Just like a yearly physical
examination can provide clues to your physical health, an annual report
provides clues to the overall financial health of an organization in a given
time period. Just as some health conditions are not immediately detected by a physical
examination or may appear shortly after a yearly exam, the same can be said for
challenges an organization may be facing financially.
For example, an aggressive
competitor may be currently taking sales away from an organization’s stable
customer base, yet this competitor may not have existed at the conclusion of
the fiscal year that the annual report information represents. Nonetheless, it
is important to be able to analyze the information that you do have, while
considering new information that might change the current financial health of
an organization.
For this Assignment, your
Instructor has given you links to two annual reports. Examine the Table of
Contents or Index in each annual report and it will help you locate the items
listed below. The auditor’s opinion usually is found right after the financial
statements, but it might be located before them. The footnotes to the financial
statements are located immediately following the financial statements.
Then, compare the two annual
reports in terms of:
·
The four basic financial
statements
·
The auditor’s opinion
·
The footnotes to the financial
statements
·
The manager’s discussion and
analysis
·
The annual report as a whole
The
Assignment:
·
Identify the companies whose
annual reports you are comparing and include the links in your paper.
·
Compare and contrast the
information contained in the annual reports you were assigned.
·
Explain how the information
contained in the annual reports relate to the image you have of the
organization as a whole.
·
Explain how the financial
statements, auditor’s opinion, and footnotes are similar and how they are
different in effectively conveying the position of the organization.
·
Provide 2–3 clear and in-depth
examples to justify your perspective, drawing upon information from the reports
you reviewed.
·
Be sure to use citations and
related reference materials as appropriate.
