Course Project > Best PracticesFinancial Statement Analysis Objectives

Objective: To analyze the financial statements of a publicly traded company

Obtain an annual report from a publicly traded corporation that is interesting to you. Be sure the companys financial statements include deferred taxes, postretirement benefits, dilutive securities, and share-based compensation.

Using techniques you have learned in the previous weeks, respond to the following questions.

1. What amount of deferred tax assets or deferred tax liabilities are on the two most recent years on the balance sheet? What gives rise to these deferred taxes? What information is disclosed in the footnotes related to deferred taxes? Please define a deferred tax asset and deferred tax liability.
2. What temporary and permanent differences does the company disclose in their footnotes? What are some other examples of temporary and permanent differences?
3. What is the amount of income tax provision in the two most recent years on the income statement? What information is disclosed in the footnotes relating to income tax expense? Does the company have a net operating loss carry-forward or carry-back? What are the guidelines for carry-forwards and carry-backs?
4. Does the company have a defined benefit or defined contribution plan? What are the key elements of the plan discussed in the footnotes? What amounts on the balance sheet relate to this plan? What are the differences between defined benefit and defined contribution plans?
5. What are the earnings per share amounts disclosed on the income statement for the most recent year? What dilutive securities are discussed in the footnotes? Please identify and describe other examples of dilutive securities. How do these impact earnings per share?
6. What kind of share-based compensation does the company have? What was compensation expense for the two most recent years? What are the key elements of this plan discussed in the footnotes? Please identify and describe other types of share-based compensation.
7. Does the company use the direct or indirect cash flow presentation method? What is the difference between these two methods? How does the cash flow statement agree to the other financial statements?
8. What investing and financing activities does the company have? What are some other examples of investing and financing activities?
9. What noncash transactions does the company have on its cash flow statement? What are some other examples of noncash transactions?

Guidelines

• Papers must be at least 1,800 words, 710 pages in length, double-spaced, in a 12-point font. Include a cover page, table of contents, introduction, report body, summary or conclusion, and works cited.
• Even though this is not a scientific-type writing assignment, references are still very important. At least three authoritative, outside references are required (anonymous authors or web pages are not acceptable). These should be listed on the last page titled works cited.
• APA citations are required.
• All policies are in effect, including the plagiarism policy.
• The paper is due during Week 6 of this course.
• The paper is worth 125 total points and will be graded on quality of research topic, quality of paper information, use of citations, grammar, and sentence structure.

Grading Rubrics

12.5	10
12.5	10
12.5	10
87.5	70
125	100	A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above requirements.

Best Practices

The following are the best practices in preparing this paper.

• Cover pageInclude who you prepared the paper for, who prepared it, and the date.
• Table of contentsList the main ideas and section of your paper and the pages in which they are located. The illustrations should be included separately.
• IntroductionUse a header on your paper. This will indicate you are introducing your paper. The purpose of an introduction or opening is to
  1. 1. introduce the subject and why the subject is important;
     2. preview the main ideas and the order in which they will be covered; and
     3. establish a tone of the document.

In the introduction, include a reason for the audience to read the paper. Also, include an overview of what you are going to cover in your paper and the importance of the material. (This should include or introduce the questions you are asked to answer on each assignment.)

• Body of Your ReportUse a header titled with the name of your project (e.g., An Analysis of the Financial Statements of Nike). Then proceed to break out the main ideas. State the main ideas, state major points in each idea, and provide evidence. Break out each main idea you will use in the body of your paper. Show some type of division, such as separate sections that are labeled, separate group of paragraphs, or headers. You would include the information you found during your research and investigation.
• Summary and ConclusionSummarizing is similar to paraphrasing but presents the gist of the material in fewer words than the original. An effective summary identifies the main ideas and major support points from the body of your report. Minor details are left out. Summarize the benefits of the ideas and how they affect the tourism industry.
• Work CitedAPA citations are required.

Below are additional hints on preparing the best possible project.

• Apply a three-step process of writing: plan, write, and complete.
• Prepare an outline of your research paper before you go forward.
• Complete a first draft and then go back to edit, evaluate, and make any changes required.
• Use visual communication to further clarify and support the written part of your report. You could use example graphs, diagrams, photographs, flowcharts, maps, drawings, animation, video clips, pictograms, and tables.