Overview

(MCDONALDS)

As an analyst for a large U.S. multinational corporation, you are assigned to examine a possible acquisition candidate, completing an initial search and review. Your supervisor is a member of the Controller's team. The Controller reports directly to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Your work may be presented to various audiences, so professionalism is essential in all deliverables you create. As you review historical financial statements, you cannot conclude if this company is a good investment.

1. Select a publicly-traded company.
2. The company must have Accounts Receivable and Inventory. You must select a retail or manufacturing company.
3. You must research and secure the SEC 10-K Annual Report for the most recent year by visiting and searching the SEC EDGAR system.
4. Save the 10-K document to your computer for access. Please do not print this file, as the report is usually 100 pages or more.
5. Use the selected company in the discussion postings throughout the semester. The discussion questions are designed to help you build content for your report and presentation.

• Reading an SEC 10-K Report: The following link will access the SEC's document: How to Read an SEC 10-K Report. http://www.sec.gov/answers/reada10k.htm 

Course Learning Objective Assessed: Identify and communicate with accounting and financial information users to facilitate analytical decision-making.

Report Requirements

Report Content 

1. Post the name of your desired company in the Week 1 SEC 10-K Project discussion for your instructor's approval. Your post must answer all parts of the discussion.
2. Each student must select a different company, so read the company names chosen by classmates. The company must be a publicly-traded company.
3. Your report should comment on the financial statements for your company as they relate to the information presented through Week 5 material for this class, including the notes to the financial statements.
4. Do not consider the material from Weeks 7 and 8 in your report.
5. The report must be submitted after Week 5 material.

Report Layout

1. Write a minimum of a 3-page (a full-page typically has at least 300 words) report, single-spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point font, with a double space between paragraphs. This page requirement includes data visualization (charts and graphs) that you create but the report should be primarily your written analysis.
2. Page count does not include a title page, tables and exhibits, and reference list.
3. Include a title page (include your name on the title page). The report must consist of headings such as Accounts Receivable and Inventory (topics from the textbook); other examples would be Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and the Statement of Shareholders' Equity.
4. Include a brief introduction of your company as well as a conclusion/summary at the end. Most of your report should include accounting topics in weeks one through five.
5. Your report must cover the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows, and Critical Audit Matters.
6. You are to compare current and prior year statements and what changed. Do not cut and paste anything into the body of your report. You can copy the financial statements directly from the SEC 10-K Report into a report appendix but not into the body of the report. The statements are not included in the page count.
7. APA style is required for citations and a reference list. The report must include the reference list.

Resources

1. Visit the Accounting Toolbox in the Course Content of the ACCT 221 LEO classroom. The Accounting Toolbox is a constant resource in our UMGC undergraduate accounting courses.
2. Links and explanations to assist you with this report may appear in this resource.
3. Your professor will provide additional guidance. 

Academic Integrity

1. You must comply with the UMGC Policy for Academic Integrity.
2. Write your report using accounting terms from our textbook and explain how these terms relate to your company's financial statements. Thoroughly paraphrase in your own words and your writing style and structure. Changing a few words from the original is not fully paraphrasing.
3. The discussion postings throughout the semester should assist you in completing this report. However, do not copy and paste your discussion responses in your report.