Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines
Trimester T1 2019
Unit Code HI5002
Unit Title Finance for Business
Assessment Type Group Assignment
Assessment Title Company Performance Analysis
Purpose of the
assessment (with ULO Mapping) Students are required to form a group from 2 to 5 members to study, undertake research, analyse and conduct academic work within the areas of business finance covered in learning objectives 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10 & 11. The assignment should examine the main issues, including underlying theories, implement performance measures used and explain the firm financial performance. Your group is strongly advised to reference professional websites, journal articles and text books in this assignment.
Weight 30 % of the total assessments
Total Marks 30
Word limit Not more than 3,000 words
Due Date Registration of groups and chosen companies: 5:00 pm Friday, Week 7 Final Submission of Group Assignment: 11:59 pm Sunday, Week 10
Submission Guidelines • All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along with a
completed Assignment Cover Page. Make sure that your group member’s name and surname, student ID, unit name, and code and lecture’s name are written on the cover sheet of the submitted assignment.
• The assignment must be in MS Word format, no spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2
cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page numbers.
• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed
appropriately at the end in a reference list using Harvard referencing style.
• Submitted work should be your original work showing your creativity. Please
ensure the self-check for plagiarism to be done before final submission in accordance with SafeAssign Student Guide in Black Board. As a guide, a similarity score of over 30% is considered as excessive except in the cases where the similarity is caused by the use of template provided by the lecturer, references or sources of data. Please note that it takes 48 hours for the self-check report to be available for your viewing.
• When you submit your assignment electronically, please save the file as ‘Group
Assignment- your group name .doc’. You are required to submit the assignment at Group Assignment Final Submission, which is under Assignment and Due Dates on Black Board. Always keep an electronic copy until you have received the final grade for the Unit. Please make sure that you submit the correct file. Any appeal relating to submitting wrong files after the deadline will not be considered.

HI5002 Finance for Business Group Assignment

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ASSIGNMENT SPECIFICATIONS
Assignment Tasks
This assignment task is a written report and analysis of the financial performance of one selected listed company on the ASX in order to provide financial and investment advice to a wealthy investor. This assignment requires your group to undertake a comprehensive examination of a firm’s financial performance based on update financial statements of the selected company.
Background
You’re a group of investment analysts who work for a large investment consulting firm based in Australia. There’s one big institutional investor from overseas that is interested in investing in the Australian market. You’ve been asked to choose one listed company the industry you think will have the most promising future for investment in Australia, then evaluate the performance of that company. Finally make a recommendation through your Report to the investor whether and why they should or should not invest in the company.
Create your group’s “business name” under which your group will be providing the financial advisory services. Choose one listed company that your group will investigate/analyse for the purposes of possible recommendation to your client. The group should obtain all information about the selected company from this web site: www.asx.com.au.
Requirements
Obtain copies of Annual Reports including Income Statements, Balance Sheets, and Statement of Changes in Equity, Cash Flows Statements and Notes for three (3) financial year 2015-2016, 2016¬2017 and 2017-2018. Your group can download these documents from the suggested web site using the firm’s code (example, BHP- for BHP Billiton Company, etc.). The assignment should cover the contents described in Part 1 to 7 bellows.
STAGES TO BE COMPLETED
1 Description of operation and comparative advantages of the selected company.
2 Identify and conduct a trend analysis with two groups of financial ratios, including profitability, and operating efficiency of the selected company.
3 Identify the marketable securities that are available in current assets of the company. Discuss using of these securities as an instrument for cash management by the company.
4 Perform a sensitivity analysis with data provided.
5 Identify and discuss the systemic risks and un-systemic risks that may affect performance of the selected company.
6 Calculate the dividend payout ratio and comment on the dividend policy of the chosen company through 3 years
7 Recommendation Letter
Final Submission of Complete Assignment on Blackboard (Week 10)

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Assignment Structure and Details of Assignment Tasks
Assignment structure and assignment tasks should be as the following:
Abstract
(no more than 200 words)
I. Introduction
Briefly introduction of you work: the purpose of assignment, the selected company, your findings and structure of your assignment
(not more than 300 words)
II. Financial Analysis of selected company
2.1. Description of the company
Prepare a brief description of the selected company, outlining the core activities, the market(s) in which they operate within and any factors in the company’s history which you consider help present the pictures of your company. Identify and comment on their comparative advantages.
2.2. Calculation and analysis of selected performance ratios
Using financial data obtained from current financial statements of your selected companies for the past 3 years. Annual reports are accessible via company websites or ASX website. Your client requests a comprehensive analysis of two groups of financial ratios, including profitability and operating efficiency of the company. Choose the relevant financial ratios for your analysis to meet your client’s requirement. Do a research to explain the trend of financial ratios of the selected company through 3 years to your client. You need to provide charts and/or tables for analysis and justification.
2.3. Cash management analysis: Identify the marketable securities that are available in current assets of the company. Discuss using of these securities as an instrument for cash management by the company. Tips: try to do a little research about instruments of cash management to enrich your comments and analysis.
2.4. Perform a sensitivity analysis with data provided
Assume that your selected company is considering a potential project with a new product that is expected to sell for an average price of $20 per unit and the company expects it can sell 300 000 unit per year at this price for a period of 4 years. Launching this project will require purchase of a $2 000 000 equipment that has residual value in four years of $200 000 and adding $ 600 000 in working capital which is expected to be fully retrieved at the end of the project. Other information is available below:
Depreciation method: straight line Variable cost per unit: $12
Cash fixed costs per year $300 000 Discount rate: 10%
Tax Rate: 30%
Do an analysis with cash flows of the project to determine the sensitivity of the project NPV with
the following changes in the value drivers and provide your results in (a) relevant tables:
Unit sales decrease by 10%
Price per unit decreases by 10%
Variable cost per unit increases 10%
Cash fixed cost per year increases by 10%

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2.5. Identify and discuss the systemic risks and un-systemic risks that may affect performance of the selected company
Do a research about the systemic risks and un-systemic risks that may affect performance of the selected company. Tips: Notes to Financial Statement of a company often provide some information about the risks faced by the company.
2.6. Identify the dividend payout ratio and dividend policy
Identify the dividend payout ratios of the selected company through the 3 year time frame. Discuss what dividend policy of the management of the company appear to be implemented and how it is changing or kept constant through three years. Explain any reason related to that particular dividend policies.
III. Recommendation letter
Based on your analysis above, write a letter of recommendation to your client, providing an explanation as why you would like to include one of selected the companies in his/her investment portfolio. Please refer to the ratio results calculated earlier and any other trends or factors that you believe to be important.
IV. Conclusion
Summarize the outcomes of your works (not more than 300 words)
Marking criteria
Marking criteria Weighting
Description of the company 2%
Calculation and analysis of selected performance ratios 8%
Identify the marketable securities that are available in current assets 3%
Perform a sensitivity analysis with data provided 7%
Identify and discuss the systemic risks and un-systemic risks 3%
Identify the dividend payout ratio and dividend policy 3%
Recommendation letter 2%
Presentation, structure and academic writing 2%
TOTAL Weight 30%

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MARKING RUBRIC
Task Excellent
(80%-full marks
given) Very Good
(71-79% marks
given) Good
(61-70% marks
given) Satisfactory
(50-60% marks
given) Unsatisfactory
(0-49% marks
given)
1 Outstanding data Very good data Adequate data Satisfactorily meet No specific data
and information and information and information the requirements and information
provided to answer provided to provided to but with limited provided to answer
the questions; Independent and answer the questions; answer the questions; data and information provided to answer the questions; No research basis
deep analysis, based on wide research; Very good research Reasonable research the questions; for analysis;
Issues and factors conducted; conducted; Satisfactory research Merely relying on secondary data
are presented and analyzed in a logical Issues are discussed discussed based on sufficient conducted; from internet;
interconnectedness;
Broad and credible sources of references in proper referencing style. adequately based on sufficient research and in relation to each other; research;
Adequate references in proper referencing style. Limited references. No reference.
Adequate references in proper referencing style.
2, 4, Calculation and Very good Adequate Satisfactorily Calculations are
and 6 presentation are demonstration of demonstration of addressing all the not demonstrated
demonstrated clearly; calculations; Required financial calculations; Required financial questions but calculations are limitedly for the required
financial ratios,
calculations for
Required financial ratios, calculations ratios, calculations for sensitivity ratios,
calculations for demonstrated; sensitivity analysis and dividend
for sensitivity analysis and sensitivity Some of required payout ratios;
analysis and dividend payout dividend payout ratios are derived analysis and dividend payout financial ratios, calculations for Proving no
ratios are derived, analyzed and logically and well presented with ratios are derived with relevant sensitivity analysis and dividend explanation of implications of the
justified with relevant implications and payout ratios are variables;
exemplary analysis implications and explanation; provided
that based on current issues and explanation; Indicate clearly inadequately; Providing no trend analysis of financial
key factors; Indicate clearly dividend policy Providing limited ratio and dividend
Indicate clearly time line based dividend policy comparison, analysis and trend analysis of financial ratios and payout ratios;
dividend policy Comparison, implications and comparison, analysis and justification and justification and assumptions are clear; dividend payout ratios; Indicate no dividend policy;
explanation are assumptions are Providing limited Single year
provided convincingly;
Consistent 3 year trend analysis and properly justified for inclusions or exclusions. clear;
Consistent 3 year analysis. Relative
consistent 3 year analysis. analysis of dividend policy
Inconsistent time period of analysis. analysis.
HI5002 Finance For Business Group Assignment

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3 and Indicating a clear Very good analysis, Relevant analysis, Indicating limited No or inadequate
5 and well-presented justification and justification and list of marketable information on
list of marketable presentation of list presentation of securities and marketable
securities and of marketable the list of systemic and un- securities and
systemic and un- securities and marketable systemic risks that systemic and un
systemic risks that systemic and un- securities and affect company systemic risks that
affect company systemic risks that systemic and un- performance; affect company
performance with affect company systemic risks performance;
reliable data and performance on that affect Limited analysis and
proper analysis and reliable data company explanation; No adequate
justification; within proper time performance comparison and
Analyzing and comparing dividend frame; Very good based on reliable data within proper time Limited research conducted, inadequate explanation No relevant
payout ratios and dividend policy of the company with exceptional good justification and data based analysis; research conducted with relevant referencing. frame;
Adequate research conducted with relevant referencing. referencing. research and referencing.
Outstanding
research is conducted with wide based sources and proper referencing.
7 Presenting a wide Presenting very Presenting Addressing limited Providing no
and 8 ranges of adequate good adequate recommendations; recommendations
recommendations recommendations recommendations or inadequate
that exemplarily that properly that properly Demonstrating recommendations
supported by supported by supported by limited justification for investment
justification and justification and justification and and analysis of the decisions;
analysis; analysis; analysis; given
recommendations; No relevant
Using data and Data and Data and justification using
information derived information information Demonstrating data and
from financial derived from derived from limited skills of information
analysis completed financial analysis financial analysis academic writing in derived from the
in an efficient, analytical and logical manner; completed are properly used to support the completed are properly used to support the terms of structure, presentation, wordings and analysis of financial statements;
Demonstrated a high recommendations recommendations referencing Failing to meet the requirements of
level of Very rational Demonstrating academic writing in
understanding and skills of academic writing by means of demonstration of the ability to present the ideas the ability to present the ideas in proper terms of structure, presentation, wordings and
criticism, logical argument, and interpretation of data and information. in proper analytical and contextual level analytical and contextual level referencing