Financial Analysis Snapshot and Initial Findings
Due: Sunday, Midnight of Week 4 (10% of Final Grade)
Overview
A critical financial accounting skill is the ability to read, analyze, and make actionable decisions from published financial statements. Business leaders gain valuable information from the annual reports of direct competitors, companies that operate in similar fields, and companies in which they are considering an investment or partnership.
Instructions
You are the CFO of a leading luxury jewelry store, Welch & Co., that plans to expand into national sales of precious metals. The General Manager (GM) of the new precious metals division wants to establish a long-term advertising relationship with a nationally recognized publisher. The GM has narrowed the field down to two firms, and the CEO, your boss, has requested your analysis and guidance and has asked you to do a financial review of recent results from The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) and Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI). You have decided to organize your work into TWO components:
• Part A: Financial Analysis Snapshot and Initial Findings using data from the companies’ annual reports (Due: Sunday, Midnight of Week 4; worth 10% of Final Grade)
• Part B: Executive Memo and brief Video Presentation of your analysis (Due: Sunday, Midnight of Week 5; worth 20% of Final Grade)
Before starting your work on Assignment 1A, carefully read the instructions for both 1A and 1B. Your deliverables for Assignment 1B are directly connected to the work you will complete for Assignment 1A.
Assignment 1A: Financial Analysis Snapshot and Initial Findings
- All work must be completed and submitted in the Excel Assignment 1 Workbook.
- Go to the Investor Relations section of each company’s website and download their annual reports. You may need to download more than one report to get all the required historical data.
- Use the Annual Reports/10K to populate the Excel workbook template for the two most recent years, 2021 and 2020.
