Part A (60 marks) The Aim of Part A of the Assignment The aim of Part A of this assignment is to enable you to be familiar with the information in annual reports and develop your skills in interpreting the information content of financial statements of companies by using financial ratios and other financial indicators. Question You have recently been invited to interview for a management position at a listed company. For your interview with the Board you have been asked you to prepare a three part report: i. The first part will analyse the past financial performance of the company based solely on public information available. Financial statements to be examined will include statement of financial position (balance sheet), income statement (profit and loss), and cash flow statement. The Chief Executive is expecting analysis of the last two years to be discussed. The analysis will consist of financial ratios, percentage change statements and any other relevant financial indicators. All calculations are to be presented in an appendix, and a summary table of ratios should be shown in main body of your report. It may help your answer if you identify the business model your chosen company is pursuing; for example, are they pursuing a premium pricing strategy, or a high volume and low cost strategy. ii. The second part requires that after reviewing the past financial information you are expected to provide suggestions on how to improve the future financial performance of the firm. Note the focus of this assignment is on financial performance. You can structure this report in any way that you think would be appropriate but the Board will be expect you to show a clear understanding of past financial performance and importantly based on this evidence give clear recommendations on the financial position going forward. You have to select a listed company. This is a great opportunity to learn more about a company or industry you are interested in. Send the name of your company to your local counsellor or lecturer, if you do not have a local counsellor. This is to ensure your chosen company is suitable for analysis. Before submitting your company for approval, ensure that the information that you will need is shown in the annual report as some companies disclose more than others. Sources of Information Your main source of information is the annual report which will be available on the company's website. The company website may have more information in the section for 'investor relations'. You may wish to use other reference sources that are available on the university library website. Give clear reference to all sources used and numbered footnote references should be included in the text of your report