KWB213 Lecture Notes - Fax, Jargon

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graytrout656

8 Sep 2013

School

QUT

Department

Creative Writing & Literary Studies

Course

KWB213

Professor

Dr.Glen Thomas

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Document Summary

The purpose of a report is to provide people with information so they can make decisions and solve problems. They vary according to purpose, audience and the context. Reports are the dominant business document, even though research suggests that nobody reads large portions of the reports. There are three main kinds of report: the information report, the analytical report and the. They also exist for record-keeping purposes, but those three are the main purposes. An informational report collects, records and present data to the reader. An example of this would be a progress report, accident report, sales reports or a conference report. An analytical report interprets the significance of data for a reader. An example of this would be eitheran investigative, an experiment or a research report. A recommendation report takes data and recommends actions or a solution. Examples recommend feasibility studies, justification reports, ethics reports etc.

Related Questions

1. Apply to actual companies the basic knowledge and analytical techniques learned from our course.

2. Prepare common-size financial statements, comparative financial statements, and various profitability and risk ratios.

3. Compare the calculated results with competitors and across different years.

4. Summarize the analyses and make investment recommendations.

You will be analyzing the following firms:

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

Pier 1 Imports, Inc.

For these firms, download the most recent annual report (10-K report) to begin your work. In 10-K reports, you can find companiesâ basic information, financial statements, footnotes to the financials, and the management discussions and analyses. Please download the 10-K reports from the following web links:

10-K reports (fiscal year 2016) for Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/719955/000119312517104341/d265187d10k.htm

10-K reports (fiscal year 2015) for Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/719955/000119312516525847/d120289d10k.htm

10-K reports (fiscal year 2014) for Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/719955/000119312515118009/d851953d10k.htm#tx851953_13

10-K reports (fiscal year 2016) for Pier 1 Imports, Inc.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/278130/000119312517136345/d343458d10k.htm

10-K reports (fiscal year 2015) for Pier 1 Imports, Inc.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/278130/000119312516556025/d133529d10k.htm

10-K reports (fiscal year 2014) for Pier 1 Imports, Inc.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/278130/000119312515153179/d881010d10k.htm#toc881010_13

For your convenience, I also provided the balance sheet and income statement of each company for the most recent years at the end (page 5-8; Table 1-4). Please use them to prepare common-size financial statements and comparative financial statements.

Guidance

The required tasks are detailed below:

(1) Prepare common-size balance sheets and income statements for both companies. Note: Compute for the most recent THREE years.

(2) Prepare comparative analysis (i.e., change of percentage analysis) on income statement and balance sheet for both companies. You should compute for the most recent THREE years.

(3) Prepare ratio analyses (for the same THREE year time period) for both companies. At least, you should include the following ratios in your computations: (1) current ratio, (2) acid-test ratio, (3) receivables turnover, (4) inventory turnover, (5) asset turnover, (6) profit margin on sales, (7) rate of return on assets, (8) rate of return on common stock equity, (9) earnings per share, (10) payout ratio, (11) debt to total assets ratio, (12) times interest earned, (13) cash debt coverage ratio, and (14) book value per share.

(4) Comment on the analytical results of the two companies. Your comments should concentrate on the trends across the companies. In addition to contrasting the ratios between the companies, you should interpret the numbers and make suggestions as to why the ratio of one company might be higher/lower than the other.

(5) Write a conclusive summary on the firms you have studied. Based upon your conclusions, recommend the better performing firm for potential investment. Your conclusions should be based upon, and specifically reference, the analyses prepared in this report.

(6) Read sample project to get some ideas.

Report Format Requirements:

A. Report body requirements:

Cover page. List the title of the project, your names, and semester/year.

Abstract or Executive Summary. This is a separate page. It should cover the purpose of the project, the major findings, and the conclusions/recommendations, in summary form.

Table of Contents.

Main body. Use the following sequence for report content:

Introduction to the two companies and to the purpose of the report

Analytical section. This should include all your numerical analyses. This is where you will discuss the results of, comments on, and conclusions about the vertical and horizontal common-size statements, comparative analysis (i.e., change of percentage analysis), and the ratio analyses for both companies.

Comparisons of companies and all other analysis (observations and/or interpretations). (You may combine b and c if you wish, as long as both are well covered.)

Conclusions and recommendation for investment.

References. List all major reference sources.

Appendices. Include tables and graphs of your numerical analyses. For reference convenience, assign a title to each separate item, such as Table 1, Exhibit 1, etc.

B. Typesetting requirements:

Use size 12 font. Times New Roman is preferred.

Double space between lines.

Number pages in accordance with the APA style guide.

One inch on all sides.

Do not right justify text. Use left justify.

Minimum length: 8 pages. (Note: You can easily meet the minimum length requirement since you will have a lot of tables in the paper.)

The submitted work should be in ONE file with a word or pdf format. An Excel spreadsheet file is NOT acceptable.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Evidence of plagiarism will result in a grade of âFâ to the course and be subject to appropriate disciplines.

NOTES:

A portion of your grade will be assessed based on the overall report quality, clarity, format, and cohesiveness.

A FREE RIDER in the group will not be tolerated. However, to report an alleged free rider, you should send me a formal written complaint. You should carefully manage your group over the semester to ensure that no teammate will take the chance of turning into a free rider. Try to contact/manage your teammates frequently and inform me if any member is not willing to participate the group work so we can address this issue ASAP. A free rider will receive his/her group project grades solely based on what he/she has contributed to the projects. If there is a free-rider in your group or a member drops the class, the rest of the group members are still expected to submit a COMPLETE paper.

Again, the balance sheet and income statements are provided at the end. Please use them to prepare common-size and comparative financial statements.

Table 1. Williams-Sonoma, Inc ----Balance Sheet

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
BALANCE SHEET
Fiscal Years 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013
(In thousands)	FY 2016	FY 2015	FY 2014	FY 2013
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 213,713	$ 193,647	$ 222,927	330121
Restricted cash	â	â	â	14289
Accounts receivable, net	88,803	79,304	67,465	60,330
Merchandise inventories, net	977,505	978,138	887,701	813,160
Prepaid catalog expenses	23,625	28,919	33,942	33,556
Prepaid expenses	52,882	44,654	36,265	35,309
Deferred income taxes, net	â	â	130,618	121,486
Other assets	10,652	11,438	13,005	10,852
Total current assets	1,367,180	1,336,100	1,391,923	1,419,103
Property and equipment, net	923,283	886,813	883,012	849,293
Deferred income taxes, net	135,238	141,784	4,265	13,824
Other assets, net	51,178	52,730	51,077	54,514
Total assets	$ 2,476,879	$ 2,417,427	$ 2,330,277	2,336,734
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERSâ EQUITY
Current liabilities
Accounts payable	$ 453,710	$ 447,412	$ 397,037	404791
Accrued salaries, benefits and other liabilities	130,187	127,122	136,012	138,181
Customer deposits	294,276	296,827	261,679	228,193
Income taxes payable	23,245	67,052	32,488	49,365
Current portion of long-term debt	â	â	1,968	1,785
Other liabilities	59,838	58,014	46,764	38,781
Total current liabilities	961,256	996,427	875,948	861,096
Deferred rent and lease incentives	196,188	173,061	166,925	157,856
Long-term debt				1,968
Other long-term obligations	71,215	49,713	62,698	59,812
Total liabilities	1,228,659	1,219,201	1,105,571	1,080,732
Stockholdersâ equity
Preferred stock: $.01 par value; 7,500 shares authorized; none issued	â	â	â	0
Common stock: $.01 par value; 253,125 shares authorized;
87,325 and 89,563 shares issued and outstanding at	873	896	919	941
January 29, 2017 and January 31, 2016, respectively	873	896	919	941
Additional paid-in capital	556,928	541,307	527,261	522,595
Retained earnings	701,702	668,545	701,214	729,043
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(9,903)	(10,616)	(2,548)	6524
Treasury stock â at cost: 20 and 29 shares as of January 29, 2017 and January 31, 2016, respectively	(1,380)	(1,906)	(2,140)	(3,101)
Total stockholdersâ equity	1,248,220	1,198,226	1,224,706	1,256,002
Total liabilities and stockholdersâ equity	$ 2,476,879	$ 2,417,427	$ 2,330,277	2,336,734

Table 2. Williams-Sonoma, Inc --- Statement of Income

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
STATEMENT OF INCOME
Fiscal Years 2016, 2015, 2014,2013
(In thousands)	FY 2016	FY 2015	FY 2014	FY 2013
E-commerce net revenues	$ 2,633,602	$ 2,522,580	$ 2,370,694	$ 2,115,022
Retail net revenues	2,450,210	2,453,510	2,328,025	2,272,867
Net revenues	5,083,812	4,976,090	4,698,719	4,387,889
Cost of goods sold	3,200,502	3,131,876	2,898,215	2,683,673
Gross profit	1,883,310	1,844,214	1,800,504	1,704,216
Selling, general and administrative expenses	1,410,711	1,355,580	1,298,239	1,252,118
Operating income	472,599	488,634	502,265	452,098
Interest (income) expense, net	688	627	62	(584)
Earnings before income taxes	471,911	488,007	502,203	452,682
Income taxes	166,524	177,939	193,349	173,780
Net earnings	$ 305,387	$ 310,068	$ 308,854	$ 278,902

jadegoat246

Q: Please read carefully and complete requirement number 4 wich is

A)â¨ Summarize your findings and recommendation for future plans.

B)Include a plan to visit the country. Identify travel objectives, key persons with which to meet, activities to experience (related to your industry),

C) travel plans and cost estimate.

Requirements. Note that requirements 1-3 are already answered in the report bellow the requirements section.

The final project for this course is a written International Investment Report. Your company wants you to research a possible investment in a foreign country. Please pick a company and a country for investment.

You must evaluate the industry and country of investment to determine if the current circumstances in the specified country can support a business of your choice. Country evaluation should focus on economic, financial and political risk of the country. Industry structure analysis would look at the regulatory structure as well as the competition in the target country.

The final recommendation would be whether or not to enter the specific country in the designated sector and what should be your entry strategy. The goal of the project is to analyze the prospects for expanding your company into the foreign country.

Main Elements

To gain the full support of management, your report should include, as a minimum, the following content:

1. Introduction:

Describe the basics of the proposal. Identify:

Country basics

Company basics

Purpose of expansion and project specifications

2. Country Evaluation:â¨Describe the country of investment. Include the following:

Economic structure, indicators and risk

Financial structure, indicators and risk

Political structure and risk

Recent history which impacts current conditions and risks

Geography, natural resources and existing industries that impacts current conditions and risks

Overall risk indicators

3. Industry Evaluation:â¨Describe the industry in the country. Include the following:

Regulatory structure

Competition â Major and minor competitors

Local financing options for the expansion

Overall attractiveness of the industry

4. Recommendationâ¨ Summarize your findings and recommendation for future plans. Include a plan to visit the country. Identify travel objectives, key persons with which to meet, activities to experience (related to your industry), travel plans and cost estimate.

Report.

1.Company Basics: The Company, established in 2014, is a user-centric, focuses on the development of electric vehicles with headquarters in Gardena, California.

Industry: Automobiles

Product: Electronic Cars

Purpose of expansion: There are three main elements to consider China as the platform for company expansion:

Project Specifications:

The company can try to invest in China to produce electric cars. It could concentrate on upper class people to market their cars. They can enter into market with some suitable pricing strategies based on market and product that is targeted. Based on the present analysis, the company should manufacture small and affordable which are suitable for china market. The marketer should formulate suitable strategy to market the same.

2. Country evaluation: The basics of China

China is a country which mostly concentrates on the middle class group. China has a lot of manufacturers but very few retailers, and the products sold to the consumers are generally low cost items. Hence, large and international retailers are not able to sell high cost items in China. Therefore, such big foreign retailers lure the consumers with discounts to attract them.

China has a lot of local manufacturers and less retailers. This emerges as a golden opportunity for the foreign retailers. However, the ability to use the opportunity in a right way can only lead to a successful business

Economic structure: As per the reports, Real GDP raised by 6.7% year on year in the first half of 2016, but they expect a slowdown in the second half to lower full-year expansion to 6.6%. Subsequently, the reports revealed that economic growth will slow gradually, to 4.1% by 2020, as the authorities take delayed steps to tackle an unsustainable build-up in debt. Finally, the government's authoritarian behavior and its disappointing progress on market reform indicate the China's weak economic prospects.

Financial Risk: China has a different structure to finance the corporate. It poses challenging elements to get a deal and obtain financing. Companies should be able to showcase a variety of financing options when negotiating business projects in China. The companies should understand and communicate the western financier's perspective and the Chinese official's perspective while negotiating the projects. The companies should maintain a specialist to engage the operations of banking with Chinese banking community.

Political Risk:

There exists a unique type of political risk in China. There is a constant fight between the countryâs central government and other provincial, local governments over the applicable law and observance or non-observance of it. This concept makes the companies to be more cautious about rules of China. So, there is a dynamic political environment in China and the FF Company should be cautious about the political changes and take decision accordingly.

3. Industry evaluation:

Auto industry in China:

The Chinaâs automotive sector is growing at the rate of 24% compounding between 2005 and 2011 and, in 2010. Its growth has dominated the United States new car market which is an attractive point for FF to enter in China auto market. The forecasts of China auto market indicate that there are chances of slowing down the growth rate to 8% a year between 2011 and 2020 but still it could be an attractive one for FF company as the sales forecasts to reach 22 million by 2020 which is bigger than the European or North American markets.

Competition: BYD, Chery, FAW Volkswagen, GAC (Guangzhou Auto), BAIC (Beijing Auto) and Beiqi Foton and others have occupied electric car market in China. But there are still chances for the new players to exploit the market. The Electric vehicles are expected to grow in the A model segment due to increased public environmental awareness and expected government policy initiatives. Two trends are driving the Chinese auto market those are consumers will increasingly choose to buy bigger and more expensive cars. Another point to be focused is that the used-car market in China is growing, a development that could increase new car sales of the lower price segment in particular. Emerging urban alternatives such as improved public transportation, increased availability of car rentals and sharing could change the consumer behavior and could influence the auto market segment in China. The estimations say that by 2020, 20 Chinese cities will exceed this car-density threshold. The Chinese automotive structure faces major changes and the industry consolidates as a result of increasing competition.

From my point of view , The Chinaâs automotive sector is growing at the rate of 24% compounding between 2005 and 2011 and, in 2010. Its growth has dominated the United States new car market which is an attractive point for FF to enter in China auto market. The forecasts of China auto market indicate that there are chances of slowing down the growth rate to 8% a year between 2011 and 2020 but still it could be an attractive one for FF company as the sales forecasts to reach 22 million by 2020 which is bigger than the European or North American markets.

So before calculating the travel costs it is important to understand that China has a different structure to finance the corporate. It poses challenging elements to get a deal and obtain financing. Companies should be able to showcase a variety of financing options when negotiating business projects in China. The companies should understand and communicate the western financier's perspective and the Chinese official's perspective while negotiating the projects. The companies should maintain a specialist to engage the operations of banking with Chinese banking community.

4. ??

carminegnat140

Chose the correct answers on one through 15(plese help)

1.A research group hypothesizes that successful infection by HIVdepends upon the expression of FSH3, a human gene. They overexpressthis gene in T cells (Which HIV normally infects) so that FSH3protein levels are very high in these cells. In other T-cells, theymutate FSH3 so that none of its encoded protein is made. They thenmeasure HIV infection rate in the control, overexpression, andmutant T cells. The three cultures are otherwise grown in the sameway.

What is the independent variable(s) in this experiment? (Selectall correct answers)

		FSH3 protein levels
		The medium in which cells are grown
		The temperature at which cells are grown
		HIV resistance of cells

Question 2

Which arises from an error in a measurement or observation?

		Technical variability
		Biological variability
		Standard error
		Standard deviation

Question 3

Use the following description of an experiment to answer thenext question.

A research group hypothesizes that successful infection by HIVdepends upon the expression of FSH3, a human gene. They overexpressthis gene in T cells (Which HIV normally infects) so that FSH3protein levels are very high in these cells. In other T-cells, theymutate FSH3 so that none of its encoded protein is made. They thenmeasure HIV infection rate in the control, overexpression, andmutant T cells. The three cultures are otherwise grown in the sameway.

What is the control group(s) in this experiment? (Select allcorrect answers)

		The unaltered T cells
		The medium in which cells are grown
		The T cells in which FSH3 is mutated
		The T cells overexpressing FSH3

Question 4

How many of the following statements are true?

I. All papers have an abstract, methods, results, and discussionsection

II. The methods always follows the introduction

		0
		2
		1

Question 5

If scientific convention states that when a P value of less than0.05 is considered significant (in other words, the two groupsbeing measured are actually different), this means that: (Selectall correct answers)

		If you were to repeat the experiment 100 times, there would notbe a significant difference between the groups in 5 of theexperiments
		95% of all conclusions that state two groups are not differentbased on a 0.5% p-value threshold are false negatives
		The groups are actually not different from each other 95% of thetime
		5% of all conclusions that state two groups are different basedon a 0.5% p-value threshold are false positives

What information is typically found in the introduction sectionof a paper? (Select all that apply)

		The dependent and independent variables within the study
		Which areas of the field are not well understood and whatquestion the study addresses
		How the main question of the paper is related to other researchin the field.
		How previous work forms the basis for the current study
		The purpose of the study
		Details of the approaches used
		A summary of relevant related studies

Question 7

How can you judge for yourself whether the conclusions reachedin a paper are valid? (Select all that apply)

		Read papers of other authors studying the same question or areaof inquiry
		Determine if each hypothesis is supported by different types ofevidence/approaches.
		Consider closely whether the data actually both addresses andsupports the authorâs hypothesis.
		Examine the amount of data in the paper, and how long the paperis.
		Whether the authors find a mechanism, or exactly how on variableaffects another.
		Interpret the data for yourself without looking the discussion,then compare your interpretations to that of the authorâs.

Question 8

Where can you usually find the institutional affiliations (wherethey work) of the authors?

		Within the discussion
		In the acknowledgements section
		Below the authors list
		This is not usually included in papers

Question 9

Other than publishing primary research articles, what is themain way scientists disseminate their results?

		Lab meetings
		Personal correspondence
		Conference seminars
		Public lectures

Question 10

Use the following description of an experiment to answer thenext question.

What is the experimental group(s) in this experiment? (Selectall correct answers)

		Each group is its own control
		The T cells overexpressing FSH3
		The T cells in which FSH3 is mutated
		The unaltered T cells

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KWB213 Lecture Notes - Fax, Jargon

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