MANAGING OPERATIONS and FINANCE

Produce an informal report in the region of 2500 to 3000 words (excluding appendices) which:
selects a UK quoted company and
(a)describe its operating context within its industrial sector;
(b)calculate at least two years’ key financial performance figures from its annualreports;
(c)evaluate its performance against at least one key competitor using the FAME database or company annual reports.
(FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS CANNOT BE USED).

The report
An informal report style should be used and the following areas should be addressed:

1a description of the market in which your company operates and a brief analysis of its operational activities;
2a calculation from the annual report of your company of appropriate financial ratios. The calculation of the ratios must be fully and clearlyshown;
3an evaluation of the financial performance of your company in the context of selected competitors. Reference should be made to general market movements. As a source of comparative data, ratios provided by finance databases should be used.

IMPORTANT
Ratiosfor the selected company used in the above should be calculated from the Annual Reports and the source of the figures used must be clearly and explicitly shown.