This discussion has 2 parts:

1. You are working as a financial analyst at a brokerage firm and a colleague says to you the Potts Corporation had a return on equity (ROE) of 20% last year. We should recommend the stock to our clients. How would you respond to your colleague? (Note: Your response for this question should be no more than 100 words)
2. A corporations earnings and associated ratios, such as earnings per share, are metrics that investors and other stakeholders use when making decisions. The SEC recently began investigating corporations for manipulating earnings via rounding errors. In the early 2000s, it became clear that corporations rarely missed earnings estimates provided by financial analysts. Offer your opinion on the ethics underlying these practices, any possible broader implications of such behavior, and any real-life experiences you may have come across that are similar.
   • See Assigned Readings Related to agency theory and the goal of financial management

Submission Instructions:

• Your initial post for each question should be approximately 100 to 200 words (unless the discussion question specifically provides a different guideline), formatted and cited in current APA style with at least one source other than the required textbook. Your initial posts are worth 8 points each.
• You should respond to two of your peers by extending, refuting/correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts. Your reply posts are worth 2 points (1 point per response.)
• All reply posts must be constructive and use sources where possible.
• Please post your initial response by 11:59 PM ET Thursday and comment on the posts of two classmates by 11:59 PM ET Sunday.
• You can expect feedback from the instructor within 48 to 72 hours from the Sunday due date.

Grading Rubric

Your assignment will be graded according to the grading rubric.

Discussion Rubric
Criteria	Ratings				Points
Identification of Main Issues, Problems, and Concepts	6 points Distinguished Identify and demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the issues, problems, and concepts.	4 point Excellent Identifies and demonstrate an accomplished understanding of most of issues, problems, and concepts.	2 points Fair Identifies and demonstrate an an acceptable understanding of most of issues, problems, and concepts.	1 point Poor Identifies and demonstrate an unacceptable understanding of most of issues, problems, and concepts.	6 points
Use of Citations, Writing Mechanics and APA Formatting Guidelines	2 points Excellent Effectively uses the literature and other resources to inform their work. Moderate use of citations and extended referencing. Moderate level of APA precision and free of grammar and spelling errors.		1 point Fair Ineffectively uses the literature and other resources to inform their work. Moderate use of citations and extended referencing. APA style and writing mechanics need more precision and attention to detail.	0 points Poor Ineffectively uses the literature and other resources to inform their work. An unacceptable use of citations and extended referencing. APA style and writing mechanics need serious attention.	2 points
Response to Posts of Peers	2 points Distinguished Student constructively responded to two other posts and either extended, expanded or provided a rebuttal to each.		1 point Fair Student constructively responded to one other post and either extended, expanded or provided a rebuttal.	0 points Poor Student provided no response to a peer's post.	2 points
Total Points: 10