Unit 4
GB518 | Financial Accounting Principles and Analysis
Assignment: Case Study Part 1
The Case Study will be due in Unit 4.
VERY IMPORTANT INITIAL GENTLE REMINDER: If you do not understand Plagiarism and how to
avoid violating the rules of Academic Integrity, please review the tutorial in the classroom title
“Plagiarism.” It can be found under the “Academic Tools” tab in each unit. All written papers will be
submitted to Turnitin to determine originality of content.
Part 1 is a formal analysis paper. You are to complete a series of “Real-World Focus” problems from
your textbook.
You will select a company. The company you select must be the same company throughout the case
for Part 1 in Unit 4 and Part 2 in Unit 5. The following alternatives are included to help you select your
company:
1. If you work for a company that is willing to participate, you may use that company.
2. If you do not work, or if your company would not be an appropriate choice, you may choose a
local company willing to participate.
3. If none of the above is an available option, you may choose to use data from any company you
select as long as data is available (an internet search in accordance with the textbook RealWorld Focus problem instructions would be acceptable) and would be appropriate for the
assignment. The basic definition of “Appropriate” would be that it will meet all of the grading
rubric requirements.
4. Under NO circumstances would a company that you own be appropriate, whether it is a soleproprietorship, partnership or corporation.
This is the list of Real-World Focus (RWF) Problems you will complete:
Expand your Critical Thinking:
CT 1-5 – pages 38 and 39 in the physical text.
CT 2-5 – page 84 in the physical text.
CT 4-5 – page 210 in the physical text.
CT 6-5 – pages 311 and 312 in the physical text.
CT 7-5 – pages 368 and 369 in the physical text.
CT 8-5 – page 417 in the physical text.
CT 9-5 – page 473 in the physical text.
Although presented in chronological order above, the order of presentation MUST follow the grading
rubric order listed at the end of this document.
You should consider using the grading rubric as a basic “Outline” for your paper. You may use the
rubric elements to build your headings and subheadings. The rubric is provided at the end of this
document.
Unit 4
GB518 | Financial Accounting Principles and Analysis
In addition to simply following the steps required in each RWF Problem, the first thing to present in
the case will be an introduction to the company. For example, what industry, products, services,
market, customer base, competitors, etc. Be thorough! Short answers do not provide the necessary
analysis or critical thinking.
Then, complete all required sections for all RWF problems.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember; use the SAME company for all RWF segments. Do NOT present
answers to any repetitive question components. For example, you are told to answer “What is the
name of the company” in a number of the problems. You are to omit such repetitive answers.
Include a “conclusion section” in your paper to summarize your case.
Your paper must be presented in a single Word document. The paper must be between 6 to 8 pages
in length, not including the title and reference list pages. The paper must use proper APA Publication
Manual, 6th Edition formatting, including title page, running head, abstract and reference list with
properly formatted citations in the body of the paper. Headings and sub-headings are REQUIRED.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
(1) Use the APA Template here.
(2) This is an Analysis; do NOT present an “Interview” format with “questions and answers”. Do
not simply provide “short-answers,” be more formal in the communication style.
(3) An abstract is required.
(4) Do NOT include a table of contents.
(5) Do NOT repeat or copy the assignment question narratives. You may use abbreviated
versions of the questions as headings and sub-headings. Anything that artificially increases the
length of the paper but does not add value to the analysis will result in a reduced score.
(6) For more specific information and guidance, please read the “General Writing Help” file in Doc
Sharing.
After you have completed the Unit 4 Case Paper, upload your Word document to the Unit 4
Assignment Dropbox before 11:59 PM (ET), on Tuesday of Unit 4.
Name your assignment filename using this format: LastName_FirstName_Unit#_AssignmentName
For example, this assignment will be named: Smith_Joan_Unit04_CasePaper
Assignments submitted late will be subject to the Late Policy described in the Syllabus.
Unit 4 Assignment: Case Study Part 1 Grading Rubric:
Category/Description
Part 1) Preliminary Analysis SEC - CT 4-5
Points
Possible
Points
Earned
Instructor
Additional
Comments
(If
necessary)
NOTE:
Unit 4
GB518 | Financial Accounting Principles and Analysis
(a) What spurred the creation of the SEC?
(a.1) Why was the SEC created?
(b) What are the 5 divisions of the SEC?
(b.1) Briefly describe the purpose of each.
(c) What are the responsibilities of the chief accountant?
Part 2) Preliminary Analysis FASB - CT 7-5
(a) What is the mission of the FASB?
(b) How are topics added to the FASB technical agenda?
(Hint: See Project Plans in Our Rules of Procedure.)
(c) What characteristics make the FASB’s procedures an
“open” decision-making process? (Hint: See Due Process in
Our Rules of Procedure)
Part 3) Preliminary Analysis Factoring - CT 8-5
(a) What are some benefits of factoring?
(b) What is the range of the percentages of the typical
discount rate?
(c) If a company factors A/R, what percentage of the value of
the receivables can it expect to receive from the factor in the
form of cash, and how quickly will it receive the cash?
Part 4) Introduction to Your Organization:
- Provide Name & brief corporate history.
- Thoroughly Identified type
- Thoroughly discussed Products/Services
- Customer Base/Niche
Part 5) CT 1-5
(a) What is the company’s net income?
(a.1) Over what period was it measured?
(b) What are the company’s total sales?
(b.1) Over what period was it measured?
(c) What is the company’s industry?
(d) Name 4 companies in this industry?
(e) Choose one of the competitors.
(e.1) What is this competitor’s name?
(e.2) What is its total sales?
(e.3) What is its net income?
Part 6) CT 2-5
(a) What was the company’s current ratio and debt to equity
ratio (a variation of the debt to assets ratio)?
(b) What is the company’s industry?
(c) What is the name of a competitor?
(c.1) What is the competitor’s current ratio and its debt to
equity ratio?
(d) Based on these measures, which company is more liquid?
(d.1) More solvent?
Part 7) CT 6-5
(a) (Omit repeated questions.)
1
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1
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Please
review all
guidance and
feedback
presented in
the margins
and within the
paper
Unit 4
GB518 | Financial Accounting Principles and Analysis
(b) How has its inventory changed from the previous year?
(c) What is the amount of raw materials, work in process, and
finished goods inventory?
(d) What inventory method does the company use?
(e) Calculate the inventory turnover and days in inventory for
the current year.
(f) If the company uses LIFO, what was the amount of its
LIFO reserve?
Part 8) CT 9-5
(a) Omit
(b) What is the Internet address of the annual report?
(c) At fiscal year-end, what is the net amount of its plant
assets?
(d) What is the accumulated depreciation?
(e) Which method of depreciation does the company use?
Part 9) Conclusion Section -With Heading
Content Subtotal
Analysis and Critical Thinking:
- Concise/precise language used?
- Economy of Expression Used?
- Elements of Critical Thinking Used:
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
10
50
10
10
10
1- Identify premises & conclusions, 2- Clarify arguments, 3Establish facts, 4- Evaluate Logic, 5- Final evaluation.
APA Format (Sixth Edition)
Grammar / Spelling / Punctuation
Deduct Late Penalty if Necessary
Final Score
8
12
100
CT1-5
REAL-WORLD FOCUS
E
Purpose: Identify summary information about companies. This information includes basic
descriptions of the company's location, activities, industry, financial health, and financial
performance.
Address: http://biz.yahoo.com/i
Steps
• 1.Type in a company name, or use the index to find company name.
• 2.Under Financials, choose Income Statement. Perform instructions (a) and (b) below.
• 3.Under Company, choose Industry to identify others in this industry. Perform
instructions (c)-(e) below.
Instructions
Answer the following questions.
(a) What is the company's net income? Over what period was this measured?
(b) What is the company's total sales? Over what period was this measured?
(c) What is the company's industry?
(d) What are the names of four companies in this industry?
(e) Choose one of the competitors. What is this competitor's name? What is its total sales?
What is its net income?
CT2-5
REAL-WORLD FOCUS
E
Purpose: Identify summary liquidity, solvency, and profitability information about companies,
and compare this information across companies in the same industry.
Address: http://biz.yahoo.com/i
Steps
• 1.Type in a company name, or use the index to find a company name. Choose Profile.
Choose Key Statistics. Perform instruction (a) below.
• 2.Go back to Profile. Click on the company's particular industry behind the heading
“Industry.” Perform instructions (b), (c), and (d).
Instructions
Answer the following questions.
(a) What is the company's name? What was the company's current ratio and debt to equity
ratio (a variation of the debt to assets ratio)?
(b) What is the company's industry?
(c) What is the name of a competitor? What is the competitor's current ratio and its debt to
equity ratio?
(d) Based on these measures, which company is more liquid? Which company is more
solvent?
CT4-5
REAL-WORLD FOCUS
E
Purpose: To learn about the functions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Address: www.sec.gov/about/whatwedo.shtml, or go
to www.wiley.com/college/kimmel
Instructions
Use the information in this site to answer the following questions.
(a) What event spurred the creation of the SEC? Why was the SEC created?
(b) What are the five divisions of the SEC? Briefly describe the purpose of each.
(c) What are the responsibilities of the chief accountant?
CT6-5
REAL-WORLD FOCUS
S
Purpose: Use SEC filings to learn about a company's inventory accounting practices.
Address: http://biz.yahoo.com/p/_capgds-bldmch.html
Steps
• 1.Go to this site and click on the name of an equipment manufacturer other than those
discussed in the chapter.
• 2.Click on SEC filings.
• 3.Under “Recent filings” choose Form 10K (annual report) and click on Full Filing at
Edgar Online.
• 4.Choose option “3,” Online HTML Version.
If the 10K is not listed among the recent filings, then click on View All Filings on EDGAR
Online.
Instructions
Review the 10K to answer the following questions.
(a) What is the name of the company?
(b) How has its inventory changed from the previous year?
(c) What is the amount of raw materials, work in process, and finished goods inventory?
(d) What inventory method does the company use?
(e) Calculate the inventory turnover and days in inventory for the current year.
(f) If the company uses LIFO, what was the amount of its LIFO reserve?
CT7-5
REAL-WORLD FOCUS
AP
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is a private organization established to
improve accounting standards and financial reporting. The FASB conducts extensive research
before issuing a “Statement of Financial Accounting Standards,” which represents an
authoritative expression of generally accepted accounting principles.
Address: www.fasb.org, or go to www.wiley.com/college/kimmel
Steps
Choose About FASB.
Instructions
Answer the following questions.
(a) What is the mission of the FASB?
(b) How are topics added to the FASB technical agenda?
(Hint: See Project Plans in Our Rules of Procedure.)
(c) What characteristics make the FASB's procedures an “open” decision-making process?
(Hint: See Due Process in Our Rules of Procedure.)
CT8-5
REAL-WORLD FOCUS
E Purpose: To learn more about factoring from websites that provide factoring services.
Address: www.ccapital.net, or go to www.wiley.com/college/kimmel
Instructions
Go to the website, click on Invoice Factoring, and answer the following questions.
(a) What are some of the benefits of factoring?
(b) What is the range of the percentages of the typical discount rate?
(c) If a company factors its receivables, what percentage of the value of the receivables can
it expect to receive from the factor in the form of cash, and how quickly will it receive the
cash?
CT9-5
REAL-WORLD FOCUS
AN Purpose: Use an annual report to identify a company's plant assets and the
depreciation method used.
Address: www.annualreports.com
Steps
• 1.Select a particular company.
• 2.Search by company name.
• 3.Follow instructions below.
Instructions
Answer the following questions.
(a) What is the name of the company?
(b) What is the Internet address of the annual report?
(c) At fiscal year-end, what is the net amount of its plant assets?
(d) What is the accumulated depreciation?
(e) Which method of depreciation does the company use?
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