Students are to organise themselves into groups of two to complete the assignment.

The basic requirement is to undertake a general financial analysis comparing Myer Holdings Ltd (Myer) (ASX Code MYR) latest financial position and performance for 2 Financial Years compared to that of David Jones (ASX Code DJS) over the same period.

If the 2013 financial statements are released by Myer and David Jones by 10 September then you should prepare ratios comparing 2013 with 2012 performance for both entities.

If the 2013 financial statements are released after 10 September then you should compare 2012 with 2011 performance for both entities.

(Note: students are to use the ‘Consolidated' data in conducting their analysis.) The analysis should consider each of: profitability, asset efficiency, liquidity, capital structure, and market performance.

Note that for those ratios which involve Balance Sheet figures students will require the previous year's financial statements (in addition to the latest report) to provide the beginning-of-year balance sheet figures.

The assignment will contain two main elements:

Schedule(s) of relevant ratios and other useful calculations

The detailed calculation of relevant ratios and other useful calculations should be included as one or more appendices prepared using Excel or a similar spreadsheet. Students are advised to show the formulae used in determining particular ratios and other figures. Data items (for example ‘Sales Revenue' or ‘Total Assets') should be entered in a single cell in a specially designated ‘data area' in the spreadsheet, with any calculation referencing the relevant data cell.