Individual Coursework Assignment
This assignment is worth 100% of the module mark
Submission deadline: 11th January 2021, 12 noon
Module Coursework Assessment
Your final assignment requires you to conduct a CORE Strategic Financial Analysis of Greggs Plc, and then use this as the basis for advice to your manager.
The purpose of the assignment is to test your ability to critically analyse, interpret and evaluate the performance and prospects of companies using publicly available information and your understanding of the usefulness of corporate reports as effective means of communication.
Given that the latest Annual Report is already out of date by the time it is made available, students will be expected to show knowledge of the present and likely future environment within which the company operates. The completed coursework is to be in the form of a written report.
Relevant extracts from the annual report should be submitted with your written assignment, such as the chairperson’s statement, management report, income statement, statement of financial position, and statement of cash flow statement with notes to the accounts where appropriate.
Assignment Details
You work in an investment bank as an investment analyst. Your portfolio manager asks you to write a report providing advice on the market position and financial strength of Greggs Plc. You should use the CORE Strategic Financial Analysis approach to analyse Greggs’ financial performance and recommend whether you think the company offers a potential investment opportunity.
The more recent Annual Reports of Greggs Plc are available at:
https://corporate.greggs.co.uk/investors/results-centre
Guidance
More information is available at: https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/registry/policy/conduct/plagiarism/index.a spx
Format of Submission
Useful Websites
You will find www.bloomberg.co.uk ; www.uk.yahoo.com/finance ; www.lse.co.uk ; https://www.reuters.com/ as useful sites for this assignment, as is www.ft.com. There are many other financial websites which contain useful information and you are encouraged to find these sites for yourselves.
Marking and Feedback
This activity will be assessed on a 100-point scale, and the mark you receive for this assignment will be based on the following criteria:
| Criteria | Description | Pts |
| Executive
Summary / Introduction |
Clear description of the report’s purpose and method of analysis. At best will include key conclusions and recommendations. |
5 |
| Context: External | Discussion of market and key competitors (perhaps using Porter’s 5 forces or PEST). Expect diagrams and graphs of industry trends for really good marks. |
15 |
| Context: Internal | Nature of business, size, ownership, company structure, countries of operation. Outline business strategy (maybe use
SWOT analysis). Internal and external context may be combined. |
|
| Overview | Should include a table of key numbers and discussion of key trends (backed by graphs). May highlight key strategic developments and raise questions to be answered by ratio analysis. |
10 |
| Ratios – calculation | Include all key ratios. E.g. ROCE (make sure profit and capital employed numbers match) plus sales margin and asset utilisation. Should be an organised analysis covering performance, working capital, liquidity/solvency and shareholders’ view. |
25 |
| Ratios – discussion | Discussion should show understanding and interpretation and include appropriate comparisons. Explore links and trade-offs between ratios and compare to benchmarks. Explain why key ratios change by drawing on information in the context. |
25 |
| Evaluation / Conclusion | Use the ratio analysis to produce an evaluation and a final conclusion with a clear emphasis on the purpose of report and good use of context. Good answers may include other things to think about before a final decision, but should have a clear recommendation. |
10 |
| Presentation | Overall neatly presented report that is appropriate for the recipient. Includes appropriate graphs, diagrams and tables (small ones in the report, large ones in appendices). Good referencing required. Please stick to the word count – you will need to be concise in order to achieve this. |
10 |
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