FOR REY WRITER

A Financial Research Report is to be submitted by the end of Week 9.

Complete information about this assignment is presented as a standing Announcement in the Online Classroom. It is also provided in the online classroom under the Graded Assignments for Week 9.

In addition to the information provided about this assignment in the Announcement, here is additional information about how the paper is to be presented. This will also be posted as a standing Announcement in the Online Classroom for your reference.

I am sure that most students have already started on this assignment and thought that this additional information may be helpful.

If you have any questions, please ask.

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FIN 534 – FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

REQUIRED SUBHEADINGS FOR FINANCIAL RESEARCH REPORT

DUE BY END OF WEEK 9

Each section of the paper must begin with a subheading.

The required subheadings (which must be used) are provided here.

Use the entire subheadings that appear in bold below.

The subheadings must be used to separate the sections of the paper.

1. Rationale for Selection - Provide a rationale for the U.S. publicly traded company that you selected, indicating the significant factors driving your decision as a financial manager.

This section should provide information about why this firm is selected as a potential investment opportunity.

It should include identification of key operational and financial performance indicators.

This section should not be just a description of what the company does.

2. Profile of Investor in Company - Determine the profile of the investor for which this company may be a fit, relative to that potential investor’s investment strategy. Provide support for your rationale.

This section should identify the characteristics of investors who may be interested in this company as an investment.

Explain why the characteristics are important.

It would be appropriate to explain who the present investors are.

3. Financial Ratio Analysis - Select any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Analyze the past three (3) years of the company’s financial data, which you may obtain from the company’s financial statements. Determine the company’s financial health. (Note: Suggested ratios include, but are not limited to, current ratio, quick ratio, earnings per share, and price earnings ratio.)

Remember that three years of data are required for each of the 5 ratios.

Always include the actual ratio data in the written analysis in addition to presentation in any table or figure.

The section should include a summary that explains what the overall ratio analysis means.

4. Risks for Investors and Strategies to Minimize Risks - Based on your financial review, determine the risk level of the company from your investor’s point of view. Indicate key strategies that you may use in order to minimize these perceived risks.

Remember, the Form 10K report (Section 1A) is a good reference for identifying risks.

Remember to present information about the traditional measures of risk for stocks.

Don’t forget to discuss the risk reduction strategies examined in the class.

5. Recommendation as Investment Opportunity - Provide your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Support your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles or material from the Strayer Library.

This section needs to present the important reasons why this company is a good investment.

It should include the key operational and financial performance indicators that support investing in the company.

It is appropriate to identify the reasons not to invest in the company (even if the recommendation is to make the investment.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS

1. Work Hard to Avoid Personal Pronouns – The excessive use of personal pronouns is discouraged in business and analytical writing. It is recommended that personal pronouns are avoided altogether, if possible. Please make sure that personal pronouns (e.g., I, we, my, our, etc.) are avoided in paper. It will take some work, but it can be done easily by rearranging the wording of sentences.

2. Companies Are Not “They,” “Their,” or “Them” – This is a reminder that a company is not a “they,” “their,” or “them.” A company is very much an “it.” So, to reference a company, use “it,” the name of the company, or “the company,” or “the organization,” or “the firm,” etc.

3. Cover Page - Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date.