Concept explainers
Critical Thinking: Analyzing the Effects of
As an aspiring financial analyst, you have applied to a major Wall Street firm for a summer job. To screen potential applicants, the firm provides you a short case study and asks you to evaluate the financial success of two hypothetical companies that started operations last year on January 1. Both companies operate in the same industry, use very similar assets, and have very similar customer bases. Among the additional information provided about the companies are the following comparative income statements.
Required:
Prepare an analysis of the two companies with the goal of determining which company is better managed. If you could request two additional pieces of information from these companies’ financial statements, describe specifically what they would be and explain how they would help you to make a decision.
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Fundamentals of Financial Accounting
- Jorge Martinez is thinking about buyingan existing printing business and hasbeen carefully studying the records of thebusiness to get a good handle on its historicalfinancial performance. Jorge heardthat you are taking a class in entrepreneurshipand asks you, “What suggestionsdo you have for me to make the best use ofthis financial information (i.e., three yearsof audited income statements, balancesheets, and statements of cash flow)?”What suggestions would you give Jorge formaking the maximum use of the financialstatements?arrow_forwardImagine that you are a financial manager researching investments for your client. Think of a friend or a family member as a client. Define their characteristics and goals such as an employee or employer, relatively young (less than 40 years) or close to retirement, having some savings/property, a risk taker or risk averter, etc. Next, use Nexis Uni at the Strayer University library, located at Nexis Uni, click on “Company Dossier” to research the stock of any U.S. publicly traded company that you may consider as an investment opportunity for your client. Your investment should align with your client’s investment goals. (Note: Please ensure that you are able to find enough information about this company in order to complete this assignment. You will create an appendix, in which you will insert related information.) Provide a rationale for the stock that you selected, indicating the significant economic, financial, and other factors that led you to consider this stock. Suggest the…arrow_forwardSuppose that you have been given a summer job as an intern at Issac Aircams, a company that man- ufactures sophisticated spy cameras for remote-controlled military reconnaissance aircraft. The company, which is privately owned, has approached a bank for a loan to help it finance its growth. The bank requires financial statements before approving such a loan. You have been asked to help prepare the financial statements and were given the following list of costs: Depreciation on salespersons’ cars. Rent on equipment used in the factory. Lubricants used for machine maintenance. Salaries of personnel who work in the finished goods warehouse. Soap and paper towels used by factory workers at the end of a shift. Factory supervisors’ salaries. Heat, water, and power consumed in the factory. Materials used for boxing products for shipment overseas. (Units are not normally boxed.) Advertising costs. Workers’ compensation insurance for factory employees. Depreciation on…arrow_forward
- Suppose that you have been given a summer job as an intern at Issac Aircams, a company that manufactures sophisticated spy cameras for remote-controlled military reconnaissance aircraft. The company, which is privately owned, has approached a bank for a loan to help finance its growth. The bank requires financial statements before approving the loan. Required: Classify each cost listed below as either a product cost or a period cost for the purpose of preparing financial statements for the bank. × Answer is complete but not entirely correct. Costs Product Cost / Period Cost Period Cost Product Cost 1. Depreciation on salespersons' cars. 2. Rent on equipment used in the factory. 3. Lubricants used for machine maintenance. 4. Salaries of personnel who work in the finished goods warehouse. 5. Soap and paper towels used by factory workers at the end of a shift. 6. Factory supervisors' salaries. 7. Heat, water, and power consumed in the factory. 8. Materials used for boxing products for…arrow_forwardGive two advantages and two disadvantages of using Net Present Value as an investment appraisal technique. Explain in no more than one sentence why each point you make is an advantage or disadvantage as if explaining to someone that has no understanding of the terminology or accounting jargon. The Graduate Recruitment Manager of WCITJ Ltd is interested in you as a potential summer intern and future employee. Like all employers, he is only impressed by students that are self motivated, that can communicate well, and those that research and read around their topics. He has asked you to explain, in one concise short paragraph each, three accounting concepts that you have read about during your initial study of accounting as part of your course.arrow_forwardAfter reading the case, you will choose one side to assist (you’ve been hired by Dave James OR you’ve been hired by the three Branson brothers). Prepare a Business Valuation Report. Explain the reasoning for applying any premiums or discounts that other business valuators might use. Discuss limitations, if any, in your report. Given that Branson Trucking possesses a large amount of tangible assets, an asset-based approach can provide a baseline valuation. This method is able to compute the company's net asset value by adding the fair market value of its assets and subtracting liabilities. Keeping this information in mind, the highlighted information provided in the scenario is as follows: Total Assets (Fair Market Value): $10,500,000 Total Liabilities: $5,100,000 Net Asset Value: $5,400,000 Net Income (2020): $1,172,000 Retained Earnings: $2,065,000 Application of Premiums and Discounts Control Premium: A control premium is applied to reflect the value of having a controlling…arrow_forward
- You have recently been employed as a young Finance Director of Cloud 9 Ltd which is in the production of farm equipment and as part of the company's annual exercise to review the growth of the company, you are expected to write a recommendation letter to advise Managing Director and entire management on the future of the business operations. The financials below are to assist you in the best possible way with critical analytical tools to make an informed suggestion to the team. CLOUD 9 LTD STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31 2020 2019 2018 Turnover 373,578 424,486 456,300 Cost of sales (253,604) (254,210) (198,900) Gross profit 119,974 170,276 257,400 Impairment of financial assets (2,477) (1,800) Distribution costs (87,036) (91,309) Administrative expenses (32,556) (50,656) Other operating income 2,369 10,039 Operating profit 274 36,550 Finance income 2,594 4,949 Finance costs (2,069) (2,765) Profit before income tax 799 38,734 Income tax expense (285)…arrow_forwardSuppose that you have been given a summer job as an intern at Issac Aircams, a company that manufacturessophisticated spy cameras for remote-controlled military reconnaissance aircraft. The company, which isprivately owned, has approached a bank for a loan to help it finance its growth. The bank requires financialstatements before approving such a loan. You have been asked to help prepare the financial statements andwere given the following list of costs:1. Depreciation on salespersons’ cars.2. Rent on equipment used in the factory.3. Lubricants used for machine maintenance.4. Salaries of personnel who work in the finished goods warehouse.5. Soap and paper towels used by factory workers at the end of a shift.6. Factory supervisors’ salaries.7. Heat, water, and power consumed in the factory.8. Materials used for boxing products for shipment overseas. (Units are not normally boxed.)9. Advertising costs.10. Workers’ compensation insurance for factory employees.11. Depreciation on chairs…arrow_forwardYou work as an accountant for a small land development company that desperately needs additionalfinancing to continue in business. The president of your company is meeting with the manager of alocal bank at the end of the month to try to obtain this financing. The president has approached youwith two ideas to improve the company’s reported financial position. First, he claims that because abig part of the company’s value comes from its knowledgeable and dedicated employees, you shouldreport their “Intellectual Abilities” as an asset on the balance sheet. Second, he claims that by reporting the company’s land on the balance sheet at its cost, rather than the much higher amount that realestate appraisers say it’s really worth, the company is understating the true value of its assets.Required:1. Thinking back to Chapter 1, why do you think the president is so concerned with the amountof assets reported on the balance sheet?2. What accounting concept introduced in Chapter 2 relates to the…arrow_forward
- You have joined the companies finance team couple of months ago and went through a series of on job rotation and training. Today, the team welcomes a new member and your supervisor asks you take care of the new employee’s onboarding to the team. In particular, your supervisor asks you to tackle the following issues: 1. Describe the cash flows between a firm and its stakeholders. 2. The three fundamental decisions the finance team is concerned with, and how do they affect the firm’s balance sheet? 3. Explain why profit maximization is not the best goal for a company. What is an appropriate goal? 4. What are some of the external and internal factors that affect a firm’s stock price? What is the difference between these two types of factors? 5. Identify the sources of agency costs. What are some ways a company can control these costs? 6. Give an example of a conflict of interest in a business setting, other than the one involving the real estate agent discussed in the text.arrow_forwardIdentify whether the statement is True or False. Replacement value is an estimate of the cost of reproducing, creating, developing, or manufacturing a similar asset. * The replacement value method is superior to book value as it gives an indication of the true value of the firm as of the valuation date. * Borrowings that are contracted to be paid after 24 months are classified as current liabilities. * Brownfield investment is the term used to describe businesses that are starting from scratch. * Replacement cost is the cost of similar assets that have the nearest equivalent value as of the valuation date. * An asset has been defined by the industry as transactions that would yield future economic benefits as a result of past transactions. * Equipment is classified as non-current assets. *arrow_forwardAssume you are thinking about investing in a company. In order to evaluate the company, you read the annual report. Then, explain to other potential investors, in your opinion, how the information in annual reports can help them make investment decisions.arrow_forward
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