Company Analysis for intro Accounting Class

You are to do an analysis of a company, which will culminate in a memorandum to management. You can answer most of the questions using the company's annual report. Instructions: Select a company for analysis. Choose a company that is popular so that you can obtain the data required by the project. Go to the company's Web site and make sure it has the company's annual report. Use the outline format below to complete the assignment. . INFO NEEDED: I. Company Information A. Company Name B. Company Address C. Date Company Founded D. Number of Employees II. Main Products III. What is the name of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)? A. Summarize the message that the CEO gives in the "Letter to Shareholders." No more than three paragraphs. IV. Stock Information A. How many shares of Common Stock are outstanding? B. Select a date in time and identify the following items as of that date: 1. The price range (Hi-Lo) of the Common Stock for the last 52 weeks. 2. The current price of the Common Stock. 3. The Common Stock's Price/Earnings (P/E) Ratio. 4. The current cash dividend per share paid to the Common Stockholders. V. What is the name of the Independent Public Accountant? A. Summarize the report of the Independent Public Accountant. No more than two paragraphs. Do not simply copy the wording. VI. Financial Information A. Balance Sheet: Current Year Previous Year % Change 1. Total Current Assets 2. Total Assets 3. Total Current Liabilities 4. Total Long-Term Liabilities 5. Total Stockholders' Equity Note: % Change = (Current Year - Previous year) / Previous Year B. Income Statement: Current Year Previous Year % Change 1. Net Sales (Revenue) 2. Cost of Sales + Operating Expenses 3. Net Income (Earnings) 4. Basic Earnings Per Share VII. Find an article (newspaper, magazine, on the Web) about the company you are analyzing. Summarize the content of the article. No more than three paragraphs. Attach a copy of the article to your paper. You can go as far back as three years. VIII. Analysis A. Use Dun and Bradstreet's Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios and enter the following ratios below: Upper Quartile Median Quartile Lower Quartile 1. Quick Ratio 2. Current Ratio 3. Total Liabilities to Net Worth 4. Collection Period 5. Assets to Sales 6. Return on Sales 7. Return on Assets 8. Return on Net Worth Note: You will need to go to Ward's Business Directory and find the Standard Industrial Code (SIC) for your company. Because each company may have more than one SIC, you will have to use your judgment to determine which is the primary activity the company is engaged in. Then choose the SIC and go to the relevant page in Dun and Bradstreet's Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios and enter the ratios list above. B. Using the annual report of your company, compute the same ratios listed above for your company. Show all computations. 1. Quick Ratio 2. Current Ratio 3. Total Liabilities to Net Worth (Debt to Equity Ratio) 4. Collection Period (Average Days Sales Uncollected) 5. Assets to Sales (Total Assets divided by Total Sales) 6. Return on Sales (Profit Margin) 7. Return on Assets 8. Return on Net Worth (Return on Equity) IX. Prepare a memorandum (no more than two pages) giving your personal impression of the financial standing of the company and its prospects for the future. Use all the information reported above to formulate your answer. Use the following format for the memorandum: memorandum Date: To: FROM: RE: Analysis of (Company Name) The following is required: 1. The term project outline above. 2. A copy of the article. 3. A copy of the Income Statement and Balance Sheet.