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Assessment Instructions
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Assessment Task – what do I need to do?
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Write a financial analysis report which addresses the following points:
Scenario: You work for a British department store and have been asked to provide a report about a competitor’s accounts.
You are going to prepare a financial report using the accounts for a given company that your tutor will provide (and which are also available for download in Aula). You are writing the report for Senior Management for your company, who are non-accountants.
Your report should use the following format:
a) An introduction (150 words)
b) Company overview (150 words)
c) Economic context to the report (150 words)
d) Calculations for the following ratios for each of the two years in the accounts:
- Gross Profit Ratio (calculation + 100-word analysis)
- Operating Profit Ratio (calculation + 100-word analysis)
- Current Ratio (calculation + 100-word analysis)
- Acid Test Ratio (calculation + 100-word analysis)
- Non-Current Asset Turnover (calculation + 100-word analysis)
For each point in section (d), you should state the formula and what it is used to show, and you should show the figures being inserted into the formula. After each ratio calculation, you should explain the result by comparing the results for each year. You must clearly state whether the result is better or worse than the previous year and try to explain why this is the case.
e) Conclusion and 2-3 recommendations for your company based on your financial analysis of the competitor (150 words)
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Word Count – how many words do I need to write?
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1100 words (+ / - 10%), excluding your reference list.
See the Assessment Task section above for information about the recommended word count for each section of your essay.
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Assessment Resources – what other resources do I need to complete this assessment?
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You will need to download the .pdf file containing the competitor company’s accounts entitled ‘John Lewis Accounts 2022.pdf’
This file is available to download from the Business Operations module in Aula, in the Journey > Materials > Module Assessment section.
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Format – what format should I present my work in?
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A suggested format/template for the report can be found in the Appendix to this document.
Your report should be typed as a Microsoft Word document using the following format:
- an appropriate font, such as Arial, Tahoma, Calibri
- size 11 font
- line spacing 1.5
Your essay should not include any images unless they are directly relevant to answering the question and you discuss them in your work.
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Cover Sheet
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You should complete, attach (or copy/paste) the cover sheet for this assessment as the first page of your work. This cover sheet can be found in the Business Operations module in Aula on the Journey > Materials > Module Assessment page.
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Deadline – when do I need to submit my assessment?
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Friday 4th November 2022, 10pm
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Submission – how do I submit my assessment?
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You must upload your document via the relevant link in the Journey > Assignments section of the Business Operations module in Aula. Your tutor will give you guidance. Please do not email your assessment to your Module Tutor without their prior permission.
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Assessment Criteria and Grading
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Assessment Purpose – what does this assessment test?
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This assessment is related to the following module Learning Outcomes:
- L1 - Analyse how the management of finance contributes to the effectiveness of organisations
- L2 - Prepare Final Accounts for a selection of organisations
- L3 - Evaluate the performance of a selection of organisations.
- L4 - Apply knowledge and understanding of basic economic problems to choices made by individuals, firms and governments
- L5 - Analyse market economics in relation to demand, supply, production and costs
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Assessment Criteria -how will my work be assessed?
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Your tutor will give you guidance on how your work will be assessed.
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Grade – how will my assessment be graded?
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Each section of the report, as detailed in the Assessment Task above carries the following marks:
a) 10 marks
b) 10 marks
c) 10 marks
d) 50 marks (10 marks for each ratio calculation and analysis)
e) 10 marks
An additional 10 marks will be allocated for the overall report layout and presentation, and the accuracy of grammar and spelling.
Total marks = 100
The final grade for this assessment will be given as a percentage (i.e. the maximum grade is 100%).
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Weighting - what % of my overall grade for this module is this assessment?
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The financial analysis report counts for 60% of the Business Operations module (the other 40% is your Business Operations Quiz).
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Pass Grade – what is the pass grade for this assessment and for the module?
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The minimum pass grade for the Business Operations module is 40% overall (i.e. the weighted average of both module assessments), with no less than 30% in each individual assessment.
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Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
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Academic Integrity
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Any work that you submit must be your own and the use of sources must be referenced appropriately.
Any work that is deemed to be plagiarised or not the student’s own work will not be marked and will not count towards the final module grade. Any work found to be plagiarised may result in the student being suspended from the programme. Please refer to the UWS Plagiarism Procedure for more information.
Please note that your work will be submitted via the Turnitin plagiarism detection software in Aula.
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Referencing Sources – what referencing style should I use?
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You should use the Harvard ‘Cite Them Right’ referencing style to reference all the sources of information that you refer to in your work.
Full details are available in the UWS Referencing Guidelines.
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Additional Information
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Extenuating Circumstances – what if I can’t submit my assessment on time?
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If you encounter circumstances that prevent you from submitting your assessment on time, you should speak to your Module Tutor or your Personal Tutor.
You may also be able to make a submission for Extenuating Circumstances. Please refer to the University Guide to Extenuating Circumstances for more information.
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