basic accounting assignment brief

basic accounting assignment brief

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  SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE,BUILDING AND DESIGN Centre for Modern Architecture Studies in Southeast Asia Foundation of Natural and Built Environments (FNBE) Basic Accounting [ACC30205] Prerequisite: None Lecturer: Tay Shir Men Assignment: Financial Ratio Analysis (P/E Ratio, Profitability Ratio, etc.) 30% Group Work Submission: by 2pm, Thursday, 28th January 2016 (Week 17) Introduction The assignment will assist students in developing a better appreciation in ratio analysis and interpretation as a tool for evaluating real-world companies. By reading and analysing the annual reports of publicly-traded companies, students can acquire valuable skills such as deciphering the various details contained in an accounting report, give informed opinions about the company’s business operations and make recommendations regarding the worthiness of the business’ common shares as an investment medium. Objectives of Project The objectives of this project: • To understand the basic purposes of ratio analysis and interpretation. • To understand the techniques of applying the ratios. Learning Outcomes of Project On successful completion of this project, students will be able to demonstrate the following: • Assess the performance of a business (in terms of profitability and financial stability) by applying financial ratio analysis. • Make appropriate business decisions with reference to various accounting information and tools. Tasks - Methodology Your tasks are as follows: a) Form a group with a maximum of 4 members. b) Select a public company (domestic or international) as your research subject. Ensure that the chosen company is engaged in property or construction sector. c) Provide a brief background history of the company and its recent development. d) Conduct ratio analysis on the business annual reports for 2012 and 2013 and interpret the results. 1
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  e) Together withthe P/E ratio (see appendix for more information), provide justifications on whether the company’s shares are worthy of investment. f) Submit your findings in a report with a maximum word limit of 1500 words, excluding references and appendices. The report must be submitted in a softcopy form. g) Note: ensure that you have at least 5 different sources of information in the appendix. h) Note 2: Include the company’s Income (or P&L) statements and Balance Sheets for the relevant years in your report’s appendix section. i) Important: Ensure that you quote your sources and refrain from copying. I conduct plagiarism checks on all assignments submitted. Students caught with the said offence will face disciplinary action. Ignore this warning at your own risk. Submission Requirement - A 1500-word written report (excluding cover page and references) submitted in softcopy form to [email protected]. Assessment criteria The assessment for this assignment will be based on: TGC Acquired Assessment Criteria Marks % Group Component Company Background 5% Ratio Calculation 10% Ratio Interpretation 10% Investment Recommendation 5% TOTAL 30% Marking criteria Please refer to Assessment Rubric on page 3. 2
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  Assessment Rubric forBasic Accounting Assignment (ACC30205) Assessment Criteria (with TGC) 30% Excellent (10-9) Good (8-7) Satisfactory (6-5) Poor (4-3) Fail (2– 0) Company Background 5% Provides a very well-organized and easy-to- understand background history of the firm. Provides a well- organized and easy-to- understand background history of the firm. Provides a somewhat organized and understandable background history of the firm. Provides a disorganized and somewhat hard- to-understand background history of the firm. Background history of the firm is presented in a very disorganized and difficult-to- comprehend manner. Ratio Calculation 10% All the calculations performed are correct with reference to the formulas and accounting report data. There are 1-2 calculation mistakes in terms of misapplication of formula or using the wrong data. There are 3-4 calculation mistakes in terms of misapplication of formula or using the wrong data. There are 5-6 calculation mistakes in terms of misapplication of formula or using the wrong data. There are 7 or more calculation mistakes in terms of misapplication of formula or using the wrong data. Ratio Interpretation 10% The student demonstrated excellent understanding of the ratios i.e. interpreted all the calculation results correctly. The student demonstrated good understanding of the ratios i.e. interpreted most of the calculation results correctly. The student demonstrated adequate understanding of the ratios i.e. interpreted at least half of calculation results correctly. The student demonstrated poor understanding of the ratios and interpreted a majority of the calculation results incorrectly.. The student demonstrated very poor understanding of the ratios and interpreted almost all of the calculation results incorrectly. Investment Recommendations 5% The student provided her investment recommendations based on excellent justifications. The student provided her investment recommendations based on good justifications. The student provided her investment recommendations based on mediocre justifications. The student provided her investment recommendations based on poor justifications. The student provided her investment recommendations based on very poor justifications. 3
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  Appendix 1: P/ERatio Price/Earning or P/E Ratio = Current share price Earnings per share (in number of times) For example: Company B’s current share price is $5.00 per share. It’s earning’s per share (based on the latest year) is $0.50. This means the company’s price/earning ratio is 10 ($5.00/$0.50). How to interpret: This ratio measures how expensive a share is. The higher the P/E ratio, the more expensive a share is. In the example above, a P/E of 10 means that an investor will need to wait for 10 years to recoup his investment. A higher P/E, say 20, means the investor will have to wait even longer – 20 years - to claim back his original principal. A conservative investor will normally pay no more than P/E of 15 for a share that he likes. Appendix 2: Investment Recommendation When determining whether the company that you are analysing is worth investing in, you have to take into account 3 factors: a) Profitability b) Liquidity / Stability c) Share price In other words, the company must have demonstrated good profitability, strong financial stability and its shares are available at a cheap price (i.e. P/E of 15 or lower) to warrant an investment. To determine good profitability and strong financial stability, refer back to the profitability and stability ratios that you have calculated and look at the overall picture of these 2 groups of ratios. There are no hard and fast rule about what really qualifies as good profitability and strong financial stability so there is some subjectivity regarding that. However, it is useful to ask yourself (honestly) whether you think the company is profitable and stable. If the answer is not a resounding yes, then it would be wise to not invest in the company. If you think that the company has good profitability and stability, and it is also currently available at a cheap price (i.e. P/E below 15), then you can recommend the company’s shares as suitable for investment. 4