Financial Statement Analysis - As a financial statement analyst

Colorado State University Financial Statement Analysis Discussion

OPTION #1: FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS

As a financial statement analyst, select two organizations ( COKE AND PEPSI) the same industry and analyze their financial statements over time. The financial analysis period must be, at a minimum, the three most recent years. Since you will be spending a considerable amount of time on the project, ensure that you pick organizations that interest you.

The Form 10-K reports, which the organizations filed with the SEC, may be the best place to learn about a particular industry, organization, and organizational strategy, and to obtain reported financial statements. The reports are accessible at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml . (Links to an external site.) An alternative means to obtain the report is by clicking on the SEC filings link on an organization’s website to obtain the latest Form 10-K filings. You can also find current stock valuation and other relevant stock information from financial portals such as Yahoo finance, Google finance, and Reuters.

Your Portfolio Project must include the following for the two organizations (see below for more detail):

• Executive Summary

• Ratio Calculation

• Ratio Analysis

• Projected financial statements including income statements, balance sheets, and statements of cash flows

• Your opinion on the overall financial health of each company

The executive summary should include an explanation of the business itself, background information on each company, including product lines, geographical locations and the company’s position in the industry.

The Ratio Calculations should be done in a table in Excel and included with your submission. The following ratios should be included for each company and for 2 years:

• Working Capital
• Current Ratio
• Total Debt to Total Equity Ratio
• Times Interest Earned
• RNOA
• ROCE

The ratio analysis should include an explanation of the importance of each ratio, what the ratio tells you about each company, how the ratio changes from year to year, and which company appears better based on each ratio.

The Projected financial statements should be done in Excel and included with your submission. *You will need to make necessary adjustments for material non-recurring or unusual income or expenses as well as off-balance sheet assets or liabilities, among others as covered in the course. The adjustment will improve comparability and ensure accurate representation of the organization's’ economic performance. Be sure to identify important assumptions regarding the companies, industry and business environment, and other important assumptions for estimates and forecasts, including their business strategies.

Your opinion of the overall financial health of the company should reflect everything you have learned throughout the course as to the analysis of financial reporting.

Your submission should include:

• The financial statements from the companies you analyzed
• The Excel Ratio Table Calculations
• The Excel Projected Financial Statements
• An 8-10 page paper covering the information listed above
• Include the financial statements you analyzed and other information used as exhibits after the reference page.