Capstone Component One: Portfolio
For the first of two capstone components, you will develop a comprehensive, professional portfolio by creating three artifacts: financial statements and analysis, a sample audit program, and a tax memo. These artifacts that you create for your clients at S.H.N.U., LLC will demonstrate your mastery of accounting concepts. This professional portfolio will provide tangible evidence of your knowledge, skills, and expertise in the field of accounting by displaying examples of your work. This portfolio should be representative of your growth, achievement, and professional attributes developed throughout your time in the Master of Science in Accounting program. Effectively showcasing your professional knowledge and skills in the field of accounting serves a very practical purpose: to assist you in seeking and sustaining employment.
Before submitting your final version in the portfolio, make sure to incorporate the feedback from your instructor. Remember that you want this portfolio to demonstrate your strengths as an accountant and your mastery in the field of accounting.
The following artifacts should be included in your portfolio:
Artifact One: Financial Statements and Analysis
The first artifact that you will include in your portfolio is the comprehensive, professional report that you create for the board of directors of Chester, Inc.-a large publicly traded client at S.N.H.U., LLC. The report should contain your findings with the financial statements package as an appendix (Excel attachment).
Incorporate the feedback that you receive from your instructor and peers during the development of this artifact.
Appendix: These sections should be completed first, before you write your report. Use the proper format for each section in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and noting and explaining differences under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) where appropriate:
- Income statement
- Balance sheet
- Statement of retained earnings
- Statement of cash flows
- Ratio analysis
- Liquidity - minimum of three key ratios with supporting calculations with a minimum of three years of data
- Profitability - minimum of three key ratios with supporting calculations with a minimum of three years of data
- Solvency - minimum of three key ratios with supporting calculations with a minimum of three years of data
- Vertical and horizontal analysis
- Both vertical and horizontal for the income statement with a minimum of three years of data
- Both vertical and horizontal for the balance sheet with a minimum of three years of data
Report of Findings and Recommendations: The report is the key section of this artifact and will be written after you complete the analysis in the sections in the appendix above. The report will demonstrate your understanding of financial statements, what they contain, what they mean, and how they are used in strategic decision making.
As you know, numbers are useless if we do not know what they mean and how to use them. The financial statements, ratios, and vertical/horizontal analysis should be analyzed and interpreted in order to assess and explain the performance of the organization. In your report, you must:
- Address all three key ratios in each ratio category. Include what each ratio indicates and how the organization performed against its key competitor and industry averages.
- Address all key findings in the vertical and horizontal analysis of the income statement and balance sheet. As a general rule, anything over 10% warrants addressing.
Attachment:- ACC 700 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric.pdf
Attachment:- ACC 700 Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric.pdf
Attachment:- acc700_milestone_one_chester_inc_trial_balance.xlsx