ACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS DECISIONS ASSIGNMENT - FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS
OBJECTIVE - ACC103 is about introduction to accounting, accounting concepts and the use of accounting information. The main purpose of this assignment is to provide students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the semester to a practical task involving the use of "real world" information and the applying financial analytical skills. In particular, this task will enable you to gain insights into and information of Reject Shops' business, using the published financial statements of the company as your primary data source. It is intended to consolidate the students' accounting knowledge and skills especially analytical skills. As this is a group assignment, the intention is also to foster the development of the co-operative environment and teamwork which will be of importance in the professional work context.
BRIEF SUMMARY - The REJECT SHOP is an Australian discount variety store chain. Founded in 1981 as a "second hand" store in South Yarra, the group currently operates more than 340 stores across Australia. It employs about 6,000 staff. From the original chain, it also took over Chickenfeed retail chain of stores in Tasmania and Retail Adventure stores when it closed and converted all of them to Reject Shops.
Since 1994, the Reject Shop chain of stores were privately owned by Macquarie Bank and its funds as investors. However, in June 2004 it was floated on the Australian Stock Exchange. The public float was successful and the company tripling in capitalisation after a few years going public.
There were periods of growth and slowdowns after listing.
The following audited financials, which you are going to base the assignment on, were for the financial year ended 2016 and 2017.
Students are to use the "Consolidated" data in conducting their analysis.
Note that each year's annual report will contain comparative data for two (2) years.
ASSIGNMENT
1. The basis requirement is to make a general analysis on the following areas of The Reject Shop on: -
- Profitability
- Operational Efficiency
- Liquidity
- Gearing (Leverage)
- General Investment Performance
2. An evaluation or summary of the major points and key findings of each of the areas above. The explanation should be as brief and concise and possible, and you can include any conclusion or recommendations which you would like to highlight.
The report can be presented in both essay and formatted (excel, power point etc), or a combination of both.
While the accuracy of figures is ideal, we are also looking at the general understanding, methodology and the application of relevant concepts for analysing the various aspects of a company. The main objective is for you to understand and apply how to review financial statements.
All external references must be referenced in accordance with Acknowledged Education's general guide to referencing. Word count should not exceed (estimate) 1,500 words.