Prior to beginning this Interactive Assignment, review the sections of Chapters 5, 8, and 9 in the Abraham’s textbook on Assessing the Company and Operational and Budget Planning. Also read the online articles Analyze Investments Quickly With Ratios(Links to an external site.) (Elmerraji, 2017) and What Is an Annualized Budget?(Links to an external site.) (Ashe-Edmunds, n.d.).
Using the same publicly traded company you used in the Environmental Scanning Interactive Assignment, and the downloadable Operating Budget Template, research the company online by accessing the Mergent University of Arizona Global Campus Library online database which offers company financials, descriptions, history, property, subsidiaries, officers and directors. Also, access the Business Insights: Global University of Arizona Global CampusLibrary online database which offers information on global companies, and industries. It includes SWOT reports, market share data, financial reports, case studies, business news, and company comparison charts. (View the Getting Started With Mergent(Links to an external site.)and Business Insights: Global(Links to an external site.) documents for suggested methods of searching University of Arizona Global Campus Library databases generally as well as specific advice for searching these two databases). You can always conduct research using credible online sources of corporate financial information, just be sure that wherever you obtain financial information that you cite your source.
For this Interactive Assignment, you are going to look at the financial statements for the company you selected and, using the previous quarter’s financial data, interpret the data and propose a budget for the next Quarter based on your current and previous analysis of company performance. Complete the budget template using this Operating Budget Template:
List your current sales, discounts and allowances, net sales, margins, operating costs, and earning before and after taxes.
Choose a minimum of two financial ratios (below) and include in your analysis.
Prepare the next quarter’s budget based on your interpretation of past data.
Include at least two of the following types of relevant financial ratios in your analysis. Review the online article Analyze Investments Quickly With Ratios(Links to an external site.) (Elmerraji, 2017) and Chapter 5 in the Abraham’s textbook to help with this portion of the budget:
Profitability Ratio
Liquidity Ratio
Solvency Ratio
Valuation Ratio
Leverage Ratio
(NOTE: Incorporate the feedback you receive from your instructor and peers and save your work. It will be part of your Strategic Plan Final Project for this course).
Initial Post: In your initial post, provide a brief description of your company and provide a summary of your Operating Budget along with a rationale that supports suggested budgetary changes. Attach your Operating Budget Template to your initial post for review by your instructor and your peers.
Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ posts in with an analysis of their operating budget and provide recommendations to extend their thinking using information from the week’s readings, or examples from current events and/or other scholarly or credible resources, using the Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and other Credible Sources(Links to an external site.) table for guidance. Properly cite any references according to APA style as outlined in the University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center’s APA Style(Links to an external site.) resource. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful and interactive discourse in this discussion forum. Continue to monitor the discussion forum until 5:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) on Day 7, and respond with robust dialogue to anyone who replies to your initial post.
