As an analyst for a large U.S. multinational corporation, you are assigned to examine a possible acquisition candidate, completing an initial search and review. Your supervisor is a member of the Controller’s team. The Controller reports directly to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Your work may be presented to various audiences, so professionalism is essential in all deliverables you create. As you review historical financial statements, you cannot conclude if this company is a good investment.
Select a publicly-traded company from the Fortune 500 list.
The company must have Accounts Receivable and Inventory. You must select a retail or manufacturing company.
You must research and secure the SEC 10-K Annual Report for the most recent year by visiting and searching the SEC EDGAR system.
Save the 10-K document to your computer for access. Please do not print this file, as the report is usually 100 pages or more.
Use the selected company in the discussion postings throughout the semester. The discussion questions are designed to help you build content for your report and presentation.
Reading an SEC 10-K Report: The following link will access the SEC’s document: How to Read an SEC 10-K Report. http://www.sec.gov/answers/reada10k.htm
Course Learning Objective Assessed: Identify and communicate with accounting and financial information users to facilitate analytical decision-making.
Report Requirements
Report Content
Post the name of your desired company in the Week 1 SEC 10-K Project discussion for your instructor’s approval. Your post must answer all parts of the discussion.
Each student must select a different company, so read the company names chosen by classmates. The company must be a publicly-traded company from the Fortune 500 list.
Your report should comment on the financial statements for your company as they relate to the information presented through Week 5 material for this class, including the notes to the financial statements.
Do not consider the material from Weeks 7 and 8 in your report.
The report must be submitted after Week 5 material on Property, Plant, and Equipment (PPE).
Report Layout
Write a minimum of a 3-page (a full-page typically has at least 300 words) report, single-spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point font, with a double space between paragraphs. This page requirement includes data visualization (charts and graphs) that you create.
Page count does not include a title page, tables and exhibits, and reference list.
Include a title page (include your name on the title page). The report must consist of headings such as Accounts Receivable and Inventory (topics from the textbook); other examples would be Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity.
Include a brief introduction of your company as well as a conclusion/summary at the end. Most of your report should include accounting topics in weeks one through five.
You must include the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Statement of Shareholders’ Equity, and Critical Audit Matters in your report.