Finance

REPORT STRUCTURE – Part 1 – 1,000 words (excluding tables, references, appendices) Use Headings – to separate the sections 1. Introduction – state the aim of your report and variables you have selected 2. Sampling Method: ? Explain the process of sample selection with reference to an appropriate sampling method. Here you need to explain and justify your sampling procedure using references from books. ? Provide brief details about your target population and state whether your sample is likely to be representative of your target population ? Discuss advantages and disadvantages of your sampling method in relation to other sampling methods. For example, a random sample is appropriate in statistics because it gives every firm in the population equal chance of being selected; however, random sampling does not stratify the population and, therefore, certain attributes/characteristics of firms can be over- or under-represented (e.g. firms in certain industries). ? Apply discussion of the sampling method to your assignment (do not merely paraphrase book’s material). It is not a very good justification to mention that simple random sampling method was chosen because it is ‘simple’, ‘less time-consuming’ and ‘cheap’. 3. Data & Variables – explain the meaning of variables you have selected (including the source of data) and what transformations were made. Here you need to show formulas and explain the ratios chosen (i.e. explain what your ratios show/indicate). Use this file for further explanation of the ratios: Ratios Description.docx You can create a table with the main variables Table 1: Definitions of the main variables Variables Measure/Formula Explanation Profitability ROCE/ROA/Profit Margin 4. Histograms and Descriptive Statistics – Produce histograms and descriptive statistics (min/max, mean/median, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis) for profitability (ROCE or ROA or Profit Margin) and the other two variables you have (e.g. Firm Size, Liquidity, Tangibility, Asset Growth, Debt Ratio). Present your Histograms and Descriptive Statistics within the main text: ? Histograms: comment on the shape of the distribution. Additionally, you can comment on: o How many companies made a profit and how many made a loss. Are there any outliers? o How many companies have liquidity ratio of above and below 1. Are there any outliers? o If you choose firm size, you can show both the original variable (Sales in th GBP) and the LN(Sales). This can help your interpretation for firms size, i.e. the largest company had £Xm of Sales in 2018. o Do your histograms and statistics show any outliers? ? Descriptive Stats: comment on mean/median/min/max/standard deviation/skewness & kurtosis If there is any outlier and you have made adjustments to the variables (i.e. created a new variable and removed the outlier), please mention and justify how & why you did 5. Conclusion – a brief summary of what was done and what results were obtained. ? ‘This report examines….’ ? ‘The main results from histograms show that most companies in the sample [here you can briefly comment on profitability and other variables]’ REPORT STRUCTURE – Part 2 – 1,500 words (excluding tables, references, appendices) Use Headings to separate the sections • Introduction – state the aim of your report and the variables you selected to conduct the analysis (see Assignment part 2 to find the aim of the report) – approx. 100 words. Outliers and Adjustments – discuss any adjustments that were made to your variables. approx. 200-300 words (depends on the number of outliers in your dataset). If there are any outliers and you have made adjustments to the variables (i.e. created a new variable and removed the outlier), please mention and justify how & why you did it. To provide justification use your descriptive statistics (skewness/kurtosis) as well as histograms. You can relate your discussion to the assumptions of correlation and regression analysis (sensitive to outliers). Refer to material uploaded in week-6&7 resources – there are references you can use as well. If your data does not have outliers, you can discuss/justify that there are no outliers in your data and explain why adjustments were not required (based on skewness and kurtosis values and assumptions of correlation and regression analysis). • Correlation Analysis (Approx. 250-350 words) Produce Scatterplots. The first step in the correlation analysis would usually involve producing scatter plots to visually identify whether there is any linear association between profitability (ROCE, ROA or profit margin) and each of the other two variables you have (LNSales, Liquidity (Current Ratio), Tangibility, Asset Growth, Debt Ratio). If you removed any outliers, you can show the scatter plot with and without outliers and compare the results. Produce correlation table and comment on the results. Your correlation table should have one profitability ratio (ROCE, ROA or profit margin) and the other two variables you have (e.g. Firm Size (LNSaless), Liquidity (Current Ratio), Tangibility, Asset Growth, Debt Ratio). Present your Tables within the main text. – Discuss/comment on the relationship between profitability and each of the other two variables. – Check whether there is any potential problem of multicollinearity (if you perform multiple regression analysis). At this stage you need to choose whether you will conduct simple or multiple regression analysis. It would be good to justify your choice (for example, based on multicollinearity (relationship between Xs); number of observations; articles you read). Excel file (if you use Excel for your analysis): FTSEALLSHARE_AllFirms_ANALYSIS Example.xlsx ? • Regression Analysis – either simple or multiple: approx. 400-500 words. ? State the hypotheses that are tested in this report ? Discuss the main results in relation to the significance levels and the sign of the relationship. State whether your results show evidence in support of the hypothesized relationship. Here you can also discuss R2 and Adj. R2 (and F test for Multiple Regression). ? You may wish to discuss whether your result was expected. Here you could provide a comparison of your results with the results obtained from the correlation analysis and previous findings (i.e. use articles uploaded on Canvas under “Articles for Reading”). • Limitations – Discuss limitations of your study (e.g. sample size, variables used, limitations of correlation and linear regression methods used) approx. 250-350 words. • Conclusion – approx. 100-150 words. – Based on your results, draw a conclusion on the factors influencing firm profitability. ‘This report examines….’ ‘The main results from correlation and regression analysis show……’ [comment on the main factors related to profitability according to your results] – You can also make suggestions for further research in relation to factors that could influence firm performance (i.e. what improvements could be made in future study – more observations; more years; more variables).

I have upload a PDF on what I would want please make sure you read what I have uploaded and make sure each section is (Minimum half page write-up) I have also included my resume for you to look at so that you can write up half a page cover letter and half a page thank you letter. I have also put in detail what I am looking for , for each section I have also included websites for you to get the information from , please make sure to include all screenshots/ links if necessary • This paper is to be done in a single document with a .doc or .rtf extension • Each section should be started on a new page • One-inch margins, 12-point font, 1.5 line spacing

Capital Investment For the purpose of this assignment, a project is defined as any endeavor that had a capital outlay. Pick a project you have recently completed or one you would like to complete in the near future. This could be a project in your home, place of work, or even church or other organization with which you are familiar. Respond to the prompts below. Introduce your project with a reflection on the importance of selecting the right projects in which to invest capital. Do we always select those projects that have the highest return on investment (ROI)? Describe the relationship between risk and return and how you would measure for both in your project. What other factors play into capital budgeting decisions? Explain how you would calculate the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) and its components for your project. Your essay should be at least two pages in length, not counting the title and reference pages. You are required to cite and reference at least your textbook. Use APA format to cite in-text and reference citations. -Financial Management: Theory & Practice, 15th Edition Author: Eugene F. Brigham VBID: 9781305886902

Prepare a (approximately) 200 word summary of the textbook material you have read this week on Chapter 9. This summary should be entered in your learning journal this week. Please see the textbook uploaded for the other Finance order.

The budgeting problem – Lack of budget and the impact that has on your team / department Within Sky the incentives department are responsible for creating a incentive scheme for the sales department. The budget for the incentive is 24% of the departmental salary of all agents. The incentive scheme changes throughout the year depending on how much of the budget is spent. This can sometimes change so that the agents do not earn the same amount of bonus in 1 quarter to another, negatively effecting the agents moral. There is no communication from the incentives team to the agents regarding the bonus and the agents have no impact on how the incentive changes. I need a introduction writing including the following: Clearly defined your organisation and your role in it? – I am a sales advisor with Sky we have 300 advisors in the whole department. Clearly stated what the problem is? Clearly defined if it is a budget information or a cost­ driver problem? Shown how this issue impacts you and others in or outside of your organisation Please use week 11 and 12 and apply 2 concepts from the text book to the introduction

Your probationary period at the Cosmo K Manufacturing Group continues. Your supervisor, Gerry, assigns you a project each week to test your competence in finance. The company is considering the addition of a new office machine that will perform many of the tasks now performed manually. For this week’s task, Gerry has given you the responsibility of evaluating the cash flows associated with the new machine. He has requested the report to be delivered within the week. Evaluation of a New Office Machine The Cosmo K Manufacturing Group currently has sales of $1,400,000 per year. It is considering the addition of a new office machine, which will not result in any new sales but will save the company $105,500 before taxes per year over its 5-year useful life. The machine will cost $300,000 plus another $12,000 for installation. The new asset will be depreciated using a modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) 5-year class life. It will be sold for $25,000 at the end of 5 years. Additional inventory of $11,000 will be required for parts and maintenance of the new machine. The company evaluates all projects at this risk level using an 11.99% required rate of return. The tax rate is expected to be 35% for the next decade. Tasks: Answer the following questions: What is the total investment in the new machine at time = 0 (T = 0)? What are the net cash flows in each of the 5 years of operation? What are the terminal cash flows from the sale of the asset at the end of 5 years? What is the NPV of the investment? What is the IRR of the investment? What is the payback period for the investment? What is the profitability index for the investment? According to the decision rules for the NPV and those for the IRR, is the project acceptable? Is there a conflict between the two decision methods? If so, what would you use to make a recommendation? What are the pros and cons of the NPV and the IRR? Explain your answers. Submission Details: Show the data used and the calculations for each question in a Microsoft Excel sheet and the analysis in a Microsoft Word document.

IMPORTANT: Minimum 4 scholarly journal article sources in APA (including in-text parenthetical citations) needed. No title page, no abstract, nor running header needed. INSTRUCTIONS: (for full article: https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/21/business/zillow-rich-barton-risk-takers/index.html) Zillow is Losing Millions on Selling Homes. But Its Risk-Taking CEO Isn’t Worried 14 days ago 7 replies Melanie Baker Charles Benedict Dare Abiola Last 18 hours ago Key words and Definitions Risk – the possibility of financial loss. Risk aversion – an individual’s tolerance for taking risks. Risk/return tradeoff – the financial principle that states you must be compensated with the possibility of higher returns before you are willing to accept higher levels of risk. Summary: Key Points in the Article. The online real estate matchmaking site Zillow recently launched a new initiative. In 2018 Zillow moved from being just an online advertising platform to a firm that buys properties directly from sellers. Interested sellers can contact Zillow, receive an offer, and close within a week or two. Zillow does light cosmetic work and resells the homes. Zillow CEO Rich Barton calls the model, dubbed iBuying, a “new frontier in real estate.” Barton’s vision is to make selling a home as easy as selling a car. Zillow wants to remain the best-known site for real estate and smaller competitors were beginning to offer iBuying, essentially forcing Zillow into this market. Zillow charges sellers a 7.5% fee if they decide to sell directly to Zillow. Comparable real estate sales commissions are about 6% but it can takes months, or even years, to sell a home. The venture is not without risk. Zillow loses an average of $1,512 plus interest expenses and holding costs on each home it buys, or a total of $312 million in before tax losses for this division in 2019. However, Barton believes the venture will generate $20 billion in revenue in the next three to five years. Zillow intends for the program to be profitable and serve as a gateway into other revenue sources including providing title insurance and earning referral fees. Thinking Critically Questions Regarding the Financial Manager’s Primary Goal from the Lecture Note: 1. Is Zillow CEO Rich Barton willingness to lose money on iBuying consistent or inconsistent with “Selecting value creating projects” 2. What are the risks Zillow faces with their strategy? Is it a smart financing decision? 3. What are some synergistic benefits that might emerge from iBuying?

Summary: Review and compare the financial statements and annual reports of The Home Depot and of Lowe’s companies Inc. of fiscal year 2012, in comparison to fiscal 2011, according to the below structure and questions: Analyze the balance sheet of both companies. Write a summary that includes important points about each company that an analyst would use in assessing the financial condition of The Home Depot and of Lowe’s as one of its competitors. Analyze the income statement of The Home Depot and of Lowe’s. Write a summary that includes important points that an analyst would use in assessing the profitability of The Home Depot and of Lowe’s as one of its competitors. Analyze the consolidated statements of cash flows for The Home Depot and for Lowe’s for fiscal years 2012, 2011 and 2010. Write a summary that includes important points that an analyst would use in assessing the companies’ relative abilities to generate cash flows and the appropriateness of the use of cash flows Using data, common size statements, ratio and trend calculations for The Home Depot and Lowe’s, write a comprehensive comparative analysis of the companies over the major areas: Short term liquidity, operating efficiency, capital structure and long term solvency, and profitability. Perform the Dupont analysis and compare variation of The Home Depot and Lowe’s ROE, Return on Equity, as the combined effect of profitability, liquidity, and financial leverage.

Part 1: Must be 275 words or more. Must include 2 sources. Deere & Company exports tractors to Spain, but the strong dollar against the Euro hurts sales of Deere Tractors in Spain. In the Spanish market, Deere faces competition from German and Italian tractor makers, such as Fendt and Claas, whose operating currencies are the Euro. What kind of measures would you recommend so that Deere can maintain its market share in Spain? Part 2 (Below): Must be 275 words or more. Must include 2 sources. If you work for a publically traded company, download the company’s annual report. If you don’t work for a publically traded company, download the annual report of one of your favorite products (e.g. Apple or Dell). Search through the report and look for the section regarding “Managing risk” (it may be under a different name, but it is in there). Describe how this company manages economic, or some other type of risk.

Dorchester, Inc. has asked you to help forecast exchange rates for the three potential countries you have selected for your proposal. In a four page paper (excluding title and reference pages), plot the exchange rates from the past year in each of the three countries. Identify and describe any patterns that can be seen. What are the possible explanations for these patterns? What exchange rates do you predict for 1 year from now? In addition to the requirements above, your paper: Must be double-spaced and 12 point font. Must be formatted according to APA style. Must reference two scholarly resources in addition to the textbook. Must include a reference page written in APA format.