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Accounting

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Cardiff School of ManAgement

____________________________________________________________

Module Name: Accounting For Decision Makers

Module No: __ MBA 7001

Assignment Weightage: 50%

Submission Date: 13 May 2016

The aim of this assignment is to enable students to apply the knowledge and skills of analysing and interpreting financial statements acquired from the Accounting for Decision Makers module in to a real-life public listed company.

Learning Objectives:

1. To allow students to synthesise and integrate the principles and theories of accounting, together with strategic management in assessing the profile and development of an organisation.

2. To critically analyse and evaluate an organisation’s performance through the interpretation of financial statements.

3. To be able to make imaginative and constructive decisions based on the analysis of the organisation.

Required:

The analysis and interpretation of a company’s financial performance and position would first require the use of financial ratios to examine the various financial aspects of the company. A comparison of the financial ratios over time would enable the management to take appropriate actions in dealing with the issues and challenges of the business.

Select a public listed company in Singapore from company’s website (under the investor relations heading) and obtain the most recent set of its annual report within the previous twelve months. You should also take into account any other relevant information from a variety of sources, including journal, textbook and publication.

1. Analyse the selected company profile, history and development.

(10 marks)

2. Critically assess its macro and micro environment challenges that the company faces that impact on its financial situation. (20 marks)

3. Critically evaluate its financial results for the last four years in terms of profitability, liquidity, efficiency, leverage and valuation ratios.

(50 marks)

4. Based on the analysis (1 to 3 above), would you invest in the company? Your decision should be well supported and justified.

(10 marks)

Note:

1) The marking criteria are indicated by the marks allocated. The remaining 10 marks will be allocated based on clarity of expression, structure, flow of the essay, citations and referencing.

2) Your answer should take the form of a well-structured essay of around 2,500 words. A word count must be indicated at the end of the essay.

3) You should make full use of materials available in academic texts, academic journals and other sources. Sources such as Wikipedia are not acceptable as valid research sites. All sources should be cited using the “Harvard Referencing” method.

4) Do note the following overall assessment criteria of an MBA assignment:

Assessment Criteria
(Summarised from those identified in the Academic Handbook)

|% mark |Description |
|0 |Non-presented work, name only, plagiarism, collusion |
|1-9 |Notes of little relevance to the question, or only an introductory paragraph, or one or two scattered |
| |thoughts. |
|10-19 |Some notes relevant to the question, but without coherence. Little evidence of getting beyond the |
| |proposal. |
|20-29 |The answer may ramble around the general area of the question without specifying a basic question. The |
| |work has little development, coherence or structure. No evidence of criticism, synthesis or evaluation. |
|30-39 |Significant errors may be present. The answer is poorly planned with little clear train of thought or |
| |development of argument. Some evidence of ability to collate information and construct generalisations |
| |but with limited comment on the weighting of evidence option. |
|40-49 |The answer demonstrates an understanding of the major or basic issues in the question. Evidence of an |
| |effort and significant data collection with a satisfactory level of analysis and judgement including a |
| |statement of the criteria. Evidence of selection of appropriate material, logical structure and clear |
| |argument. Overall framework is sensible and accurate. |
|50-59 |Evidence of ability to state and defend on the basis of evidence a personal position in relation to an |
| |issue or aesthetic. Evidence of ability to evaluate information and synthesise generalisations from it. |
| |Clear evidence of selection of appropriate material, logical structure and clear argument. |
|60-69 |Evidence of ability to maintain a personal position in original terms, showing a command of the accepted |
| |critical positions with some attempt at innovation. Sound use of relevant factual knowledge and |
| |theoretical issues presented in a lively, articulate and controlled manner. |
|70-79 |Evidence of the ability to consistently and forcefully maintain a personal position in original terms with|
| |some original insights, providing comprehensive and accurate coverage of the question and issues under |
| |consideration. Evidence of wide but focused reading presented in a highly articulate style. |
|80-89 |Evidence of excellent understanding of the question under consideration and the complexity of the issues |
| |involved. Theoretical considerations are used to underpin the overall design and the relevance of factual|
| |information. Some measure of original and creative thinking. Evidence of wide reading with a critical |
| |focus. |
|90-100 |Beyond the received critical or conceptual positions with evidence of creative and intelligent innovation,|
| |consistently and forcefully expressed. An exceptional and outstanding submission providing insight which |
| |would not normally be available publicly, which adds to the discipline area and would with editing be |
| |publishable. Superior organisation and comprehensiveness taking into account word limit and time scale. |

***End of Assignment***

CARDIFF SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK PROFORMA

|STUDENT NAME: |PROGRAMME: |
|STUDENT NUMBER: |YEAR: |GROUP: 0 |
|Module Number: |Term: |Module Title: |
|Tutor Responsible For Marking This Assignment: |
|Module Leader: |
|Assignment Due Date: |Hand In Date: |
|ASSIGNMENT TITLE: |
|SECTION A: SELF ASSESSMENT (TO BE COMPLETED BY THE STUDENT) |
|In relation to each of the set assessment criteria, please identify the areas in which you feel you have strengths and those in which you need to improve. |
|Provide evidence to support your self-assessment with reference to the content of your assignment. |
|STRENGTHS |AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT |
| | |
|I certify that this assignment is a result of my own work and that all sources have been acknowledged: |
| |
|Signed:______________________________________________ Date___________________________ |
|SECTION B: TUTOR FEEDBACK |
|(based on assignment criteria, key skills and where appropriate, reference to professional standards) |
|STRENGTHS |AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT AND TARGETS FOR FUTURE ASSIGNMENTS |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
|MARK/GRADE AWARDED |DATE: |SIGNED |
|ASSIGNMENT MODERATED BY: |DATE |
|MODERATOR’S COMMENTS: |

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