Milestone Assignment
Overview: This milestone will help you complete the project. You will analyze your selected company using SWOT, industry, and economic analysis. Discuss any emerging trends in technologies that affect your company.
Prompt: Produce a financial statement analysis and valuation report that summarizes the financial health, projected future performance, and estimated value of the publicly traded (S&P 500) company that you selected at the beginning of the course. As an independent financial accounting analyst working for a major trade journal, your report is intended to inform a general audience about the overall financial well-being of the company and how it compares to a major competitor. Your report should cover information of interest to both internal and external stakeholders-summarizing major findings, suggesting ways to improve operational performance, and assessing investment potential. Keep in mind that brief, clear communications are essential in effectively reaching business and media audiences.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I. Industry and Economic Analysis. This section will focus on evaluating the selected company's industry, its market structure, competitors, supply and demand, regulations, outlook or forecast, and other relevant factors specific to that industry. The section should also cover macro and microeconomic trends. This considers current monetary policy, GDP growth, the current economic health of the country of origin, and/or the company's global presence, all of which are relevant for valuing a company.
A. General economic overview. This will explore trends in economic indicators. It will also cover output of goods and services produced by the domestic and global economy.
i. Economic output and consumption. Identify national trends that could impact your chosen company or its industry as a whole based on
macroeconomic qualitative data.
ii. Current monetary and trade policy. Evaluate upcoming changes to policies or regulations that would impact your selected company or its industry.
iii. Explain relationships these policies and regulations would have with the company's sales or expenses.
B. Industry analysis. This piece involves researching the industry in which the target company operates to understand its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It will explore the following issues:
i. Supply and demand. Ascertain key supply and demand issues relevant to your company's industry, pinpointing critical issues that could benefit or harm your chosen company's operations.
ii. Market share and competitive landscape. Approximate your company's market share within its own industry, and distinguish its strengths and weaknesses from those of its major competitors.
iii. Regulation. Evaluate new regulation that is specific to your chosen company's industry, and determine whether it benefits or harms your company.
iv. Employment issues. Explain how the labor markets and the constraints that exist impact your company's operations.
v. Industry outlook. Determine how industry trends and relevant emerging technologies impact your chosen company's industry in the future.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.