Problem: 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.
Q1. Find the last 4 years' sales and profit or net income data for a major retail corporation (MACY's)
Q2. Calculate profit as a percentage of sales; be careful to place the decimal point correctly.
Q3. Prepare a paragraph of explanation/interpretation of the data as if this were a small part of a lengthy report to potential investors.
Q4. Prepare a chart to display all the information in a meaningful way.