Analyze Financial Data

Units 1-3 [MT480: Corporate Finance]

Team Assignment

Team Assignment: Prepare a Business Letter (due in Unit 3)

The ability to interact and solve problems together — even at a distance — is a key skill in today's business environment. You will demonstrate the ability to solve complex problems by establishing a team setting ensuring all team members properly complete agreed upon and assigned tasks.

Your team has a proprietary Team Discussion Board area under Unit 3 labeled Team X Discussion. Your team also has a team-specific email group list, and a private synchronous Chat area, if you choose to use them. Teams sometimes use an instant messaging service, such as AIM. Please post your meeting minutes in your Team Discussion Board area. Setting up a specific time each week to check in may be helpful.

This Assignment will assess your knowledge based on the following outcome:

PC-1.2: Contribute to team goals and objectives through active participation and collaboration.

You will analyze financial data and present the rationale to deny a loan renewal request. Comparative Balance Sheets and a Cash Flow Statement are used in the analysis.

After review and analysis of the Cash Flow Statement you will prepare a business letter to explicitly explain to the customer your reasoning for denying the loan.

● Each team member will be asked to provide their respective analysis of one of the six sections of the team’s letter.

● Teams are required to prepare and post meeting minutes to their Team Discussion Area that will also be submitted with the final Team Assignment.

● One member of the team will submit the final Team Assignment with the meeting minutes to the Assignment Dropbox.

Let’s Get Started!

Experience has shown the following timeline to be helpful. Please do not feel constrained by this timeline, it is not a graded item.

Unit 1, 2, and 3: Wednesday — Greet each other in the Team Discussion Area and exchange contact information, time zone, and best meeting days and times. (See Agenda suggestion below)

Units 1-3 [MT480: Corporate Finance]

Unit 3: Thursday — Determine who will lead the project, who will do which part, by when, what your communication expectations are and when you will be meeting next.

Unit 3: Friday — Confirmation of delegated duties. Delegated parties accept their delegated duty and begin working on their deliverables.

Unit 3: Saturday — Project Leader reassigns any duties not accepted by individuals on the team and the team member’s continue working on their deliverables.

Unit 3: Sunday — Submit draft Assignment to Project Leader. Project Leader posts draft Assignment in the Team Discussion Board.

Unit 3: Monday — Team edits/improves the Assignment deliverable.

Unit 3: Tuesday — One team member submits the Assignment.

You may find this to be a helpful guide for an agenda for your first meeting, or initial team discussion posts.

AGENDA:

● Determine Project Leadership. ● Determine the specifications, resources, and timelines for the project. ● Determine communication protocol. ● Determine next meeting.

Team Assignment Instructions

The Team Assignment requires an analysis of specific financial data of Bob Smith Inc. Bob is an existing bank customer. When the loan to Bob was originally made in 2013 the bank required Bob to increase the YE 2014 cash balance to at least $70,000. The Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet show an actual YE 2014 cash balance of less than $34,000.

The Team Assignment requires participation in a team effort to complete the (partially prepared) 2014 Cash Flow Statement. In Seminar 1 you discussed how to complete and use the 2014 Cash Flow Statement outcomes to explain how specific accounts influenced Bob’s low cash balances…in other words…some reasons why Bob has no cash!

This information allows you to substantiate the 2015 loan denial. You are aware this action will create dire financial circumstances for Bob’s company. As the loan officer you

Units 1-3 [MT480: Corporate Finance]

must pass along the news in a business letter that is most professional and written in an objective manner. Please use values in the letter whenever possible.

The documents for this project will be reviewed in Seminar 1 and the Team Assignment will be due by the end of Unit 3.

Requirements

This project includes data for the a) comparative Balance Sheets, b) partially completed Cash Flow Statement worksheet and, c) the template outline of the loan denial letter. Each document will be reviewed in the Week 1 Seminar.

You will locate the comparative Balance Sheets and Cash Flow Statement worksheet in the Team Assignment Worksheets file.

Please use the template outline to prepare the business letter.

Criteria for Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes must include each team members name, date, and notes of the discussions. Minutes to the meetings will be submitted on the same document after your business letter.

Directions for submitting your Team Assignment

Prepare your Assignment in a minimum of 2 double-spaced pages in length, using size 12 point font in Microsoft Word format. At the end of your paper, add the meeting minutes. Name the file as: MT480 Business Letter Team X. One team member will submit the Team Assignment to the Unit 3 Assignment Dropbox.

MT480 Unit 3 Team Assignment: Business Letter Points Possible

Points Earned

Content (50%)

Response successfully answers the assignment questions based upon the Case Study data; thoroughly uses the text and other literature. Includes a strong thesis statement, introduction, and conclusion. The main points of the paper are developed clearly and explained using the denial letter and appropriate financial and accounting terminology. All arguments are supported well (no errors in logic) based upon the Statement of Cash Flows data.

20

Units 1-3 [MT480: Corporate Finance]

Achievement of a well-synthesized paper using contributions from team participants to achieve a paper that resembles the collective talents of the group. The team presents minutes to the meetings based upon project specifications.

20

Analysis and Critical Thinking (30%)

Response exhibits strong higher-order critical thinking and includes appropriate judgments, conclusions and assessments are based on the analysis of the Balance Sheet and Statement of Cash Flows.

10

Analysis includes proper classifications, explanations, comparisons and inferences based on the cash flow representations. Team’s work includes recognition of accounts. Team’s work is reconciled back to the financial data provided.

10

Writing (20%)

Sentences are clear, concise, and direct; tone is appropriate. Project is free of serious errors; grammar, punctuation, and spelling help to clarify the meaning by following accepted conventions.

5

The paper includes the provided format of the Bank Denial Letter.

5

Total 70

Program Outcome: Work in teams to achieve collective goals.

Not Assessed

N/A

No work was received by the instructor.

No Progress 0

Team member shows little, if any, understanding or progress toward achievement of this outcome.

Introductory 1

Team member marginally attempts to contribute team goals and objectives, but lacks understanding of team goals and objectives.

Units 1-3 [MT480: Corporate Finance]

Emergent 2

Team member supports team goals and objectives through fulfilling some (e.g. less than 50%) of his or her own contributions.

Practiced 3

Team member supports team goals and objectives through fulfilling most (e.g. more than 50%) of his or her own contributions.

Proficient 4

Team member supports team goals and objectives through completely fulfilling his or her own contributions as well as occasionally assisting and/or supporting others in their contributions.

Mastery 5

Team member fully supports team goals and objectives through fulfilling his or her own contributions as well as consistently assisting and/or supporting others in their contributions.