The group (up to five members) project completed in two parts requires you to conduct an analysis of a business. A key feature of the project is that it requires you to identify and obtain the relevant information. Thus, in addition to being evaluated on your ability to apply the tools of analysis described in the course, you will also be evaluated on your ability to identify and obtain the relevant information. Your assignment should use only publicly available information, and you should provide a reference list of the information you use. Do not use inside information obtained from personal company contacts etc. Choice of company: You will choose one company from the list on UTSOnline.

Valuation and assessment: Your group will evaluate and report (in two parts) on your chosen company as though you were a prospective management consultant.

Part One:

The first part of your report will contain the following:

1. Macro economic factors and Industry Analysis

a. Describe the firms economic environment and evaluate how this has impacted historic firm performance and is likely relevant to future performance.

b. Perform an industry analysis and evaluate the level of competition in the industry/ies that your firm operates

2. Business Strategy Analysis

Identify the key success factors and risks of the firm's strategy and the sustainability of profits generated by the strategy given the threat of competition.

Assignment Length

The project write-up should be a readily comprehensible and condensed report on your work (i.e., not a detailed compilation of all the information you collected). Accordingly, your write-up is limited to five pages of text with five pages of supporting tables. Please use a minimum font size of 12 and 2.5cm margins. (Note: If you choose to use double spacing for text, then the write-up extends to ten pages). You must provide a hard copy (to be handed in during class) as well as a soft copy (submitted via UTS Online). UTS reserves the right to run student assignments through plagiarism detection software. If you do not submit both copies (soft copy and hard copy) the assignment will be deemed as not submitted and you will receive a fail grade. For each day (or part day) that your assignment is late, you will lose 10% of the raw assignment mark.

Group Assignment - Part Two

The second part of your report will contain the following:

1. Accounting Analysis

Assess the degree to which the firm's accounting reflects the underlying business reality. Identify accounting distortions and evaluate their impact on profits and the sustainability of profits.

2. Financial Analysis

Use ratio analysis and cash flow analysis to evaluate the current and past performance of the business and assess its sustainability.

Assignment Length

The project write-up should be a readily comprehensible and condensed report on your work (i.e., not a detailed compilation of all the information you collected). Accordingly, your write-up is limited to five pages of text with five pages of supporting tables. Please use a minimum font size of 12 and 2.5cm margins. ( Note: If you choose to use double spacing for text, then the write-up extends to ten pages). You must provide a hard copy to be handed in during class as well as a soft copy submitted via UTS Online. UTS reserves the right to run student assignments through plagiarism detection software.If you do not submit both copies (soft copy and hard copy) the assignment will be deemed as not submitted and you will receive a fail grade. For each day (or part day) that your assignment is late, you will lose 10% of the raw assignment mark.

Part -3:

Prospective Analysis

Forecast future financial performance and use appropriate valuation models to produce an estimate of firm value. As you are valuing a publicly traded company for the common shareholders, you should focus on the value of a share of common stock in that company and compare your valuation to the market valuation, providing possible explanation for any differences (sensitivity analysis). You should comment on the extent to which management is adding value, and comparison with stock price is encouraged.

Application

As a potential management consultant to your chosen firm, provide a discussion as to the possible opportunities for improvement, and potential challenges for your firm. Provide remedies for these concerns. You should be quite specific in any recommendations you make.