Prompts
Taking the role of a financial analyst within the company, prepare an executive dashboard (performance report) on a large, publicly traded company of your choice by computing and comparing its ratios against the 11 industry average ratios listed in Problem 4-23 on page 129 of the text.
It is imperative for you to understand the use of good academic writing (visit the Walden Writing Center), use of online library for academic resources , and most importantly, your job is to do vetting of anything companies claim on their websites. The use of Wikipedia, Investopedia, financial related websites, blogs, etc. is not appropriate for this competency.
Use the provided Financial Ratio Excel Spreadsheet to show the computed financial ratios for your chosen company and industry averages. Prepare your performance report to show calculations for the 11 ratios listed on page 129, as well as a comparison of your computed ratios with industry averages.
A good place to start is to look for the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and look for the industry of your chosen company through https://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/.
Notice how it is a US Government website, not a “.com”. Then, visit the Walden University Library and access the IBIS World database in order to look for the appropriate industry standards: https://my-ibisworld-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/.
The comparisons, including a list of your computations in a table, should be added as an appendix to the memo described below and submitted as a separate Excel spreadsheet.
Write a memo (approximately 2–3 pages) to your supervisor explaining your findings and your recommendations for where improvements are needed to increase financial health.
Be sure to Include the following:
. Areas within the company that are both above and below industry standards
. An explanation of the limitations of using ratio analysis
The qualitative factors that play a role in improving the company’s financial health
In the memo, suggest some specific ways in which the company can plan to improve below industry average ratio performance over time. Suggest annual targets over the next three years to catch up with or surpass industry averages. Explain why your recommendations should be effective.
Sample Solution
