ACCOUNTING 500

SEMESTER PROJECT
INSTRUCTIONS: You are to compare and contrast two publicly-held companies. These
companies should be in the same industry and preferably in the Fortune 500.(as assigned)
You will compare their financial reporting practices and analyze the financial information
as well as other information to determine their investment potential through answers to
the following questions. To complete the project, you should use the companys latest
annual report (which should include their audited financial statements). The final written
report should be prepared on Word with Excel spreadsheets inserted into the Word
document. Provide the annual reports on a flash drive or via email with your final paper.
The final report is due on Dec 3, 2015. A reduction of 10% of the final grade will be
assessed for each day late.

1. Name of companies

2. Location of the corporate headquarters

3. Date of year end

4. Description of the primary business activities (including product description)

5. Who are the major customers of the company (are they dependent on them)

6. Who are the independent auditors

7. What is the date of the Independent Auditors Report

8. Do the independent auditors indicate any problems or anything that the

shareholders should be aware of

9. Who is the Chairman of the Board

10. Who is the President or CEO

11. How many individuals sit on the Board of Directors

12. How many directors are outsiders (non-management)

13. What are the total assets

14. What are the total sales

15. What is the net income

16. What are the classes of capital stock, par values, number of shares,
authorized, issued and outstanding

17. How much treasury stock does the company have

18. What is the trading range for the companys stock

19. What method is used to calculate depreciation

20. What inventory cost flow method is used

21. How does the company define cash

22. How much cash was generated from operating activities

23. How much cash was generated from investing activities

24. How much cash was generated from financing activities

25. What is the pension expense for the year

26. Is the pension plan over or under funded

27. What are the income taxes currently payable

28. What is the balance in deferred income taxes (liability or asset)

29. What is the effective rate of taxation

30. Does the company have reportable segments (what and how many)

31. Are there any reported extraordinary gains or losses

32. Are there any reported changes in accounting principles

33. What is the total amount of long term debt

34. What investments have been reported

35. Calculate the following ratios for the prior fiscal years shown in the financial
statements
Current ratio
Quick ratio
Receivables turnover ratio
Days receivables uncollected (use a 365 day year)
Inventory turnover
Days in inventory (use a 365 day year)
Asset turnover
Profit margin on sales
Earnings per share
Price earnings ratio
Return on Investment
Dividend payout ratio
Debt to total assets ratio
Times interest earned ratio
Book value per share

36. Provide a conclusion which company provides for the best investment
possibility and which company would you invest in. And Why? This is the heart
of the assignment. You must use the above information or other related accounting
information to justify your decision.