FINA6017: Financial Management- Case Study Sidney Myer- Report Writing Assignment

Internal Code: 1GCJA

Report Writing Assignment:

Task: Learning Outcome-

• Explain the basic principles of financial accounting and management accounting as they apply to a business organisation of their choice

• Critically evaluate the role and content of each of the four main financial statements as sources of quantitative data, and their impact on business decision making

• Investigate and evaluate the range of issues involved in the development of a funding structure for an organisation

• Successfully develop budgets and critically evaluate longSterm capital investment proposals performance

• Critically analyse financial statements utilising effective strategies and apply accountancy information for informed managerial decisionS making.

Case Study: MYER Myer is Australia’s largest full line department store with more than sixty stores in prime retail locations across Australia. The Myer retail group was started by Sidney Myer around 1900 and grew by developing its own stores and acquiring other competitor department stores. In 1985 Myer Emporium merged with Coles and formed Coles Myer. In 2006 Coles sold Myer to a private equity group. Subsequently Myer was listed as a public company in 2009. In 2014 a proposed merger with David Jones was proposed but did not take place. Your assessment brief is therefore based on MYER as the case study. The assessment brief documents the required questions to be answered on the designated case study and the rubric informs you on the required performance to be achieved. The financial analysis part of the case study requires you examine the company for the five years 2013 to 2017. The information needed is contained in the annual reports and these are available form the company website. It will enhance your work to compare your assessment of Myer with another company of similar nature. In using financial information consolidated figures should be used. Context: The first assignment in this subject—comprising six parts—requires students to study subject material very closely so that key concepts are reinforced and kept lucid throughout the duration of the subject.  This second assignment, featuring a case study, has the aim to allow students to then demonstrate and bridge their theoretical knowledge of those key concepts, to the practical setting of the case study.  Through this juxtaposition, students will engage in deep, critical thinking of a complex case, systematic analysis and synthesis, and make cogent recommendations that senior management could then implement. Instructions: Students will be provided with a case study of a complex financial situation involving a significant organisation.  Students should set about analysing the case study and then writing up a consultative report culminating in key recommendations addressed to management.  In preparing the report, students should:

• analyse the financial statements of the business;
• identify key ratios and apply ratio analysis;
• argue the case of why the organisation may or may not succeed in the future and

what the business should be doing to help it succeed;

• consider the impact of the political competitive environment on the business;
• discuss relevant ethical considerations when an organisation becomes insolvent;
• include external factors that need to be taken into consideration and the likelihood of a merger or acquisition;
• provide a recommendation, that is, would you invest in this company after your own analysis or under what circumstances would you buy/save the business.

The precise format of the report will be founded on research of industrySgrade consultative reports undertaken by the student, using the Torrens University Library.  Students should, however, include an executive summary, introduction and conclusion at a minimum.  The report is to be limited to 2500 words, exclusive of formal document sections (i.e. title page, executive summary, table of contents, references list, appendices, etc.), citations, tables and graphs.  Students should aim for the demonstration of deep learning, founded on theory through thorough reading of scholarly literature, rather than on getting any aspect of this brief ‘right,’ submiting one file through Turnitin. A key hint for this assignment is to read the case study several times before attempting to write up a consultative report such as this.  Students should commence this assignment early, keep regular backups and ensure they submit the correct, final version.  Students should use this brief as the instruction set for the assignment requirements.  Additionally, the rubric below can be used to describe what unacceptable, functional, proficient, advanced and exceptional assignments might look like according to the criteria in the leftmost column of each row. As this is a Masters level subject, students are expected to engage with highSquality academic journal articles, using the Torrens University Library.  Textbooks, Wikipedia and, in general, anything that can be obtained through an open Google search page are considered supplementary material, unbecoming of a postgraduate.