BUSM4741 Assessment 3: Case study

Overview 

The focus of this assessment is for students to apply the fundamentals of various accounting and finance  principles to critically a analyse complex business scenario. Using various analytical tools covered in the  course, students will evaluate its cashflow, profit, outcomes and propose strategic solutions, then  succinctly present their analysis to their audience. 

Before commencing this assignment, it is necessary that you have a sound understanding of the  application of the fundamentals of financial and management accounting, financial theories about capital  budgeting and cost of capital and other related principles. In particular, the various analytical managerial  tools such as financial ratios, budgeting, cost-volume-profit analysis, TVM, NPV analysis, cost of capital  concepts together with the other relevant aspects revolving around these tools. 

Along with the recommended readings, the activities and associated tasks on Canvas must be  completed. 

To do well, students should be able to do the following: 

• Correctly identify the issues in the case scenario and interpret them to prepare budgets, conduct  relevant cost analysis and apply various analytical techniques for making investment decisions. 
• Apply accounting concepts and contemporary financial knowledge to correctly analyse the  scenarios in the case and raise solutions. 
• Clearly interpret and communicate the findings and their implications along with the strategies to  solve the problems in the case via broad research and design thinking. Also, to engage in  scholarly viewpoints and innovative thinking by broad reading to clearly communicate solutions  using business terminology with minimum grammatical or spelling errors.

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• Professionally present key findings in a format that is logically structured and well designed,  visually appealing, informative, and use engaging communication aids such as PowerPoint  slides, and video this. 

How to succeed in this Assessment 

The following analyses must establish clear outcomes and the strategies that are proposed should  logically follow the results of the analyses. 

• Application of financial and management accounting and finance knowledge: Students  need to apply the fundamentals of financial and management accounting, financial theories about  capital budgeting and cost of capital and other related principles. Apart from the recommended  readings, students must have done the activities and associated tasks on Canvas. 
• Critical evaluation: Students should be able to demonstrate a full grasp of the main aspects of  the case study, portray key findings and make sound recommendations which are logically in line  with the outcomes of their analyses. 
• Presentation: Students are required to present their analyses and strategy/ies forward to their  case client. This is to be done as a professional presentation, and videoed for submission. While  recording your answers, attend to professionality, and parameters as set out in assessment  guidelines (i.e. rubric criteria, word limits, time limits, design and structure of presented  information). 

Assessment details 

This task requires students to apply various decision-making tools covered in the course to a complex  business situation. The purpose is to enable students to use a number of tools collectively to analyse  business feasibility/requirements and propose strategies for achieving goals, improving current practices,  making decisions about required investments and presenting them professionally. 

Case study 

The Assessment case study focuses on different aspects of a business. 

For accounting concepts, it mainly focuses on the tasks requiring the preparation of relevant budgets,  conducting cost-volume-profit analysis, ratio analysis and other related analysis. Typically, students will  be required to critically evaluate the business goals against the budgeted projections, raise the  challenges foreseen in meeting those objectives and propose strategies to counter them. 

For finance concepts, the case study mainly focuses on scenarios requiring extensive use of finance  theories and capital budgeting tools such as NPV and IRR, cost of capital, time value of money, risk and  return theories and related concepts. Students will be required to conduct a full-scale investment  analysis and make recommendations about the investment opportunities presented to the business. 

Drawing upon the knowledge of various tools and techniques gained in the course, the prime focus for  the case study will be around some of the following concepts: 

• Using financial ratios and budgets for projections and control. 
• Determining sales activities for break-even and the desired level of profit. 
• Analysing expected cash flows for investment decisions. 
• Estimating the cost of capital and using it for investing decisions. 
• Using risk and return theories for decision-making. 
• Evaluating and communicating the outcomes. 
• Devising strategies on the basis of the analyses. 

Video presentation 

Students are required to make two short video presentations to explain the key aspects (like processes,  results and strategies) of their analyses, and to make clear recommendations based on their findings.  Students must use appropriate software, clear tables/diagrams, correct terminology and coherent  expression. Students should produce two short videos, one relating to the work undertaken for  Accounting concepts and another one for the Finance part. Students have in total 10-12 minutes to  present their findings/ideas. Students must be precise and impactful in communicating their analyses. It  is expected that students show themselves in their video, present in a professional manner, and talk to  their visual aids in their presentation. 

Video recording tool suggestion 

We suggest that students use Canvas Studio to record the video component of this assessment, but  students may use the tool of their choice. Students must create a public link to their videos to copy and  paste into the written component of this assessment.

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If students are using Canvas Studio to record their videos, refer to the following guides: 

• How do I access Canvas Studio?
• How do I record a screen capture in Canvas Studio?
• How do I get a public link or embed code for media in Canvas Studio?

Word limit: 

Numerical responses do not count towards the word limit. The Case Study may be solved using  spreadsheet programs such as MS-Excel. The numerical analyses must be reported in a Word/Pdf  document and discussed via a video presentation.