Accounting for ManagersPurpose of the AssessmentThe purpose of this assignment is to test communication skills together with the ability to analyse, to interpret and to report. This assignment will also encourage research and investigation.Assessment TaskThe case study consists of two sections- Section A consists of 70 marks and Section B consist of 30 marks. Students are expected to read the case study thoroughly and to answer all the required questions in a structured and organised manner with reference to published work. This is an individual assignment and it is worth 60% of the total module mark.Question 1The following financial datais fortwo telecommunications companies thatare listed on the London Stock Exchange.1. BT GroupBT Group plcAnnual Ratios[GBP Millions]31-Mar-2015 31-Mar-2014 31-Mar-2013 31-Mar-2012 31-Mar-2011Financial StrengthCurrent Ratio 0.97 0.74 0.61 0.49 0.56Quick/Acid Test Ratio 0.93 0.64 0.51 0.38 0.45Working Capital -237.0 -1,981.0 -2,930.0 -4,724.0 -3,100.0Long Term Debt/Equity 9.74 -13.41 -31.59 5.81 4.87Total Debt/Equity 12.09 -16.58 -38.22 8.02 5.12Long Term Debt/Total Capital 0.74 0.86 0.85 0.64 0.80Total Debt/Total Capital 0.92 1.06 1.03 0.89 0.84Pay-out Ratio 46.79% 42.45% 38.20% 36.69% 38.18%Effective Tax Rate 19.28% 12.72% 15.85% 17.17% 12.41%Total Capital 10,576.0 9,222.0 9,751.0 11,794.0 11,781.0EfficiencyAsset Turnover 0.69 0.73 0.75 0.82 0.77Inventory Turnover 45.99 45.68 41.41 43.10 32.81Days In Inventory 7.94 7.99 8.81 8.47 11.13Receivables Turnover 6.34 7.53 7.03 6.99 6.62Days Receivables Outstanding 57.56 48.47 51.90 52.24 55.12Revenue/Employee – 208,280 208,635 217,944 216,803Operating Income/Employee – 33,144 32,184 31,360 27,840EBITDA/Employee – 63,838 64,528 64,753 60,011ProfitabilityGross Margin 77.33% 76.90% 76.63% 75.00% 81.37%Operating Margin 17.82% 15.91% 15.43% 14.39% 12.84%EBITDA Margin 32.04% 30.65% 30.93% 29.71% 27.68%EBIT Margin 17.82% 15.91% 15.43% 14.39% 12.84%Pre-tax Margin 14.82% 12.64% 12.62% 10.93% 8.55%Net Profit Margin 11.96% 11.04% 10.62% 9.05% 7.48%COGS/Revenue 22.67% 23.10% 23.37% 25.00% 18.63%SG&A Expense/Revenue 23.44% 24.91% 25.43% 24.96% 33.14%Management EffectivenessReturn on Assets 8.20% 8.11% 7.98% 7.40% 5.76%Return on Equity 1,976.85% -472.60% 372.47% 108.63% -414.34%ValuationFree Cash Flow/Share 0.28 0.31 0.36 0.13 0.25Operating Cash Flow/Share 0.57 0.61 0.67 0.46 0.59Current Market MultiplesMarket Cap/Earnings (TTM) 17.74Market Cap/Equity (MRQ) 46.74Market Cap/Revenue (TTM) 2.12Market Cap/EBIT (TTM) 10.12Market Cap/EBITDA (TTM) 6.02Enterprise Value/Earnings (TTM) 20.47Enterprise Value/Equity (MRQ) 53.93Enterprise Value/Revenue (TTM) 2.44Enterprise Value/EBIT (TTM) 11.67Enterprise Value/EBITDA (TTM) 6.952. VodafoneVodafone Group plcAnnual Ratios[GBP Millions]31-Mar-2015 31-Mar-2014 31-Mar-2013 31-Mar-2012 31-Mar-2011Financial StrengthCurrent Ratio 0.69 0.99 0.76 0.83 0.63Quick/Acid Test Ratio 0.67 0.87 0.63 0.65 0.48Working Capital -9,050.0 -317.0 -6,720.0 -4,000.0 -10,072.0Long Term Debt/Equity 0.34 0.30 0.38 0.37 0.32Total Debt/Equity 0.53 0.36 0.50 0.44 0.40Long Term Debt/Total Capital 0.22 0.22 0.25 0.26 0.23Total Debt/Total Capital 0.35 0.27 0.33 0.30 0.28Payout Ratio 52.11% 33.10% -119.21% 77.52% 58.56%Effective Tax Rate -435.16% – – 17.01% 17.14%Total Capital 101,203.0 96,482.0 107,280.0 110,543.0 122,177.0EfficiencyAsset Turnover 0.35 0.29 0.27 0.27 0.30Inventory Turnover 66.92 70.38 63.33 53.18 63.53Days In Inventory 5.45 5.19 5.76 6.86 5.75Receivables Turnover 5.32 6.33 6.30 5.82 8.00Days Receivables Outstanding 68.63 57.65 57.96 62.73 45.62Revenue/Employee – 413,158 416,787 449,458 547,137Operating Income/Employee – -42,160 -24,126 65,043 66,729EBITDA/Employee – 39,294 48,854 142,857 160,645ProfitabilityGross Margin 26.87% 27.13% 30.16% 29.93% 32.84%Operating Margin 4.66% -10.20% -5.79% 14.47% 12.20%EBITDA Margin 27.43% 9.51% 11.72% 31.78% 29.36%EBIT Margin 4.66% -10.20% -5.79% 14.47% 12.20%Pretax Margin 2.59% -13.74% -9.16% 10.67% 20.70%Net Profit Margin 13.51% 29.07% -11.05% 8.74% 17.37%COGS/Revenue 73.13% 72.87% 69.84% 70.07% 67.16%SG&A Expense/Revenue 21.79% 18.98% 18.45% 17.48% 18.24%Management EffectivenessReturn on Assets 4.80% 8.70% -2.85% 2.37% 5.11%Return on Equity 8.33% 15.67% -5.66% 4.13% 8.96%ValuationFree Cash Flow/Share 0.03 -0.02 0.04 0.16 0.12Operating Cash Flow/Share 0.37 0.24 0.33 0.38 0.43Current Market MultiplesMarket Cap/Earnings (TTM) 11.84Market Cap/Equity (MRQ) 1.02Market Cap/Revenue (TTM) 1.59Market Cap/EBIT (TTM) 30.57Market Cap/EBITDA (TTM) 5.69Enterprise Value/Earnings (TTM) 16.40Enterprise Value/Equity (MRQ) 1.41Enterprise Value/Revenue (TTM) 2.21Enterprise Value/EBIT (TTM) 42.34Enterprise Value/EBITDA (TTM) 7.89You are required to:(a) Select and justify at least 10 financial ratios and calculate 2 non-financial ratios to analyse the performance and financial position of the twocompanies.You are expected to use charts to compare performance of the two companies. You will need to look at the audited financial statement and carry out further research to explain the performance of the company over the five years.For clarity, you are expected to rank the companies based on the individual benchmarks and overall. (50 Marks)(b) Write a memo to the managing director of the number two (poor performing) company with recommendations of how the financial performance of the business can be improved. (15 marks)(c) Outline the limitations of relying on financial ratios to interpret firm performance? (5 Marks).You are expected to research for more information on the companies and cite the material correctly. You can use the Global Business Browser database to access analysts’ and SWOT reports.Question2: Investment AppraisalWesley Mills Plc is considering expanding its production of a new component use in one of its products. The plant is expected to cost £1,000,000 and have a life span of five years and a nil residual value. It will be bought, paid for and ready for operation on 31 December 2015. £500,000 has already been spent on development costs of the product, this has been charged in the income statement in the year it was incurred.The following results are projected for the new component:Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5£000 £000 £000 £000 £000Sales Revenue 1,200 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,400Costs, including dep’n (1,000) (1,100) (1,100) (1,100) (1,100)Profit before tax 200 300 300 300 300Tax is charged at 30% on annual profits (before tax and depreciation) and paid one year in arrears. Depreciation of the plant has been calculated on a straight line basis. Additional working capital of £600,000 will be required at the beginning of the project and released at the end of year 5.You should assume that all cash flows occur at the end of the year in which they arise.You are required to:1. Prepare a statement showing the incremental cash flows of the project over the life of the project. (10 Marks)2. Compute the net present value of the project using a 10% discount rate(5 Marks)3. Compute the payback period to the nearest year, explain the meaning of this term (5 Marks)4. Discuss the limitations of using investment appraisal techniques to aid long term decision making (10 Marks)(Total 30 marks)ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE1. All calculations must be detailed and presented clearly.2. Use of published work (citing references) within text is expected.3. A full list of references should be presented at the end of the case study.4. Please avoid the use of ‘I, We, Us’ in your case study. You are expected to write in third person.5. Include the assignment front sheet which is attached to the assignment brief.6. Your answer should not repeat the question as it will be included in your word count.7. Formatting:a. Font Type: Arial.b. Font size 11/12.c. Line spacing 1.5 to 2.d. All pages must be numberede. All graphs, charts and tables should have a number and a title.f. All text must be aligned to the left.8. Good use of English, referencing, presentation will earn marks.9. Submit online and on time, late submissions will not be accepted.10. For extensions or deferral of assessment, please refer to the University policy on mitigating circumstances.Accounting and Finance Penalties1. Word Count*: All assessments have a word count with a tolerance of 10% only. Submissions that exceed the word count will be penalised as follows-one grade point* for every 150 words or part thereof.2. Missing References – penalty is three grade points minimum (see module guide for further details).3. Front sheet missing-penalty one grade point.4. Word count missing or inaccurate-penalty one grade point.** Front sheet, contents page, references and any appendices do not count in the word count.
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