Tasks and Duties
Week 1 Task: Financial Statement Analysis:
Your task for this week is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the financial statements of a publicly traded company. Choose any company listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ. The objective here is to analyse the company's financial health and performance using its Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Statement of Cash Flows. Deliverables: A DOC file containing (1) an overview of the company, (2) a detailed analysis of the three financial statements, (3) insights on the company's profitability, liquidity, solvency, and efficiency, and (4) a conclusion on the company's financial health. Key steps: Choose a company, gather the financial statements, conduct analysis, summarize findings. Evaluation criteria: Completeness of analysis, clarity of insights, logical conclusions, and presentation.
Week 2 Task: Cost-Benefit Analysis:
This week, you are required to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of a potential investment project. You may imagine a scenario or use a real-world example. The objective is to evaluate the profitability of the project. Deliverables: A DOC file containing (1) a brief of the project, (2) detailed cost-benefit analysis, (3) a conclusion based on the analysis. Key steps: Outline the project brief, enumerate costs and benefits, calculate net present value, present your findings. Evaluation criteria: Thoroughness of the analysis, accuracy of calculations, logical conclusions, and presentation.
Week 3 Task: Budget Planning:
Your task for this week is to develop a comprehensive budget plan for a hypothetical company. The objective here is to demonstrate your understanding of how to allocate resources in a way that meets the company's financial goals. Deliverables: A DOC file containing (1) a brief overview of the company, (2) a detailed budget plan, (3) a rationale for your budget allocations. Key steps: Create a company profile, identify revenue and cost centres, allocate resources, provide justifications. Evaluation criteria: Reasonableness of allocations, logic of justifications, overall coherence of the budget plan, and presentation.
Week 4 Task: Risk Assessment:
This week, you are required to conduct a risk assessment for a company's proposed business expansion. You may create a hypothetical scenario. The objective is to identify potential risks and suggest mitigation strategies. Deliverables: A DOC file containing (1) a brief of the expansion, (2) detailed risk assessment, (3) proposed mitigation strategies. Key steps: Outline the expansion brief, identify potential risks, evaluate risks, propose mitigation strategies. Evaluation criteria: Depth of risk identification, clarity of risk evaluation, effectiveness of mitigation strategies, and presentation.
Week 5 Task: Financial Forecasting:
Your task for this week is to create a financial forecast for a company for the next fiscal year. You may choose any publicly traded company. The objective here is to project the company's financial position based on its historical data. Deliverables: A DOC file containing (1) an overview of the company, (2) a detailed financial forecast, (3) the methodology used for forecasting. Key steps: Choose a company, gather historical financial data, conduct forecasting, summarize findings. Evaluation criteria: Appropriateness of the forecasting method, accuracy of calculations, logical conclusions, and presentation.
Week 6 Task: Investment Portfolio Optimization:
This week, you are required to construct an optimized investment portfolio. The objective is to demonstrate your understanding of risk-return trade-off and portfolio diversification. Deliverables: A DOC file containing (1) a brief of the investment objective, (2) detailed portfolio construction, (3) a rationale for your asset allocation. Key steps: Define the investment objective, choose potential assets, allocate assets, justify allocations. Evaluation criteria: Clarity of the investment objective, appropriateness of asset allocation, logic of justifications, and presentation.