Project - Financial Analysis of a State or Local Government
Overview of Assignment - For this project, you will conduct a financial analysis of a state or local government using some of the indicators from the Financial Trend Monitoring System. You will need to prepare a report that presents your findings and discusses recommendations for follow-up action or research.
Description of Your Report - You are responsible for preparing a report on the financial analysis of the state or local government you have selected. I would expect your report to be about 7-10 pages including graphs; however, I am open to the possibility that you may find a way to prepare a strong report that falls outside these page limits. I will not take off points for a shorter or longer report (within reason) if the report effectively conveys the information and analysis requested. You should assume that the audience for your report is the legislative body for the government, e.g., the state legislators or the city council members. Your report should include the following sections:
I. Executive Summary
A description of the type of analysis you conducted and a summary of your findings and recommendations for further research or action (this section should be one page or less)
II. Financial Analysis
(A) A brief overview of the methodology/approach
(B) A narrative explanation and analysis for each of the assigned indicators, including a discussion of each trend (e.g., increasing, decreasing, fluctuating but recently upward), a discussion of whether the trend is favorable, unfavorable, or mixed (be sure to explain your reasoning), and a recommendation for future research or action to address the trend
(C) Appropriate graphs that are clearly labeled and well-documented (Be sure to state your data sources, including page numbers, or the title of the table if the page numbers are unavailable on the website. The source should be listed as "Source: ....." underneath each graph. Please see a sample graph below.
(D) A summary of your findings and recommendations.
The graphs should be incorporated into your report. Label each graph sequentially starting with "Figure 1." Then in your text, refer to the appropriate figures. For example, "As noted in Figure 1, ..." or "The upward trend indicates ..... (see Figure 1)."
III. Evaluation of Methodology
An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of using a trend analysis to analyze the financial condition of a state government (if you are analyzing a state government) or a local government (if you are analyzing a local government)
IV. References
- A list of the references you used (e.g., sources of data, Groves article)
- Follow one of the well-accepted style guides for the formatting of your references (e.g. APA, Chicago Style)
Instructions for Financial Analysis - Your analysis should incorporate portions of the Financial Trend Monitoring System that was developed by the International City/County Management Association. For each of the items listed at the bottom of this page, prepare a line graph showing the historical trend for 10 years.
Attachment:- Assignment File.rar