Solved: ACC 5160 (White Paper on Statement of Cash Flows)

Your assignment is to write a White Paper (Word) and attach a year-to-year Statement of Cash Flows (Excel) with relevant analysis.  The package is to be:
  1. Uploaded back through Blackboard, and
  2. Printed and submitted before the end of class on April 10
Late submissions will be accepted up to three days after the due date, however they will receive a 20% reduction in score. DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS Please read and follow these instructions carefully.  Not following the instructions could result in loss of points.
  1. Select a Publicly-Held Company that has as the same first letter as your last name. For example, James Urquell might select United Technologies, Inc.
 
  1. Once you have selected your company, send me an email with the name and I will approve the selection. Otherwise, you will be notified that someone has already picked your company and you will need to select another company.  Packages submitted for companies that weren’t approved will receive a 10% reduction in score.  Don’t wait until the last minute to submit and receive approval – I do not read emails 24/7 so don’t get stuck with a shortage of time.
 
  1. You will need to locate the Statement of Cash Flows in the Annual Report.
 
  1. White Paper on Word - You will submit a one-page, single spaced paper where you discuss and analyze your company’s Statement of Cash Flows from the perspective that you are a Consultant and I am your Client who is considering purchasing the company stock. Your grade will be based on your logic and reasoning, along with proper grammar and professional presentation structure. Your paper should be structured as follows:
a. Heading/Title b. Background – At a minimum, state the purpose of the paper and information about your company. c. Analysis – Using key data from your Statement of Cash Flows, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the company as show by cash flow data. d. Recommendation – Make you recommendation as to whether I should purchase the company stock or not.  
  1. Statement of Cash Flows on Excel - You will also prepare an Excel document that will show a year-to-year Statement of Cash Flows of your company, along with relevant analytical data that will be described below. Your Excel document must include all necessary formulas.  For example, the document should have a formula in a cell where you are adding up numbers in a column.  Calculating on a hand-held calculator then typing in the sum will result in a loss of points.  The page should be presented in a manner consistent with what a financial statement looks like.  Inconsistencies/sloppiness in fonts, font size, justification, negative number presentation, dollar signs, bold versus no bold, number presentation, and underlining, to name a few, will result in a loss of points.  This document must look perfect.
a. Statement of Cash Flows. Your Statement of Cash Flows does not have to look exactly like the one presented by the company, however you must include all the data.  For example, you might combine a number of lines into one common one. b. You will identify the year-to-year changes in the various lines and calculate a percentage change.