ASSIGNMENT- ACCOUNTING

STRATEGIC CHANGES AND FIRM PERFORMANCE

ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS

1. The following is a list of 10 organisations/ companies, one of which will be the subject of your analysis.

CODE COMPANY

CBA Commonwealth Bank of Australia

BHP BHP Billiton Limited

CSL CSL Limited

WOW Woolworths Limited

WPL Woodside Petroleum Limited

SCG Scentre Group Stapled

WFD Westfield Corporation Stapled

TCL Transurban Group Stapled

AMP AMP Limited

AMC Amcor Limited

2. One of the ten companies will be randomly assigned to you for analysis. For this information refer to the Excel spread sheet on Blackboard (Bb). Should elect to complete your assignment in a group choose only one company out of those you have been given.

3. Obtain the annual reports of your assigned company for the past 3 years.

This data can be acquired from ECU library link - Databases - DatAnalysis. Step by step instructions on how to obtain data from this website are provided on the unit's Bb site.

4. ASSIGNMENT'S QUESTIONS

4.1. Analyse the behaviour of any three significant items in the income statement for the period of three years. Discuss whether your organization's performance relating to these items appears to be improving, deteriorating, or remaining stable over this period. Explain why you selected those items and what you recognize as the most relevant strategic reasons for the trend/s that you have recognized. Justify your answer.

4.2. Analyse the behaviour of any three significant items in the balance sheet for the period of three years. Discuss whether your organization's performance relating to these items appears to be improving, deteriorating, or remaining stable over this period. Explain why you selected those items and what you recognize as the most relevant strategic reasons for the trend/s that you have recognized. Justify your answer.

4.3. Analyse cash flow statements of the last three years and explain any three major changes which have occurred in relation to investing and/or financing activities of the business.

4.4. Calculate two relevant ratios under each category given below for the period of three years. Give conclusions of your ratio analysis based on the figures you have derived

a) Profitability

b) Liquidity

c) Solvency

d) Operational efficiency

4.5. Identify any two items not included in (or derived from) the financial statements that you think would be important to someone considering whether the organization is performing well. Discuss your reasons for believing that these two items about the company would be important in making an investment decision.

NOTE

? Your assignment should be in the form of business report (please refer to the document provided). Your report should include:

a) An introduction (not more than 150 words)

b) Answers to the given questions written in the body paragraphs, with appropriate headings, subheadings, etc.

c) A conclusion (not more than 150 words)

d) An appendix with downloaded financial statements and relevant calculations. Use Microsoft Excel to perform the financial statement analysis.

? Your analysis should be limited to a maximum of seven pages and a minimum of five pages. This is equivalent to no more than 1,700 words (not including the cover page and references)

? Write as if you are a management advisor preparing advice for a client (who is the manager of the context company).

? Give you report an adequate title and plan appropriate headings for easy reading.