on Assets 5 yr ave.

Verbal Comments/conclusions (write it down)

i. Efficiency Ratios
Company

Industry Ave

Inventory Turnover 5yr ave

Receivables Turnover 5yr ave.

Verbal (write it down) comments/ conclusions regarding management of

inventory and receivables

j. Valuation Ratio Market prospects

Company

Industry Ave

Price/Earnings Ratio (TTM)

Verbal (write it down) comments/conclusions regarding the reasonableness

of the stock price. What can you infer about investors expectations, etc?

k. Current Video News Clip CNBC/Bloomsberg News or the like

Choose a video clip for your company. Introduce the clip tying the content to
your analysis if possible. The clip should be no longer than 3-4 minutes.

l. Overall conclusions:

Comment on your perception of the accounting quality of companys financial

statements. Are there any red flags present that are cause for concern?

Would you want to invest a portion of your retirement funds in your chosen
company? Would you invest in this company? Why or why not?