FINN331 Project Instructions The goal of financial analysis is to use financial data to evaluate the current and past performance of a firm and to assess its sustainability. There are two important skills related to financial analysis. First, the analysis should be systematic and efficient. Second, the analysis should allow the analyst to use financial data to explore business issues. Ratio analysis and cash flow analysis are the two most commonly used financial tools. Ratio analysis focuses on evaluating a firm's product market performance and financial policies; cash flow analysis focuses on a firm's liquidity and financial flexibility. In Project 1, you are required to analyze the company's financial statements. In doing so, you should follow the structure outlined below, and make use of the material covered in-class Part One: You must structure the report according to the following sections: Section 1: Introduction (1 page max) In this section, you should outline the purpose and context of the analysis, describe your sources of data and explain if any adjustments were made to the financial statements before proceeding with the analysis. In addition, each group member should write a paragraph explaining her/his contribution to this project and the parts that they worked on. Section 2: Background Information (three pages max) This section aims to set the context of the analysis and it should include the following sub-sections: General information: describe the company, its operations, main activities, size, branches, subsidiaries, competitors, etc. The industry: customers, suppliers, substitutes, potential entrants, competition, growth potential, SWOT, product life cycle, etc. The strategy: what is the company's business strategy? Any plans for expansion? Downsizing? Etc. Section 2: Ratio Analysis (15 pages max) This section is where you apply the knowledge that you have learnt in the classroom. Financial Statements First, you start by presenting the different financial statements of the company for the past five years. These should be in neat, clear and well-structured tables. Time-series analysis: Compare ratios for a firm over several years, and perform