Financial Analysis Assignment This is an individual assignment that focuses on Dun and Bradstreet's key business ratio analysisand a current financial situation analysis. By completing this assignment, students will meet the outcome(s): analyze and synthesize strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to generate, prioritize, and implement alternative strategies in order to write and present a strategic plan evaluate the outcomes of selected strategies to determine their success and impact on the achievement of an organization's vision and mission Required Elements to include in Financial Analysis: Students will be provided with a list of publicly traded organizations from which to choose; Students will be required to create a quantitative financial spreadsheet with key financial ratios; Complete the financial ratios using the template provided; Include an additional financial ratios that you believe relevant or important to your analysis; Provide a detailed, written analysis of the findings from the financial analysis; a trend analysis of the latest three years of key balance and income statement information, including a spreadsheet depicting the trend as well as a detailed, written analysis of the information (spreadsheet will be provided) Demonstrate critical thinking in the assessment. Required Formatting of Paper: This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and three to four page written analysis excluding the title page, reference page and .spreadsheets; Completed spreadsheets with the most recently reported three years of financial statements and presented as an appendix; This paper should be written in the third person.  No script should contain the words “I or we;” Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and instructor’s name; This paper should be written in the third person.  No script should contain the words “I or we;” Include references with at least one reference other than the textbook; Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page.  You are expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions will be taken when quotes are used and found to be unnecessary; Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder. Financial Analysis Assignment Template Your response for the Financial Analysis Assignment should measure, record, and present the financial performance of your firm. Your analysis shall be conducted on a year-to-year basis using the firm’s most recent three years Balance Sheets and Income Statements except for final partial-year data, as appropriate (e.g., 4 th quarter 2012*). Use the template below as a guide for developing your response for the Financial Analysis Assignment. Financial Analysis Assignment Cover Sheet List of Illustrations Table of Contents (Start of Topic Outline for Body of Paper) I.          Introduction II.         Summary of Operations ($000) A.         Net Sales B.         Gross Margin C.         Operating Margin D.         Income before Taxes E.         Ne.

1. Financial Analysis Assignment
This is an individual assignment that focuses on Dun and
Bradstreet's key business ratio analysisand a current financial
situation analysis.
By completing this assignment, students will meet the
outcome(s):
analyze and synthesize strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats (SWOT) to generate, prioritize, and implement
alternative strategies in order to write and present a strategic
plan
evaluate the outcomes of selected strategies to determine their
success and impact on the achievement of an organization's
vision and mission
Required Elements to include in Financial Analysis:
Students will be provided with a list of publicly traded
organizations from which to choose;
Students will be required to create a quantitative financial
spreadsheet with key financial ratios;
Complete the financial ratios using the template provided;
Include an additional financial ratios that you believe relevant
or important to your analysis;
Provide a detailed, written analysis of the findings from the
financial analysis;
a trend analysis of the latest three years of key balance and
income statement information, including a spreadsheet depicting
the trend as well as a detailed, written analysis of the
information (spreadsheet will be provided)
Demonstrate critical thinking in the assessment.
Required Formatting of Paper:
This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and three to
four page written analysis excluding the title page, reference
page and .spreadsheets;
Completed spreadsheets with the most recently reported three
years of financial statements and presented as an appendix;

2. This paper should be written in the third person. No script
should contain the words “I or we;”
Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and
instructor’s name;
This paper should be written in the third person. No script
should contain the words “I or we;”
Include references with at least one reference other than the
textbook;
Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page.
You are expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions
will be taken when quotes are used and found to be
unnecessary;
Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.
Financial Analysis Assignment Template
Your response for the Financial Analysis Assignment should
measure, record, and present the financial performance of your
firm. Your analysis shall be conducted on a year-to-year basis
using the firm’s most recent three years Balance Sheets and
Income Statements except for final partial-year data, as
appropriate (e.g., 4
th
quarter 2012*). Use the template below as a guide for
developing your response for the Financial Analysis
Assignment.
Financial Analysis Assignment Cover Sheet
List of Illustrations
Table of Contents
(Start of Topic Outline for Body of Paper)
I. Introduction
II. Summary of Operations ($000)
A. Net Sales
B. Gross Margin
C. Operating Margin
D. Income before Taxes
E. Net Income
F. Summary of Operations Data Assessment/Interpretation

3. III. Financial Position ($000)
A. Working Capital
B. Net Property, Plant & Equipment
C. Total Assets
D. Long Term Assets
E. Stockholders’ Equity
F. Financial Position Data Assessment/Interpretation
Summary
IV. Financial Ratios to cover four (4) categories of the
firm’s performance; minimum one ratio from each category.
A. Liquidity
B. Leverage
C. Profitability
D. Efficiency
E. Financial Ratios Data Assessment/Interpretation
Summary
V. Historical view of the financial performance; 3-year
Trend Analysis for relevant financial performance variables
A. Comparisons with at least 2 major competitors
B. Comparison with Industry Standards
C. Supplemental Data
D. Historical Financial Performance and 3-year Trend
Analysis Data Assessment/Interpretation Summary
(End of Topic Outline for Body of Paper)
References
Appendix (Examples of Typical Appendices)
1. Industry Statistics
2. Company Income Statements
3. Company Balance Sheets
4. Company Quarterly Statements
5. Competitor #1 Income Statements
6. Competitor #1 Key Statistics
7. Competitor #2 Income Statements
8. Competitor #2 Key Statistics
*
If year-end Financial Statements for the entire FY 2011 are not

4. available (FY 2011 is not concluded), analyze performance for
the available quarters –identify the FY termination date
.
Grading Rubric for Financial Analysis (10%)
Outstanding
Superior
Good
Substandard
Failure
3
2.55
2.25
1.95
1.65
Critical thinking/reasoning
demonstrates a high degree of critical thinking, is consistent in
accurately interpreting questions & material; provides solid
assumptions, reasoning & claims; thorough analysis &
evaluation with sound conclusions
shows good critical thinking; accurately interprets most
questions & material; usually identifies relevant
arguments/reasoning/claims; offers good analysis & evaluation
with fairly sound conclusions
shows occasional critical thinking; questions & material is at
times accurately interpreted; arguments/reasoning/claims are
occasionally explained; offers fair analysis & evaluation with a
conclusion
shows little critical thinking, misinterprets questions or
material; ignores or superficially evaluates; justifies little and
seldom explains reasoning; draws unwarranted conclusions
lacks critical thinking consistently offers biased interpretations;
ignores or superficially evaluates; argues using poor reasoning,

5. and/or unwarranted claims
3
2.55
2.25
1.95
1.65
Application of concepts/development
arguments or positions are well-supported with evidence from
the readings/experience; ideas go beyond the course material
and recognize implication and extensions of the material and
concepts
arguments or positions are mostly supported by evidence from
the readings and course content; ideas presented demonstrate
student’s understanding of the material and concepts
arguments are more often based on opinion or unclear views
than on position grounded in the readings of material or
external sources of material
arguments are frequently illogical and unsubstantiated; student
may resort to ad hominem attacks on the author instead of
making meaningful application of the material
a meaningful attempt to explain or support ideas does not exist
2
1.7
1.5
1.3
1.1

6. Attention to instructions
demonstrated full understanding of requirements responded to
each aspect of assignment
demonstrated understanding of requirements; missed one minor
aspect of assignment
demonstrated some understanding of requirements; missed a key
element or two minor aspects of assignment
failed to show a firm understanding of requirements; missed two
key elements or several minor aspects of assignment
did not demonstrate understanding of assignment requirements
1.00
0.85
0.75
0.65
0.55
Accuracy of Data/Presentation Points
data is accurate, relevant, and supports narrative for all
assignment tasks requiring supported data.
majority of data supported the narrative or with little data being
incomplete, inaccurate, or not relevant for assignment task.
Data supported the majority of the assignment tasks on a
continuum of well to very well.
most data supported the narrative or few or the supporting data
is incomplete, inaccurate, or not relevant for assignment task.
Data reasonably supported the assignment tasks.
missing some supporting data for narrative or some of the
supporting data is incomplete, inaccurate, or not relevant for
task. Data failed to accurately support some of the assignment
tasks.
no supporting data for narrative or the majority of the
supporting data is incomplete; inaccurate or not relevant for
task. Data failed to accurately support the task

7. 1.00
0.85
0.75
0.65
0.55
Clarity, including grammar/ APA style
writing is clear and easy to follow; grammar and spelling are all
correct; formatting gives a professional look and adds to
readability; no APA style errors
most ideas are presented clearly; occasional spelling and/or
grammar issues; attempts in-text citation and reference list but 1
or 2 APA style errors are present
wordy; some points require rereading to understand fully; more
than an occasional spelling and/or grammar; attempts in-text
citation and reference listing; APA style errors are present:
inconsistencies in citation usage can be found throughout the
document
unclear and difficult to understand; frequent spelling and
grammar issues; attempts either in-text citation or reference list
but omits the other
largely incomprehensible writing/poorly written in terms of
mechanics and structure; no attempt at APA style
Strategic Dissection
In this exercise, students will identify strategies presented in
this course that are currently being used by the organization
discussed in the mission and vision paper. The strategies
should be identified and discussed at corporate, business, and
functional levels.
By completing this assignment, students will meet the
outcome(s):
evaluate the outcomes of selected strategies to determine their
success and impact on the achievement of an organization's

8. vision and mission
Required Elements to include in Strategic Dissection:
Identify strategies
Discuss strategies used at the corporate, business and function
levels using the concepts learned in the course.
Demonstrate critical thinking in the assessment.
Required Formatting of Paper:
This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and two to
three pages in length excluding the title page and reference
page;
Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and
instructor’s name;
This paper should be written in the third person. No script
should contain the words “I or we;”
Include references with at least one reference other than the
textbook;
Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page.
You are expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions
will be taken when quotes are used and found to be
unnecessary;
Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.
Grading Rubric for Strategic Dissection (10%)
Outstanding
Superior
Good
Substandard
Failure
3.50
2.98
2.63
2.28

9. 1.93
Critical thinking/reasoning
demonstrates a high degree of critical thinking, is consistent in
accurately interpreting questions & material; provides solid
assumptions, reasoning & claims; thorough analysis &
evaluation with sound conclusions
shows good critical thinking; accurately interprets most
questions & material; usually identifies relevant
arguments/reasoning/claims; offers good analysis & evaluation
with fairly sound conclusions
shows occasional critical thinking; questions & material is at
times accurately interpreted; arguments/reasoning/claims are
occasionally explained; offers fair analysis & evaluation with a
conclusion
shows little critical thinking, misinterprets questions or
material; ignores or superficially evaluates; justifies little and
seldom explains reasoning; draws unwarranted conclusions
lacks critical thinking consistently offers biased interpretations;
ignores or superficially evaluates; argues using poor reasoning,
and/or unwarranted claims
3.50
2.98
2.63
2.28
1.93
Application of concepts/development

10. arguments or positions are well-supported with evidence from
the readings/experience; ideas go beyond the course material
and recognize implication and extensions of the material and
concepts
arguments or positions are mostly supported by evidence from
the readings and course content; ideas presented demonstrate
student’s understanding of the material and concepts
arguments are more often based on opinion or unclear views
than on position grounded in the readings of material or
external sources of material
arguments are frequently illogical and unsubstantiated; student
may resort to ad hominem attacks on the author instead of
making meaningful application of the material
a meaningful attempt to explain or support ideas does not exist
1.50
1.28
1.13
0.98
0.83
Attention to instructions
demonstrated full understanding of requirements responded to
each aspect of assignment
demonstrated understanding of requirements; missed one minor
aspect of assignment
demonstrated some understanding of requirements; missed a key
element or two minor aspects of assignment
failed to show a firm understanding of requirements; missed two
key elements or several minor aspects of assignment
did not demonstrate understanding of assignment requirements
1.00
0.85

11. 0.75
0.65
0.55
Clarity, including grammar
writing is clear and easy to follow; grammar and spelling are all
correct; formatting gives a professional look and adds to
readability
most ideas are presented clearly; occasional spelling and/or
grammar issues
wordy; some points require rereading to understand fully; more
than an occasional spelling and/or grammar
unclear and difficult to understand; frequent spelling and
grammar issues
largely incomprehensible writing/poorly written in terms of
mechanics and structure
0.50
0.43
0.38
0.33
0.28
Adherence to APA style (6
th
ed.)
no APA style errors
attempts in-text citation and reference list but 1 or 2 APA style
errors are present
attempts in-text citation and reference listing; APA style errors
are present: inconsistencies in citation usage can be found
throughout the document
attempts either in-text citation or reference list but omits the
other
no attempt at APA style