1. Overview

Assessment Schedule

The aim of these assessments is to assist you to:

•   gain a deeper understanding of corporate finance concepts;

•    appreciate current issues discussed/faced in the industry; and

•   apply your knowledge to investigate real companies.

Through these exercises, you will gain a better understanding of how corporate finance concepts can be applied in the real world. This is an excellent opportunity for those who wish to pursue a career as a finance officer / manager.

For those who are taking this unit as an elective, it provides the foundation and tools needed to investigate the financial health ofa company and assist in the decision to purchase its shares for investment.

2. Communication

If you have any queries, please try to approach your tutors first, lecturers second and unit coordinator last;

Written communication is preferred;

When sending emails to the unit coordinator, please use this format in your subject field: CF, ,  ,  ,.E.g.  CF3000,  Smith,  John,  123456A, Bentley. The purpose of the email is written on the first line in the main body of the email. You may not receive a prompt reply if you do not follow this format.

3. Group Assignment (50%)

Objective: To prepare an analyst report on a publicly listed, dividend paying company.

Group formation: This is a group assessment. Students will form groups with maximum of2 (two) in order to complete the group assignment. Students should complete the group sign-up form (available under the assessments tab in Bb) and return it to their lecturer by week 4. Failing to do so will attract 20% penalty. This submission must be made via Turnitin, and both the group members must sign the sign-up sheet. Only one submission per group is required. If you are unable to find a group member, you must let the unit coordinator / lecturer / tutor know by the end of week 2. It is your responsibility to form a group and allocate tasks. If you fail to find a suitable group member by week 4, you will need to complete the assignment individually. No group submission form will be accepted after Sunday 21st August. Once assigned to a group it is not possible to change. You are to exchange phone numbers and relevant contact details with your group member. Moreover, you are to discuss and collaborate with your group member via a cloud platform, eg. Google docs.  The assignment will be

assessed according to the rubrics and criteria provided in this document.

There are 2 parts of this assignment:

Part 1 is the full / Complete assignment submission and it is due on Friday 16th September. It must be submitted via Turnitin. It must be professionally typed; no handwritten submissions. Your work must be assessable through Turnitin. Scanned graphics will not be marked. Only your final submission will be marked. Subsequent email attachments will not be accepted. The process described in unit outline is applicable for all assessment extension request. The assignment will be marked as a complete document irrespective of who did which part. Ideally the assignment should be completed at least 2-3 days before the submission date and both the group members should read the full document and modify where needed. The whole group will be penalized for mismatch in between the sections of the assignment. Students  are required to  sign  and  attach the  cover page  (available  on blackboard)  allocating the contribution of the group members.

Part 2 is the presentation and interview, and it will be conducted during tutorial of the last 3 teaching weeks. You must attend and present in the tutorial you are enrolled in. Online students must turn their web cam on during presentation and interview. Tutorial wise presentation dates will be allocated in the alphabetical order of your surname and will be available in blackboard by the end of week 10. Each group will be allocated 4 mins (Maximum 2 min per student) for presenting the summary and findings on their analysed company. After the presentation, each student will be asked 3 questions related to the analysed company as well as various theories covered in this unit. A set of sample interview questions will be available in your Bb under the assessments tab. The purpose of this part of the assessment is to make sure each and every group member have a thorough understanding of all the 4 sections of the assignment. Moreover, as the final assessment is online and non-invigilated, basic understanding of the topics covered in the unit will be assessed.

You have to commence work towards your final submission from the end of week 4 and make considerable progress every week.

The presentation of the assignment should be in 1.5 lines spacing and 12pt font. It should not be more than 6,000 in words. The word count excludes tables, diagrams, charts, and AGLC references.

4. Group Assignment details

You are to select a publicly listed dividend paying company from the country of your study location (e.g. Australia for the Bentley campus) and conduct a detailed analysis on it.

Please go through the checklist at the bottom of this page before you commence your assignment.

Australia based students must NOT select Domino’s Pizza (DMP), BHP Group Ltd (BHP),  Fortescue Metals Group Limited (FMG), Wesfarmers (WES), Telstra (TLS), JBHiFi (JBH),       Woolworths (WOW), banks, insurance companies, REITs and investment companies. If you are unsure, please check with your tutor/lecturer during tutorial / lecture / consultation hours.

The purpose of this assignment is to use your acquired knowledge from this unit to investigate the financial strength of a public listed company. Your research should cover the following 4 parts:

• Shareholder analysis (15%) – Who are the owners of the company and the implication to the choice of methods used to calculate the cost of return.

• Risk-return analysis (15%) – Analyse the return received over the market for the apparent risks identified in the company.

• Cost of capital (40%) – Calculate the cost of capital using various methods and analyse your findings.

• Financial statement analysis (30%) – Determine the future of the company by analysing the performance of the company.

In  each  of these parts, you are to report your findings using the  format provided below. If the information is not from the company’s annual report, you will have to provide details on

•   where you sourced the information; and

•   comment on how you have verified its reliability.

If the information is from the annual report, you do not need to reference, but you have to include the page number of the annual report from which the information has been taken from, for example: (pg XX).

The assignment must be written completely by you and your group members. You are not to purchase or reproduce commercial stock reports.

5. Refinitiv (Thomson Reuters) Workspace

All students will have their own log in details of Refinitiv (Thomson Reuters) Workspace (by week 3). This is a web-based database that are extensively used in the industry and will add value if you could develop some expertise in using it. The UC will make a recorded workshop available in the iLecture tab by week 4. You are also welcomed to email UC if you need more assistance in using the database.

6. Group Assignment Requirement

Before you start: Do not choose the company unless it satisfies the following, otherwise you will get a 30% penalty.