A GROUP EVALUATION OF THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF A MAJOR UK COMPANY, PLUS A BRIEF PERSONAL REFLECTION ON THE EXPERIENCE MODULE: 4ACCN010W.1 – Accounting and Finance for Marketing ASSESSMENT NAME: Group Coursework with Personal Reflective Statement ASSESSMENT FORMAT: Report ASSESSMENT WEIGHTING: 75% WORD COUNT: 3,000 words total, comprising 2,600 words for a group report and 400 words for a personal reflective statement. SUBMISSION DATE/TIME: Monday 20th December 2021 by 13:00 UK Time. SUBMISSION METHOD: Submission through module Blackboard site ONLY PROVISIONAL MARKS AND FEEDBACK DATE: 24th January 2022 FORM OF FEEDBACK: Online via Blackboard LEARNING OUTCOMES ADDRESSED: This assignment is designed to assess the following learning outcomes: LO1: Evaluate the reliability and usefulness of publicly available corporate reports. and the role of this information in informing business decisions. LO2: Identify principles underpinning information technology and ability to assess the strengths and weaknesses of digital skills in relation to financial information. Contents 1. ASSESSMENT SUMMARY: …………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………….. 2 2. DETAILED COURSEWORK GUIDE: …………………………………………………………………………………… ………. 4 3. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: …………………………………………………………………………………… ………………….. 6 3.1 How will the Group work? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. . 6 3.2 Individual Reflective Statement …………………………………………………………………………………… ………………… 6 3.3 Word Count ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………. 6 3.4 Other Tips and Suggestions …………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………… 6 4. SUBMISSION OF COURSEWORK: …………………………………………………………………………………… ………… 8 5. AVOIDING PLAGIARISM: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. .. 9 1. ASSESSMENT SUMMARY: The final Group Coursework Assessment contributes 75% of the overall mark for this module, with the other 25% being contributed by the online In-Class Test. It comprises two separate elements as described below – a group coursework report and an individual reflective statement. This coursework will be undertaken in sub-groups of 3-4 students working together to analyse the recent financial performance of a major UK company, including a brief comparison with one of its direct competitors. The resulting report of some 2600 words (excluding appendices) should conclude with a recommendation and reasons for an investor to buy, sell or hold shares. The report should be presented in an attractive and professional style. Working within in their groups, students should obtain the latest consolidated financial statements from the company’s most recent Annual Report – plus any other relevant information – and through the use of financial ratio analysis techniques, report on the company’s financial position and financial performance. Economic and business information relating to the period following publication of the last Annual Report can be used to bring the coursework report up to date. As part of their analysis, student groups are expected to compare the company’s financial performance for the latest year with that of the prior year, and also to make brief comparisons with the performance of a direct competitor from the same industry. Further comparisons with market and industry benchmarks are also encouraged. The sources of information used in preparing the coursework report should be clearly stated and referenced using the Westminster Harvard style – see https://libguides.westminster.ac.uk/referencing/examples. well as a bibliography, copies of the company’s consolidated balance sheet and income statement should be included in an Appendix to the Report, along with the detailed ratio calculations based on those financial statements plus any other relevant information. addition to the group investment report detailed above, each student should furthermore submit an individual reflective statement of some 400 words describing their experience of the group project (see further details below). Unlike the group report which is a joint effort by several students, this reflective statement is personal to every student and should be different for every individual. 2. DETAILED COURSEWORK GUIDE: The suggested word allocation, structure and marks per section are as follows: Criteria for Assessment Max marks Suggested word count per section (excluding Appendices) 1. Group Report – Introduction: This section should summarise the objectives and contents of the report, and provide a brief overview of the company. 10%300 words 2. Group Report – Financial Analysis: An interpretation and assessment of the company’s recent financial performance and position, based on a ratio analysis of the company’s most recent financial statements, plus relevant information published since then. This report should cover the following core areas: a) Profitability b) Liquidity c) Efficiency d) Financing e) Investment potential Each group will need to calculate a comprehensive set of ratios for the current and prior financial years, and use these as the basis for their report. Headline comparisons with key ratios and statistics from a major competitor to the company and / or with market benchmarks are also encouraged. Students should use Excel to calculate the financial ratios wherever possible. In any case, all ratio computations and desсrіptions should be provided as an appendix to the report (not included in the word count), along with a copy of the relevant financial statements (balance sheet and income statement only). 45%1600 words Criteria for Assessment Max marks Suggested word count per section (excluding Appendices) 3. Group Report – The limitations of your analysis: A brief explanation of the limitations of your group analysis, including comments on the usefulness of financial statements and ratio analysis as tools to be used in evaluating the financial performance of companies. 7%250 words 4. Group Report – Conclusion and Investment Recommendation: A clear and logical summary of your findings, along with an investment recommendation based on your analysis. 15%450 words 5. Group Report – Structure, presentation, and Harvard referencing: Marks will be given for a well-presented professional report that is logical in flow and written in good English, with effective use of tables, charts and appendices. Appropriate use of Westminster Harvard referencing is required, and will be marked. 10% Group Report – Total87%Total ＝ 2600 words 6.Individual Reflective Statement – Introduction, Body and Conclusion.13%Total ＝ 400 words Total Assessment100%Grand Total ＝ 3000 words 3. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 3.1 How will the Group work? Each group will be formed of 3-4 students allocated by the module leader and given a major UK listed company to analyse. All group members are expected to contribute equally to the work. A group leader should be chosen by each group, who then has primary responsibility for coordinating the work and reporting any issues to the module leader – including any non-performing group members. The exact allocation of tasks between group members (research, computations, writing, graphics etc.) is a matter for the group members to decide between them, which will require communication and coordination skills. Group Leaders are required to maintain detailed records of all group activities related to this assignment, including the roles and duties of each group member and their respective contributions to the final report. If any group member is found not to have actively participated or made a reasonable contribution to the group coursework, he / she may be given a fail grade for this assessment. 3.2 Individual Reflective Statement In addition to a copy of their 2600 word group investment report as described above, each member of the group must also submit a separate Individual Reflective Statement of 400 words explaining that student’s role and contribution to the group coursework, and also reflecting on the lessons learned and experience gained from this assignment. This should include skills that have been acquired or enhanced, plus the challenges and benefits of working in a group including (but not limited to) time management, working in cross-cultural teams, conflict resolution, etc. 3.3 Word Count The total word count for the whole assessment is 3,000 words, excluding any information provided in an Appendix such as computations, graphs, charts and list of references. This total is divided between the group’s investment report (2600 words) and each student’s Individual Reflective Statement (400 words). Some flexibility is permitted in the word count, up to 10% of the total. 3.4 Other Tips and Suggestions The latest financial statements of a company can normally be found on the company’s website, contained within its annual report. Student groups should ensure that they are analysing the latest consolidated balance sheet and income statement (i.e., those from the most recent financial year) and the comparatives provided for the prior year. Information about the company can also be found from other sources, and should be used as appropriate. All sources of information should be referenced in the report using the Westminster Harvard style. As part of the overall analysis and investment recommendation, the group report should look at the company’s financial trends by topic (e.g. liquidity, profitability, gearing etc. is improving / declining / unchanged since the prior year, etc). It should also seek to briefly compare the company’s recent financial performance with that of a close competitor and / or with market averages. Ratio formulae and detailed calculations should be shown in an Appendix to the report, along with a copy of the financial statements from where those figures were derived. Students are encouraged to follow the report structure and word count shown in section 2 above. The use of headers, footers, table of contents, page numbers and titles / sub-titles is encouraged. It is recommended that all written material is presented in Arial 12 point font with 1.15 spacing. Your report should be visually attractive (use of colour, graphics, fonts etc.), and should be written in a concise and professional style without the use of slang or informal phrases. Make sure to use spell-check and grammar-check tools. This assignment is a large and complex exercise involving several people. Since it is due in the near future, you may well be short of time at end. Suggstion – start now and get it done! 4. SUBMISSION OF COURSEWORK: Both parts of this assignment must be submitted via Blackboard before 13.00 on Monday 20th December 2021 by each group member. Earlier submission is strongly encouraged since many other assignments across the university are also due at that time, and the system could run slow or even crash, especially when overloaded. Any assessment submitted late online will be penalised unless you submit a claim for Mitigating Circumstances (MC) that is ultimately accepted by the Registry. See more information on https://www.westminster.ac.uk/current-students/guides-and-policies/assessment-guidelines/mitigating-circumstances-claims you experience technical difficulties with your submission, please log a call via the IT Service Desk – seehttps://www.westminster.ac.uk/current-students. Retain copies of any correspondence that could count as supporting evidence for a Mitigating Circumstances claim. you do not submit an MC claim or if your MC claim is rejected, then the penalty for late submission within the first 24 hours following the official submission deadline is an automatic reduction of 10% in the total marks available for the whole assessment, except for work which receives an initial mark between 40–49%, in which case that mark will be capped at the pass mark (40%). Assessments submitted online more than 24 hours late will automatically be given a mark of zero – unless a Mitigating Circumstances claim is officially accepted by the Registry. 5. AVOIDING PLAGIARISM: Your submitted assignment must demonstrate your group’s own work and ideas, except for the Individual Reflective Statement which is by definition an individual piece of work. Both of these documents will be automatically scanned by plagiarism detection software, and similarities with the work of other students will be investigated as potential collusion. Any quotations and references that you include in your assignment will automatically be identified by the plagiarism detection programme as being similar to other sources. It is therefore vital that you reference correctly – see the guidance available on https://libguides.westminster.ac.uk/referencing/examples and on https://www.westminster.ac.uk/sites/default/public-files/general-documents/referencing-your-work.pdf Any evidence of suspected plagiarism will be reported to the Academic Standards team for a full investigation, including any similarity score of 0% which could be an indication of an attempt to circumvent the plagiarism software. If it is determined that plagiarism or collusion has taken place, severe academic penalties will be applied. For more information about plagiarism, see https://www.westminster.ac.uk/current-students/guides-and-policies/academic-matters/academic-misconduct/plagiarism
