Assignment:
As the fund manager for a large mutual fund, you are preparing for a conference call with all your major investors. You plan to e-mail everyone with an attachment that will serve as a guide for the upcoming call. You know investors' time is limited, so you want to be focused in your brief report. Because there are numerous figures to discuss, you will be including 1 or more charts all in the same document.
For each of the following points, prepare both a paragraph of commentary and an appropriate chart to support it.
• Find the last 4 years' sales and profit or net income data for a major retail corporation.
• Calculate profit as a percentage of sales; be careful to place the decimal point correctly.
• Prepare a paragraph of explanation/interpretation of the data as if this were a small part of a lengthy report to potential investors.
• Prepare a chart to display all the information in a meaningful way.
Suggestions for Responding to Peer Posts
Review your peer's chart and commentary, and consider the following questions:
• Is their commentary sufficient support for the chart and enough information to supply potential investors with?
• Is the chart understandable or confusing?
• What do you think about the chart design?
• Were the sales, net income, and percentage of sales calculated correctly? If not, explain what went wrong and provide the correct calculations.
In your own words, please post a response to the Discussion Board and comment on other postings. You will be graded on the quality of your postings.