help with an accounting project..please

Question

I am doing a project in accounting, and I have no idea how to do it. Any help is greatly appreciated. I have pasted the summary for the project below. My main question is how to conduct a ratio, but I need help on the entire project..I do not understand it. Thank You

 

Part 1:

The company you selected:

Perform ratio analysis on the past two (2) submitted Annual Reports

You can find Annual Reports by searching on WSJ.com for the ticker symbol. From there, you can find a link to SEC Filings at SEC.GOV

The ratio analysis should be based on the ratios that we have studied at the end of each chapter. I would go ahead and look at the ratios in the remaining chapters

Compare and contrast your company’s ratios with either 1) A peer company or 2) the industry they operate.

In example, Apple could be compared to Samsung (since they can’t stop suing each other) or could be compared to either the cell phone industry or the computer industry (or both)

Part 2:

Find three articles about the company or the industry in the WSJ paper or WSJ online.

Summarize the articles (1 paragraph each). I am not looking for a regurgitation of the article; but your opinion of what the article is saying to you.

Part 3:

Summarize your thoughts on the company you selected. I am looking for your thoughts, not some higher dollar financial analyst thoughts. Is the company is going in the right direction; would invest in the company based on your study of accounting this semester; what should the company do differently etc…

Part 3 does not need to be War and Peace. If you have to write more than one page you may not have organized your thoughts.

Answer 1

Part 1:

The company you selected:

Perform ratio analysis on the past two (2) submitted Annual Reports

I can do a ratio analysis with a confidence; there are several different types of ratios to be performed to check about the companies.  Growth(revenue/sales growth), profitability ratio(gross margin/net income ratio), stability (debt ratio/equity ratio), and cash flow analysis.  These ratios should be written in a text book chapter.  If you open a book, that will tell you step by step. 

My suggestion is that you should look at each ratios in a multiple dimension.  To see the whole picture of companies' growth and earnings potential.  It also requires a comparison with a peer group/industry comparison. 

I will try to answer two other questions in a separate mail.  Please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Thank you.