Author: chris

As the representative from your accounting firm or practice, you are in charge of stock market analysis that will be presented to clients as part of professional consultation process. One of your high-profile clients is trying to determine the possible investment potential between two companies. However, before you can recommend investments to clients, you need to familiarize yourself with the background of the companies, analyze stock trends, research current events, and analyze financial statements. Select one (1) pair of these companies and conduct your analysis.
– Pepsi versus Coca Cola, or
– Amazon versus eBay

Write an eight to ten (8-10) page paper in which you:
1. Analyze each company’s history, product / services, major customers, major suppliers, and leadership and provide a synopsis of each company.
2. Based on the stock price for the timeline listed below, present a graph that illustrates the stock price of each company. Indicate conclusions that can be drawn based on the trend:
a. The day of its initial public offering
b. January 1, 2012
c. January 1, 2011
d. January 1, 2010
3. Research and summarize at least two (2) news events (this may include mergers, acquisitions, or political issues) that occurred from 2010 to the present day and the potential impact on the stock price of each company. Indicate how this influences your investment decision related to the company.
4. Provide an overall financial analysis for each company that highlights the key characteristics for investment and how this may impact an investor’s decision.
5. Based on your review of the financial data for each company, indicate the accuracy and reliability of the data for making investment decision. Provide support for your conclusion.
6. Recommend which company you consider as the better investment for your client and how you will present your recommendation. Support your recommendation with data from your analysis.
7. Use at least four (4) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
– Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
– Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
– Analyze the accounting for corporation requirements related to stock valuation, dividends, and retained earnings.
– Determine how to value investments and how to report them based on that valuation.
– Use technology and information resources to research issues in financial accounting.
– Write clearly and concisely about financial accounting using proper writing mechanics.

NOTE: This assignment is in two parts, one is quantitative problem, the other a short paper. You need to turn in both Part I and Part II to receive full credit for this assignment.

Part I: This part of the assignments tests your ability to calculate present value.

A. Suppose your bank account will be worth $15,000.00 in one year. The interest rate (discount rate) that the bank pays is 7%. What is the present value of your bank account today? What would the present value of the account be if the discount rate is only 4%?

B. Suppose you have two bank accounts, one called Account A and another Account B. Account A will be worth $6,500.00 in one year. Account B will be worth $12,600.00 in two years. Both accounts earn 6% interest. What is the present value of each of these accounts?

C. Suppose you just inherited an gold mine. This gold mine is believed to have three years worth of gold deposit. Here is how much income this gold mine is projected to bring you each year for the next three years:

Year 1: $49,000,000

Year 2: $61,000,000

Year 3: $85,000,000

Compute the present value of this stream of income at a discount rate of 7%. Remember, you are calculating the present value for a whole stream of income, i.e. the total value of receiving all three payments (how much you would pay right now to receive these three payments in the future). Your answer should be one number – the present value for this gold mine at a 7% discount rate but you have to show how you got to this number.

Now compute the present value of the income stream from the gold mine at a discount rate of 5%, and at a discount rate of 3%. Compare the present values of the income stream under the three discount rates and write a short paragraph with conclusions from the computations.

Part II: Read the following three sample business plans:

Ice Dreams

R J Wagner & Associates Realty

Interstate Travel Center

Which of these three projects do you think should have the highest risk from the point of view of investors (potential providers of funds) and would therefore be evaluated using the highest discount rate? Which one do you think should have the lowest? Write a paper explaining your reasoning.

In your assessment of the business plans consider the possible risk of each plan. Risk is one of the main considerations when deciding whether a plan should be evaluated and discounted to present value using a high or a low discount rate.

Note: you are not expected to fully analyze the numbers and financial statements in these business plans. There are only forecasts and projections. Nobody really believes them anyway. Use your intuition rather than calculations to assess risk and potential of each of these plans.

Assignment Expectations:

Turn in both Part I and Part II in one Word document when completed. Part I should be two pages long and contain your calculations. Part II should be two pages long.

You’ll remember that the general project for this term involves creating an implementation plan for the new TUI learning management system, Desire2learn (D2L). You’ve already had the opportunity to review some project management software; now you’ll have the opportunity to begin to put together an actual plan using it.

The first step is to confirm your choice of software. You probably will want to use the one that you reviewed earlier, but if you found inadequate or difficult, you may want to shift to a different program.

Now you should review some specifics about D2L. Go to their website (http://www.desire2learn.com/learningsuite/highered/) and review the principal components of their suite. We plan to implement at least the learning environment, learning repository, and analytics modules at this time; we will probably implement the portfolio and mobile modules a bit later on, and perhaps the capture module as well. For now, concentrate on the first three. Get a good feel for what they involve and how complicated they might be to put into practice, considering the nature of our University and our courses.

Now you should use your software to create a basic first stage, high level plan. Consider the project lifecycle stages that were discussed in the case, and try to create a plan using that framework implemented within your software. It doesn’t have to be in great detail at this point, but you should be able to indicate familiarity with the stages involved and the kinds of decisions that will need to be made at each stage. When you have such a plan sketched out, create a report using the program’s reporting facility and save it to a file.

Finally, prepare a brief (2-3 page) report summarizing your activities regarding the previous three steps — software selection, D2L review, and plan design. Attach your plan report either as a component of the document (not counted against the page requirement). Be as personal and reflective as you can; remember, your aim is to describe what you learned from this process and how it might affect your behavior and your career.

SLP Grading and Expectations:
Your paper will be evaluated on the following criteria:

Complete the SLP assignment. Length of 2-3 pages (since a page is about 300 words, this is approximately 600-900 words)
Conducted evaluation and analysis as required
Precision: the questions asked are answered.
Clarity: Your answers are clear and show your good understanding of the topic.
Breadth and Depth: The scope covered in your paper is directly related to the questions of the assignment and the learning objectives of the module.
Critical thinking: Incorporate YOUR reactions, examples, and applications of the material to business that illustrate your reflective judgment and good understanding of the concepts.
Your paper is well written and the references are properly cited and listed

As we noted introduction, project life cycle models are particularly helpful in terms of laying out decisions to be made in sequence, so that you’re not tempted to make certain decisions, and therefore cut yourself off from other possibilities, any sooner than you need to. Of course, this depends on the model being an appropriate reflection of the actual decision process. The more general model, the more twisting and shoving one might have to do to make it really applicable in any particular instance. Thus, there are numerous formulations of such models, of varying utility in varying circumstances. All they all may share the same general ideas, when examined in detail they may result in different sorts of recommendations.

This case asks you to make some comparisons and decide the most effective formulation of a lifecycle model. Let’s begin with a good general introduction to the topic:

Higher ED CIO (2012, July 26), IT organization structure and operating models, Retrieved from http://blog.thehigheredcio.com/2012/07/26/it-organization-structure/

University of Saskatchewan, (2010). Project management – project life cycle. Information Technology Services. Retrieved from http://www.usask.ca/its/services/itproject_services/managing_projects/life_cycle.php

Here is a very good short video presentation on the topic, laying out some of the specific content involved:

Project Management Success Net.(2010). PMBOK explained session 2 project life cycle and organization. [Video presentation]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q31kS3YQbQ

Now let’s look at three specific versions of the model for comparison purposes. All of these come from the same general source: PMHut.com, a well-respected general source site for project management information. As you’ll notice, they were generated by different people at different times. Look them over carefully in comparative terms, and think about their relative utility.

NYS Project Management Guidebook (n.d.), Project management lifecycle, Retrieved from http://www.its.ny.gov/pmmp/guidebook2/Origination.pdf

Barron, M., & Barron, A. (2011, May 19). The project life cycle agile development. The Project Management Hut. Retrieved from http://www.pmhut.com/the-project-life-cycle-3.

Carr, J. (2009, February 14). The project life cycle. The Project Management Hut. Retrieved from http://www.pmhut.com/the-project-life-cycle-2.

In addition, the optional readings expand on many of the central points; you may also want to do some independent Internet-based research of your own to clarify any issues that concern you.

When you have read through the articles and related material, please compose a 4-6 page critical analysis paper on the topic:

“Discuss various stages in project life cycle based on the type of IT organization structure you have seen”

Your task is to synthesize the different versions and descriptions of the project life cycle that you’ve heard and read about into what you regard as a single formulation that would be of the most help to you in terms of planning a household move — a project with which most of you are already familiar, with experiences both good and not so good. You are to use the various formulations of the model found in these sources; some are likely to be better supported by the literature and the evidence than others. Obviously, as noted below, this will obligate you to actually be able to present such evidence in an academically respectable manner.

Case Assignment Expectations
Your paper should be short (4-6 pages, not including cover sheet and references) and to the point. It is to be structured in the following manner.

You are expected to:

Begin this paper by stating your position on this question of stages, clearly and concisely
Citing appropriate sources, present the reasons why you take this position. Be sure to make the most effective case you can. Use a household move, either one of yours or one you might be contemplating, or even someone else’s experience, as a source of real-world examples to shore up your argument.
Then present the best evidence you can, again citing appropriate sources, against your position — that is, establish what counterarguments can be made to your original position.
Finally, review your original position in light of the counterarguments, showing how they are inadequate to rebut your original statement.
By the end of your paper, you should be able to unequivocally re-affirm your original position.

You will be particularly assessed on:

Your ability to see what the module is all about and to structure your paper accordingly.
Your informed commentary and analysis — simply repeating what your sources say does not constitute an adequate paper.
Your ability to apply the professional language and terminology of communications and information systems correctly and in context; you are expected to be familiar with this language and use it appropriately.
Your effective and appropriate use of in-text citations to the assigned readings and other source material to support your arguments. Refer to the Purdue University APA formatting and style guide (see required readings) for the proper formats.

One of the biggest issues in setting objectives for events to be held in a sport facility are those that may be beneficial socially or financially but are contrary to the mission of the sport facility. These may include events that may be politically, culturally, or socially motivated and may cause questions in the community.

As a sport facility manager, choose a potentially controversial event that might be held at your sport facility. What questions would probably be asked of you by (a) the facility ownership and (b) the community? How would you answer those questions and explain the justification for this event?

The intent is for you to focus more on the event and the controversy involved with the event itself; not so much the facility itself. What would the controversial event be and what questions would you be faced with from the public.

Should Native American stories be taught as part of American Literature?

1 opening paragraph, 4 body paragraph, and a closing paragraph.

Why should we study American Literature?

1 opening paragraph, 4 points (body paragraphs), and 1 closing paragraph

In our legal system, people have a right not to incriminate themselves. What challenges does this pose to individual rights with regards to lineups and show ups? There are many different constitutional and practical issues with regards to our laws in this subject area. What did you learn from this material that challenged your understanding?

In the last few years, the Federal government cut the GST (the federal sales tax on goods and services which Ontario later blended into the PST to create the HST) by two percentage points. The federal government could have transferred this cut to income taxes instead, i.e. it could have decreased taxes on income instead of on the GST. Sources of income that taxes are paid on include labour (work) as well as investment earnings. Assuming that taxes are to be cut, which tax cut do you believe is more beneficial for long run economic growth, a GST/HST reduction or an income tax reduction? Assume that either of the reductions would be revenue neutral, i.e., the federal government would forfeit the same amount of revenue with either tax that is cut. You are to use as many economic tools that you have learned in this course to justify your argument

Team Project 5-1
Briefly synthesize the results of your DiSC assessment (completed in Week 4) for the rest of your team.DiSC IS WRITTEN IN ORDER 656021

Then, discuss the following as a team:
• What profiles are reflected in the group? Are any missing?
• What are the potential implications of these profiles for working with each other and producing a successful outcome with the Team Project?
• What issues might come up if team members have different profiles or have differing intensities in certain dimensions?
• What are each team member’s strengths? What are each person’s potential blind spots?
• What insights could guide your continued collaboration on the Team Project?
Create a short team profile to summarize insights gained from this discussion.
Post your team profile (approximately 350 words) to the discussion forum