(Financial Management)

You have been hired by Sunnyview Medical Center (SMC) as a financial manager.

Upon assuming your new position at SMC you notice that the organization has accumulated excess cash. SMC currently has a target cash balance of $125,000 but has accumulated $231,000 in its cash account. You remember from your courses at TUI that the goal of investing is to accumulate excess funds for future use so you make a suggestion to the board of directors to invest the excess $106,000. There are two banks offering a Certificate of Deposit (CD). Metro Bank is offering a CD with a interest rate of 6%. A competitor, Westside Savings is also offering a 5 year CD with a interest rate of 6.25%. However, in order to earn the full interest rate both banks require that you leave the money in for five years and only withdraw the money after the five year period. If you withdraw the money before the 5 year period there is an early withdrawal penalty that reduces the interest rate at both banks by 0.75% for every year that the money is withdrawn early. Therefore the rate would be as follows if the money was withdrawn at the following years.

Metro Bank Westside Savings

1 year 3% 3.25%

2 year 3.75% 4%

3 year 4.5% 4.75%

4 year 5.25% 5.5%

5 year 6% 6.25%

The board of directors also wishes to compare the returns on each CD. Because they are not certain when the organization will need the money you will have to calculate the future value of the each CD at every year up to the end of the fifth year. (Be sure to show all formulas and calculations in your presentation)

As an integrated delivery system, SMC has concerns about its Risk Contract arrangements with managed care organizations. In particular incentives for performance under risk contracts needs to be discussed.

The 1st annual meeting is quickly approaching and at this meeting you will be introduced to all SMC stockholders. You decide to prepare a presentation for the annual meeting. Your presentation should contain the following topics:

1. Lay the foundation for your presentation by first explaining your role in general terms as a financial manager at SMC;

2. Calculate the future value of the CD for every year up to the fifth year (you will need to show all formulas and calculations in your presentation). You need to calculate the potential returns from both banks under the following four scenarios: (a) 6% and 6.25% as compound interest rate for Metro and Westside, respectively; (b) 6% and 6.25% as simple interest rate for Metro and Westside, respectively; (c) withdrawn early from Metro and Westside under compoind interest rates; (d) withdrawn early under simple interest rate.


3. Discuss risk contracting in particular discuss the various financial incentive structures and how they could be used to improve efficiency of care in risk contracts.

(Financial Planning)

1. Discuss the steps involved in formulating a strategic plan within health care organizations.

2. Discuss how health care organizations benefit from financial planning.

3. Discuss how scenario analysis and scenario planning differ from traditional methods of planning in health care organizations.

(Reading material)
In today's volatile healthcare environment, traditional planning tools are inadequate to guide financial managers of provider organizations in developing managed care strategies. These tools often disregard the uncertainty surrounding market forces such as employee benefit structure, the future of Medicare managed care, and the impact of consumer behavior.
Scenario analysis overcomes this limitation by acknowledging the uncertain healthcare environment and articulating a set of plausible alternative futures, thus supplying financial executives with the perspective to craft strategies that can improve the market position of their organizations. By being alert for trigger points that might signal the rise of a specific scenario, financial managers can increase their preparedness for changes in market forces.


Managed care plans and providers face tremendous uncertainty regarding the future of the industry, as a variety of healthcare policy scenarios are being offered by candidates in this year's presidential election campaigns. Health care's loss of stability demands that new strategic-planning tools that determine the potential impact of uncertainty on financial performance be implemented.

Scenario planning is a tool that can be used to explore the impact of different possible futures for health care. a Scenarios provide a structured framework for imagining and assessing uncertainty, allowing the distillation of complex market interactions into a limited number of plausible alternatives that can be used to determine an organization's most appropriate strategic initiatives.

Managed Care Market Forces

Scenario planning is especially useful for analyzing the current healthcare climate, which is characterized by a significant level of uncertainty regarding critical market forces. These market forces include:

Collective bargaining for physicians. To what degree will physicians legally be able to negotiate collectively with payers?

Consolidation of health plans. Will health plans continue to consolidate until only a handful of payers compete in each market, or will new plans aggressively enter markets, leading to fragmented healthcare coverage across many payers?

Employee benefit structure. Will employers continue to provide employees a defined benefit that allows them to choose from a limited number of health plans, or will they shift to a defined-contribution approach that allows employees free rein to determine how to spend a fixed sum?

Federal healthcare reform and universal access. Will health coverage continue to be provided through fragmented channels, or will there be a shift to universal coverage guaranteed by the Federal government?

Medicare managed care. Will the number of Medicare beneficiaries covered by managed care plans significantly increase or decrease?

Healthcare inflation. What will be the relationship between the increase in healthcare costs as measured by the medical price index (MPI) and overall economic inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI)?

Health plan models. Which health plan model will emerge as the dominant structure?

Impact of consumerism. Will consumers continue to play a relatively passive role in healthcare decision making, or will they become more active, demanding more information about provider prices and quality of care?

Provider payment structure. What will be the primary payment mechanism for hospitals and physicians?

Physician practice structure. Will the majority of physicians participate in multispecialty or singlespecialty group practices, or operate solo practices? Will group practices be large or small?

For purposes of scenario analysis, planners should select from among the identified market forces two forces that are anticipated to have a great potential impact on the organization. These forces should be used to form a matrix that presents four plausible futures, or scenarios. These four scenarios represent the extreme outcomes of the market forces at work.

Scenarios and Strategies

In Exhibit 1, two opposing possible developments in healthcare inflation (the magnitude of the MPI vs. the CPI) and the role of the healthcare consumer (active vs. passive) are combined to construct a matrix illustrating four possible managed care scenarios. These four possible scenarios can be called the Two-Tiered System, Freedom of Choice, Flashback to the Mid-1990s, and Healthcare Reform Revisited. Exhibit 2 illustrates the strategic implications of each scenario for hospitals and physicians.

Two-Tiered System. In this scenario, the increase in medical costs greatly exceeds general inflation, and the consumer chooses to takes an active role in healthcare decision making. Employers would move to a defined-contribution approach to health coverage and providing employees with a fixed dollar amount every month. Consumers would make their own decisions regarding the purchase of insurance and healthcare services, seeking value from hospitals, physicians, and insurers. The combination of individual purchasing discretion and greater demand for information would lead to new models of contracting. The Internet may emerge as the low-cost channel for individuals to use to purchase insurance and healthcare services either on their own or as part of a group.

As new purchasing channels emerge, providers would need to develop relationships and redefine contract parameters with another set of payers. Branding and product differentiation would become important strategies for providers. Scoring well on public "report cards" would be crucial. Direct consumer evaluation of the price/quality trade-off would reward "value" providers. Additionally, hospitals and physicians would need to more closely evaluate strategies traditionally used to sell consumer goods, such as pricing, discountcoupon distribution, and product bundling.

Freedom of Choice. The Freedom of Choice scenario reflects an active consumer and medical inflation that generally is in line with the nation's inflation rate. Because employer healthcare costs would not be growing significantly faster than general inflation, companies would continue to offer their employees a choice of plans and providers with a defined benefit. Consumers would take an active role in making healthcare decisions within the defined limits of their coverage. Although freedom of choice would exist, the market forces of supply and demand would serve to ration care and access.

Enlarge 200%
Enlarge 400%

EXHIBIT 1:
EXHIBIT 2:


Consumer-driven choice and low inflationary pressure have several strategic implications for hospitals and physicians. Participation on every managed care panel would not be essential. Consumers would migrate to their provider of choice, increasing provider leverage with payers. Consumer watchdog groups, employer coalitions, and payers would attempt to define and measure quality. If these attempts were unsuccessful, consumers would make choices based on their perceptions of quality, causing many providers to put greater emphasis on market visibility and brand recognition.

Flashback to the Mid-1990s. The third scenario, Flashback to the Mid1990s, combines relatively low increases in medical costs with consumer passivity. In this scenario, managed care payers would be the dominant market force, setting contracting and coverage parameters and, thus, making the greatest profits. In an attempt to define and measure provider quality, payers would require providers to submit information that would allow quality evaluation to occur. Because of consumer indifference to choice among healthcare providers, there would be a shift from open-access products to closed-panel models presided over by gatekeepers. Federal legislation would wane because employers would be content with the relatively low rate of medical inflation, and consumers would not demand government intervention because perceived problems would be minor.

Hospitals and physicians would consider aggressive responses to the payers' strong market position. Hospitals would consider consolidation in an attempt to increase their bargaining power. Physicians would renew their interest in independent practice associations (IPAs) or group practices as their primary contracting organization. Providers faced with the daunting choice of major rate concessions or exclusion from panels would refuse to enter into contracts with payers who would not pay minimally acceptable rates.

Healthcare Reform Revisited.

High medical cost inflation and passive consumers create the fourth scenario, Healthcare Reform Revisited. Concerned with the high rate of medical inflation, the Federal government would pass a series of reforms that would establish active Federal oversight and regulation of both providers and payers. Faced with increased Federal scrutiny, providers would focus a significant portion of their resources on corporate compliance and policy development. Risk would be shifted from payers to hospitals and physicians primarily through capitation.

Hospitals and physicians would reevaluate the role of the integrated delivery system to optimally match their organizational structure with the industry's risk-based payment system. Hospitals would reconsider purchasing primary care physician practices to link with their hospital services. IPAs and physician-hospital organizations (PHOs) would be revived as contracting organizations. Risk-management skills and information technology would become essential as providers would be asked to develop risk-sharing, incentive-based systems. Additionally, hospitals would develop quality-measurement systems to meet Federal regulations.

Using Scenario Analysis

Each of the four scenarios given above examines a different possible future for health care brought about by the interactions of critical variables. Healthcare finance executives can use scenarios to identify strategies that would be successful under various future conditions and those that would be especially valuable in a specific scenario. By being alert for triggers that might indicate the onset of a particular scenario, financial managers can begin to adjust strategy to prepare for a shift in the healthcare marketplace. For example, if major purchasers of health care lobby Congress to regulate health care more closely, the Healthcare Reform Revisited scenario might be on the horizon.

Scenario planning and analysis provide a systematic method to recognize and address the major uncertainties facing healthcare organizations. It is most useful when a high degree of uncertainty exists around critical market forces, such as government reform or policy changes, competitor consolidation or expansion, and changing attitudes of the healthcare consumer. By identifying and discussing the implications of each scenario, healthcare financial executives will be able to develop a set of robust and adaptable strategies that allow their organization to stay one step ahead of the market. *

Financial managers often have to compare cash payments that occur on different dates. To make optimal decisions, the manager must understand the relationship between a dollar today [present value] and a dollar in the future [future value].

Future value is the amount to which an investment will grow after earning interest. Interest can be of two types: i) simple interest and ii) compound interest.

In a Word document, upload your answers to the questions below. Show all your work. Even if your final answer is wrong, you can receive partial credit for showing all of your steps and demonstrating a good understanding of the time value of money.

To complete the Module 2 Case Assignment, read the information in the background material, look for more information, and then write a 4- to 5-page (excluding title page and references) report for your professor by responding to the following questions/tasks:

1) Provide a brief definition of time value of money in your own words.

2) To what extent is it important for financial managers to understand the concept of time value of money? Why? Please explain your reasoning in two or three paragraphs.

If you do not know how to use a calculator for these calculations, use the tables to answer questions 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Brealey, R. A., Myers, S. C., & Allen, F. (2005). Principles of corporate finance, 8th Edition. The McGraw?Hill. Retrieved May 2012 from http://jcooney.ba.ttu.edu/fin3322/Brealey%20Files/Appendix%20A%20-%20Present%20Value%20Tables.pdf

3) Calculate the future value of the following:

a. $120,537.19 if invested for three years at a 3% interest rate

b. $337,891.22 if invested for seven years at a 6% interest rate

c. $420,891.12 if invested for 11 years at an 12% interest rate

d. $525,520.22 if invested for 14 years with a 15% interest rate

Use Table 2 [http://jcooney.ba.ttu.edu/fin3322/Brealey%20Files/Appendix%20A%20-%20Present%20Value%20Tables.pdf]

4) Calculate the present value of the following:

a. $262,126.17 to be received six years from now with a 4% interest rate

b. $325,003.21 to be received eight years from now with a 7% interest rate

c. $421,567.35 to received 10 years from now with an 10% interest rate

d. $631,500.05 to be received 12 years from now with a 13% interest rate

Use Table 1 [http://jcooney.ba.ttu.edu/fin3322/Brealey%20Files/Appendix%20A%20-%20Present%20Value%20Tables.pdf]

5) Suppose you are to receive a stream of annual payments (also called an "annuity") of $525,891.12 every year for seven years starting at the end of this year. The interest rate is 15%. What is the present value of these seven payments?

Use Table 3 [http://jcooney.ba.ttu.edu/fin3322/Brealey%20Files/Appendix%20A%20-%20Present%20Value%20Tables.pdf]

6) Suppose you are to receive a payment of $637,891.24 at the end of each year for six years. You are depositing these payments in a bank account that pays 12% interest. Given these six payments and this interest rate, how much will be in your bank account in six years?

If you do not know how to use a calculator for these calculations, use the table found on http://www.principlesofaccounting.com/ART/fv.pv.tables/fvofordinaryannuity.htm


7) What do you perceive you have learned in the Module 2 Case Assignment? Which of the following learning outcomes do you feel you have mastered?
?Make basic calculations concerning present and future value.
?Understand and discuss the concepts of present and future value.

Provide a brief evaluation of the Module 2 Case Assignment. Note: Your report/assignment will not be accepted without proper citations and references. You must use the sources from the background material together with the sources you find on your own. It is also required that you answer all the questions related to learning outcomes.

Case Assignment Expectations:

In the Module 2 Case Assignment, you are expected to:
?Describe the purpose of the report and provide a conclusion. An introduction and a conclusion are important because many busy individuals in the business environment may only read the first and the last paragraph. If those paragraphs are not interesting, they never read the body of the paper.
?Answer the Case Assignment question clearly and provide necessary details. Review ?Tips for Good Writing? [https://cdad.trident.edu/CourseHomeModule.aspx?course=56&term=92&module=3&page=custom1] and a guideline to write a well-structured paper.
?Write clearly and correctly?that is, no poor sentence structure, no spelling and grammar mistakes, and no run-on sentences.
?Provide citations to support your argument and references on a separate page (All the sources that you listed in the references section must be cited in the paper). Use APA format to provide citations and references [http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/].
?Type and double-space the paper.

Financial managers often have to compare cash payments that occur on different dates. To make optimal decisions, the manager must understand the relationship between a dollar today [present value] and a dollar in the future [future value].

Future value is the amount to which an investment will grow after earning interest. Interest can be of two types: i) simple interest and ii) compound interest.

In a Word document, upload your answers to the questions below. Show all your work. Even if your final answer is wrong, you can receive partial credit for showing all of your steps and demonstrating a good understanding of the time value of money.

To complete the Module 2 Case Assignment, read the information in the background material, look for more information, and then write a 4- to 5-page (excluding title page and references) report for your professor by responding to the following questions/tasks:

1) Provide a brief definition of time value of money in your own words.

2) To what extent is it important for financial managers to understand the concept of time value of money? Why? Please explain your reasoning in two or three paragraphs.

If you do not know how to use a calculator for these calculations, use the tables to answer questions 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Brealey, R. A., Myers, S. C., & Allen, F. (2005). Principles of corporate finance, 8th Edition. The McGraw?Hill. Retrieved May 2012 from http://jcooney.ba.ttu.edu/fin3322/Brealey%20Files/Appendix%20A%20-%20Present%20Value%20Tables.pdf

3) Calculate the future value of the following:

a. $120,537.19 if invested for three years at a 3% interest rate

b. $337,891.22 if invested for seven years at a 6% interest rate

c. $420,891.12 if invested for 11 years at an 12% interest rate

d. $525,520.22 if invested for 14 years with a 15% interest rate

Use Table 2 [http://jcooney.ba.ttu.edu/fin3322/Brealey%20Files/Appendix%20A%20-%20Present%20Value%20Tables.pdf]

4) Calculate the present value of the following:

a. $262,126.17 to be received six years from now with a 4% interest rate

b. $325,003.21 to be received eight years from now with a 7% interest rate

c. $421,567.35 to received 10 years from now with an 10% interest rate

d. $631,500.05 to be received 12 years from now with a 13% interest rate

Use Table 1 [http://jcooney.ba.ttu.edu/fin3322/Brealey%20Files/Appendix%20A%20-%20Present%20Value%20Tables.pdf]

5) Suppose you are to receive a stream of annual payments (also called an "annuity") of $525,891.12 every year for seven years starting at the end of this year. The interest rate is 15%. What is the present value of these seven payments?

Use Table 3 [http://jcooney.ba.ttu.edu/fin3322/Brealey%20Files/Appendix%20A%20-%20Present%20Value%20Tables.pdf]

6) Suppose you are to receive a payment of $637,891.24 at the end of each year for six years. You are depositing these payments in a bank account that pays 12% interest. Given these six payments and this interest rate, how much will be in your bank account in six years?

If you do not know how to use a calculator for these calculations, use the table found on http://www.principlesofaccounting.com/ART/fv.pv.tables/fvofordinaryannuity.htm


7) What do you perceive you have learned in the Module 2 Case Assignment? Which of the following learning outcomes do you feel you have mastered?
?Make basic calculations concerning present and future value.
?Understand and discuss the concepts of present and future value.

Provide a brief evaluation of the Module 2 Case Assignment. Note: Your report/assignment will not be accepted without proper citations and references. You must use the sources from the background material together with the sources you find on your own. It is also required that you answer all the questions related to learning outcomes.

Case Assignment Expectations:

In the Module 2 Case Assignment, you are expected to:
?Describe the purpose of the report and provide a conclusion. An introduction and a conclusion are important because many busy individuals in the business environment may only read the first and the last paragraph. If those paragraphs are not interesting, they never read the body of the paper.
?Answer the Case Assignment question clearly and provide necessary details. Review ?Tips for Good Writing? [https://cdad.trident.edu/CourseHomeModule.aspx?course=56&term=92&module=3&page=custom1] and a guideline to write a well-structured paper.
?Write clearly and correctly?that is, no poor sentence structure, no spelling and grammar mistakes, and no run-on sentences.
?Provide citations to support your argument and references on a separate page (All the sources that you listed in the references section must be cited in the paper). Use APA format to provide citations and references [http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/].
?Type and double-space the paper.

The following criteria will also be used to assess your paper:

>Precision: Does the paper address the question(s) or task(s)?

>Breadth: Is the full breadth of the subject addressed?

>Depth: Does the paper/report address all elements of the topic in sufficient depth? Does it include and apply the background readings and other background resources? Are they included as references?

>Critical thinking: Are the concepts of this module applied accurately, logically, and relevantly?

>Organization: Is the paper organized in a coherent and systematic manner? Are headings included in all papers longer than two pages?

>Clarity: Is the writing clear and are the concepts articulated properly? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of response to the questions, or are thoughts conveyed through excessive use of quotations?

Finally, in the grading of your assignment, you will be assessed on the following items:

1) For the essay portion of this assignment, you should provide a direct answer to the assignment question and support your answer with solid references.

2) For the computational portions of this assignment, show your work and demonstrate that you understand the steps involved in your computations. Your final grade will depend not only on your final answer but also how well you illustrate the steps you took to reach your final answer.

Write a research paper on Financial Managers and Compliance Managers in the healthcare field.. Include: job description (how is it beneficial to healthcare administrators), qualifications (background, education, etc..) of the profession, compensation for the position, what is the best way to recruit for positions, local and national outlook (salary, demand, etc.), future advancement in the field, and career paths lead to this profession as well as career advancements in this profession.
Please have at least two citations in each paragraph.

I will be sending references to be used. Two of the references are from PayScale.com, if you scroll down, it shows the key statistics in this field. It shows the percentage of women and men in the field. Women tend to dominate both fields, please include that. I could not find reasons to justify why that is so, but if you are able to find a reference that could be quoted that would be great, if not, that's okay too. Also from PayScale.com, it includes the bonus pay, pension, vacation and other compensations, if that could be included as well. Thank you.

There are faxes for this order.

Customer is requesting that (RLT2413) completes this order.

Do you think being a financial manager is the best preparation for later becoming a CEO?

Write after reading the following
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Article from Bureau of labor



A bachelor?s degree in finance, accounting, or related field is the minimum academic preparation, but many employers increasingly seek graduates with a master?s degree and a strong analytical background.


The continuing need for skilled financial managers will spur average employment growth.


Nature of the Work

Almost every firm, government agency, and organization has one or more financial managers who oversee the preparation of financial reports, direct investment activities, and implement cash management strategies. As computers are increasingly used to record and organize data, many financial managers are spending more time developing strategies and implementing the long-term goals of their organization.

The duties of financial managers vary with their specific titles, which include chief financial officer, vice president of finance, controller, treasurer, credit manager, and cash manager. Chief financial officers (CFOs), for example, are the top financial executives of an organization. They oversee all financial and accounting functions and formulate and administer the organization?s overall financial plans and policies. In small firms, CFOs usually handle all financial management functions. In large firms, they direct these activities through other financial managers who head each financial department.

Controllers direct the preparation of financial reports that summarize and forecast the organization?s financial position, such as income statements, balance sheets, and analysis of future earnings or expenses. Controllers are also in charge of preparing special reports required by regulatory authorities. Often, controllers oversee the accounting, audit, and budget departments. Treasurers and finance officers direct the organization?s financial goals, objectives, and budgets. They oversee the investment of funds and manage associated risks, supervise cash management activities, execute capital-raising strategies to support a firm?s expansion, and deal with mergers and acquisitions.

Cash managers monitor and control the flow of cash receipts and disbursements to meet the business and investment needs of the firm. For example, cash flow projections are needed to determine whether loans must be obtained to meet cash requirements or whether surplus cash should be invested in interest-bearing instruments. Risk and insurance managers oversee programs to minimize risks and losses that may arise from financial transactions and business operations undertaken by the institution. They also manage the organization?s insurance budget. Credit managers oversee the firm?s issuance of credit. They establish credit rating criteria, determine credit ceilings, and monitor the collections of past due accounts. Managers specializing in international finance develop financial and accounting systems for the banking transactions of multinational organizations.

Financial institutions, such as commercial banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and mortgage and finance companies, employ additional financial managers, often with the title Vice President. These executives oversee various functions, such as lending, trusts, mortgages, and investments, or programs, including sales, operations, or electronic financial services. They may be required to solicit business, authorize loans, and direct the investment of funds, always adhering to Federal and State laws and regulations.

Branch managers of financial institutions administer and manage all the functions of a branch office, which may include hiring personnel, approving loans and lines of credit, establishing a rapport with the community to attract business, and assisting customers with account problems. Financial managers who work for financial institutions must keep abreast of the rapidly growing array of financial services and products.

In addition to the general duties described above, all financial managers perform tasks unique to their organization or industry. For example, government financial managers must be experts on the government appropriations and budgeting processes, whereas health care financial managers must be knowledgeable about issues surrounding health care financing. Moreover, financial managers must be aware of special tax laws and regulations that affect their industry.

Areas in which financial managers are playing an increasingly important role involve mergers and consolidations and global expansion and financing. These developments require extensive specialized knowledge on the part of the financial manager to reduce risks and maximize profit. Financial managers are increasingly hired on a temporary basis to advise senior managers on these and other matters. In fact, some firms contract out all accounting and financial functions to companies that provide these services.

The role of financial manager, particularly in business, is changing in response to technological advances that have significantly reduced the amount of time it takes to produce financial reports. Financial managers now perform more data analysis and use it to offer ideas to senior managers on how to maximize profits. They often work on teams acting as business advisors to top management. Financial managers need to keep abreast of the latest computer technology in order to increase the efficiency of their firm?s financial operations.


Working Conditions

Financial managers work in comfortable offices, often close to top managers and to departments that develop the financial data these managers need. They typically have direct access to state-of-the-art computer systems and information services. Financial managers commonly work long hours, often up to 50 or 60 per week. They are generally required to attend meetings of financial and economic associations and may travel to visit subsidiary firms or meet customers.


Employment []

Financial managers held about 693,000 jobs in 1998. Although these managers are found in virtually every industry, more than a third were employed by services industries, including business, health, social, and management services. Nearly 3 out of 10 were employed by financial institutions, such as banks, savings institutions, finance companies, credit unions, insurance companies, securities dealers, and real estate firms.


Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

A bachelor?s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or business administration is the minimum academic preparation for financial managers. However, many employers increasingly seek graduates with a master?s degree, preferably in business administration, economics, finance, or risk management. These academic programs develop analytical skills and provide knowledge of the latest financial analysis methods and technology.

Experience may be more important than formal education for some financial manager positions?notably branch managers in banks. Banks typically fill branch manager positions by promoting experienced loan officers and other professionals who excel at their jobs. Other financial managers may enter the profession through formal management trainee programs offered by the company.

Continuing education is vital for financial managers, reflecting the growing complexity of global trade, shifting Federal and State laws and regulations, and a proliferation of new, complex financial instruments. Firms often provide opportunities for workers to broaden their knowledge and skills by encouraging employees to take graduate courses at colleges and universities or attending conferences related to their specialty. Financial management, banking, and credit union associations, often in cooperation with colleges and universities, sponsor numerous national and local training programs. Persons enrolled prepare extensively at home, then attend sessions on subjects such as accounting management, budget management, corporate cash management, financial analysis, international banking, and information systems. Many firms pay all or part of the costs for those who successfully complete courses. Although experience, ability, and leadership are emphasized for promotion, advancement may be accelerated by this type of special study.

In some cases, financial managers may also broaden their skills and exhibit their competency in specialized fields by attaining professional certification. For example, the Association for Investment Management and Research confers the Chartered Financial Analyst designation on investment professionals who have a bachelor?s degree, pass three test levels, and meet work experience requirements. The National Association of Credit Management administers a three-part certification program for business credit professionals. Through a combination of experience and examinations, these financial managers pass through the level of Credit Business Associate, to Credit Business Fellow, and finally to Certified Credit Executive. The Treasury Management Association confers the Certified Cash Manager credential on those who have 2 years of relevant experience and pass an exam, and the Certified Treasury Executive designation on those who meet more extensive experience and continuing education requirements. More recently, the Association of Government Accountants has begun to offer the Certified Government Financial Manager certification to those who have the appropriate education and experience and who pass three examinations. Financial managers who specialize in accounting may earn the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designations. (See the Handbook statement on accountants and auditors.)

Candidates for financial management positions need a broad range of skills. Interpersonal skills are increasingly important because these jobs involve managing people and working as part of a team to solve problems. Financial managers must have excellent communication skills to explain complex financial data. Because financial managers work extensively with various departments in their firm, a broad overview of the business is essential.

Financial managers should be creative thinkers and problem solvers, applying their analytical skills to business. They must be comfortable with computer technology. As financial operations are increasingly affected by the global economy, they must have knowledge of international finance; even a foreign language may be important.

Because financial management is critical for efficient business operations, well-trained, experienced financial managers who display a strong grasp of the operations of various departments within their organization are prime candidates for promotion to top management positions. Some financial managers transfer to closely related positions in other industries. Those with extensive experience and access to sufficient capital may start their own consulting firms.


Job Outlook []

The outlook for financial managers is good for those with the right skills. Expertise in accounting and finance is fundamental, and a master?s degree enhances one?s job prospects. Strong computer skills and knowledge of international finance are important, as are excellent communication skills as the job increasingly involves working on strategic planning teams. Mergers, acquisitions, and corporate downsizing will continue to adversely affect employment of financial managers, but growth of the economy and the need for financial expertise will keep the profession growing about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2008.

The banking industry, which employs the most financial managers, is expected to continue to consolidate and reduce the number of financial managers. Employment of bank branch managers, in particular, will grow very little or not at all as banks open fewer branches and promote electronic and Internet banking to cut costs. In contrast, the securities and commodities industry will hire more financial managers to handle increasingly complex financial transactions and manage investments. Financial managers are being hired throughout industry to manage assets and investments, handle mergers and acquisitions, raise capital, and assess global financial transactions. Risk managers, who assess risks for insurance and investment purposes, are in especially great demand.

Some financial managers may be hired on a temporary basis to see a company through a short-term crisis or to offer suggestions for boosting profits. Other companies may contract out all accounting and financial operations. Even in these cases, however, financial managers may be needed to oversee the contracts.

Computer technology has reduced the time and staff required to produce financial reports. As a result, forecasting earnings, profits, and costs, and generating ideas and creative ways to increase profitability will become the major role of corporate financial managers over the next decade. Financial managers who are familiar with computer software and applications that can assist them in this role will be needed.


Earnings []

Median annual earnings of financial managers were $55,070 in 1998. The middle 50 percent earned between $38,240 and $83,800. The lowest 10 percent had earnings of less than $27,680, while the top 10 percent earned over $118,950. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest number of financial managers in 1997 are shown below.

Security brokers and dealers
$95,100
Computer and data processing
63,200
Management and public relations
62,800
Local government, excluding education and hospitals
48,700
Commercial banks
45,800
Savings institutions
41,800

According to a 1999 survey by Robert Half International, a staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance, salaries of assistant controllers and treasurers varied from $42,700 in the smallest firms to $84,000 in the largest firms; corporate controllers earned between $47,500 and $141,000; and chief financial officers and treasurers earned from $65,000 to $319,200. Salaries are generally 10 percent higher for those with a graduate degree or Certified Public Accountant or Certified Management Accountant designation.

The results of the Treasury Management Association?s 1999 compensation survey are presented in table 1. The earnings listed in the table represent total compensation, including bonuses and deferred compensation.

Table 1. Average earnings for selected financial managers, 1999

Vice president of finance $165,400
Chief financial officer 150,100
Treasurer 129,800
Controller 109,700
Assistant treasurer 96,500
Director treasury/finance 93,200
Assistant controller 75,900
Senior analyst 63,000
Cash manager 56,600
Analyst 45,500

SOURCE: Treasury Management Association

Large organizations often pay more than small ones, and salary levels can also vary by the type of industry and location. Many financial managers in private industry receive additional compensation in the form of bonuses, which also vary substantially by size of firm. Deferred compensation in the form of stock options is also becoming more common.


Related Occupations

Financial managers combine formal education with experience in one or more areas of finance, such as asset management, lending, credit operations, securities investment, or insurance risk and loss control. Workers in other occupations requiring similar training and skills include accountants and auditors, budget officers, credit analysts, loan officers, insurance consultants, portfolio managers, pension consultants, real estate advisors, securities analysts, and underwriters.


Sources of Additional Information

Disclaimer: Links to non-BLS Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.

For information about financial management careers, contact:

American Bankers Association, 1120 Connecticut Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20036. Internet: http://www.aba.com


Financial Management Association International, College of Business Administration, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620-5500. Internet: http://www.fma.org
Financial Executives Institute, 10 Madison Ave., P.O. Box 1938, Morristown, NJ 07962-1938. Internet: http://www.fei.org
For information about financial careers in business credit management; the Credit Business Associate, Credit Business Fellow, and Certified Credit Executive programs; and institutions offering graduate courses in credit and financial management, contact:

National Association of Credit Management, Credit Research Foundation, 8840 Columbia 100 Parkway, Columbia, MD 21045-2158. Internet: http://www.nacm.org
For information about careers in treasury and financial management and the Certified Cash Manager and Certified Treasury Executive programs, contact:

Association for Financial Professionals, 7315 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 600 West, Bethesda, MD 20814. Internet: http://www.afponline.org
For information about the Chartered Financial Analyst program, contact:

Association for Investment Management and Research, P.O. Box 3668, Charlottesville, VA 22903. Internet: http://www.aimr.org
For information about the Certified Government Financial Manager designation, contact:

Association for Government Accountants, 2208 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, VA 22301-1314. Internet: http://www.agacgfm.org


An industry employing financial managers that appears in the 2000-01 Career Guide to Industries: Banking


O*NET Codes: 13002A and 13002B


/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Abstract:
Financial managers who want to distinguish themselves and their organizations need to demonstrate their leadership ability. Because financial managers sometimes overlook the need for leadership skills, cultivating mentors who can teach them specific leadership skills, such as improved communications and entrepreneurship, may be necessary.

Health-care financial managers can sharpen their leadership skills by distinguishing between leadership and management, adopting a new mentoring model, evaluating the usefulness of new management techniques, understanding the connection between technology and leadership, looking for the solution beyond the problem, and being seen and heard within the organization.

Full Text:
Copyright Healthcare Financial Management Association Apr 2000


The increase in for-profit hospitals and consolidations, more stringent regulatory requirements, and declining reimbursement have increased the overall expectations of healthcare executives regarding the performance of their senior financial managers. Most financial managers recognize that educational credentials and experience in the healthcare industry are necessary to advance their careers. They also need technical skills to produce computer-generated financial reports for the healthcare organization.

More than technical expertise, however, today's senior financial managers need to demonstrate leadership skills to effect strategic and behavioral change. Some of the strategies healthcare financial managers can use to polish their leadership skills include distinguishing between leadership and management, employing a new mentoring model, seeing new management methods as more than fads, understanding the connection between technology and leadership, looking for the solution beyond the problem, and participating within the organization.

Distinguish between leadership and management. Although the skills required for leadership and management overlap to some extent, there also are distinctions. As shown in Exhibit 1, page 51, management tends to be task-oriented, whereas good leadership tends to emphasize the motivational aspects of accomplishing tasks and reaching goals. Because their jobs are technical in nature, many healthcare financial managers focus on developing their management skills, leaving the inspirational and consensus-building role that characterizes leadership to others. Demonstrating leadership, however, would help them achieve success for their department and the organization as a whole.

In particular, healthcare financial managers need to adopt a proactive leadership stance rather than react to change after their facilities are negatively affected by it. With the implementation of the ambulatory payment classification (APC) system, for example, healthcare financial managers should take the lead in assessing their coinsurance billing practices and their entire billing systems and processes. Waiting to see what will happen means deferring leadership to those outside the finance department.

Moreover, the Federal government's emphasis on regulatory compliance for the Medicare and Medicaid programs calls for teamwork and harmonious personal relations, particularly in the finance department. Financial managers need to assert leadership by creating a positive atmosphere in which employees feel free to inform management of compliance issues they believe should be addressed.

The ability to inspire loyalty also is more important than ever, due in part to the regulatory climate. Leaders who inspire loyalty can motivate employees to discuss their concerns internally first rather than report them to an outside agency. Employee loyalty has eroded in recent years in many industries, making employee turnover a significant problem in a thriving economy Employees recognize good leadership skills, however, and are more inclined to remain with an employer and maintain a cohesive work team if they respect their manager's leadership abilities.

Legislation continues to affect the payment healthcare organizations receive and operational changes they must implement. Healthcare financial managers realize that implementation of privacy standards mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, for example, will be costly and operationally challenging. Good management recognizes that change is imperative, but only good leadership can effect change.

Employ a new mentoring model. Because employees tend to change jobs more frequently than they did in the past, less emphasis is being placed on traditional mentoring, whereby a seasoned manager would instruct a junior manager over time. A new approach to selecting a mentor that financial managers should consider adopting emphasizes specific skills acquisition over more generalized experience. To guide their selection of a mentor who will help them enhance their leadership skills under this new model, healthcare financial managers should take the following steps:

Determine their own strengths and weaknesses. Financial managers should identify specific leadership skills they wish to develop. These skills could range from public relations to information technology.

Identify individuals who have skills they want to develop. There may be many individuals in the financial manager's organization who have the desired skills and are willing to share their expertise. The CEO is a likely mentor, but marketers, public relations directors, physicians, and board members also may have a wide range of skills--particularly interpersonal and communications skills--that are important to developing as a leader. Develop relationships. Most people are flattered when others wish to learn from them and respond well to sincere solicitations of advice and expertise. Mentoring sessions can include informal lunchtime discussions; reviews of prepared material, including impact statements regarding various pending changes in payment and outlines for future presentations to industry groups; discussions of personnel issues, such as how to evaluate, motivate, and reward department members; and attendance at presentations by the mentor. It is particularly important to network with peers at HFMA programs and at meetings of other industry groups, where industry leaders are accessible and prepared to share their knowledge.

See new management methods as more than fads. Management methods come and go. New management methods, such as zero-based budgeting, management by objectives, continuous quality improvement, quality circles, and business process reengineering, often amount to mere fads that managers implement without eliciting their true value to the organization. A leader, however, knows how to recognize methods or aspects of methods that support the organization's progress, implement these programs, and discard programs that are not useful. Healthcare financial managers should not have unreasonably high or low expectations of new management methods or discard old methods simply because new ones have come along.

For example, many financial managers bought highlevel software programs to compute the impact of APCs on their facilities. Healthcare financial managers, however, cannot rely solely on software programs to obtain needed information. They also need to assess APC impact by initiating a detailed claims audit and a thorough review of office billing procedures.

Understand the connection between technology and leadership. Although healthcare financial managers do not have to be experts in information systems, telecommunications, or the Internet, they do need to understand the capabilities of these technologies and how the technologies should be applied to their organization. Computers will be handling an increasing amount of the work in healthcare finance, but healthcare financial managers need to know how to use the data that are generated to support the organization's strategic goals.

Look for the solution beyond the problem. Financial managers are trained to ensure that the organization's financial goals are met. This function can appear daunting when resources are limited, and financial managers are used to championing conservative financial positions. Leaders, however, view challenges as opportunities. To emerge as organization leaders, financial managers need to become greater risk takers. For example, several years ago the government proposed new rules on "hospitals within hospitals" (a wing or floor of a hospital licensed as a different hospital, often to secure cost-based payment for long-term patients). Many healthcare executives closed their facilities before the final rules were released. Other financial managers, however, spearheaded efforts to maintain their status. These efforts were rewarded when the new law grandfathered some facilities, allowing them to operate as before.

Enlarge 200%
Enlarge 400%

EXHIBIT 1:

Participate. Healthcare financial managers cannot lead an organization without actively participating in that organization. Activities that enhance leadership include attending meetings outside the finance department, participating on organizationwide committees, becoming involved in public relations events, sponsoring an achievement award and personally presenting it, attending a hospital-sponsored golf tournament or 10-kilometer run, and cultivating relationships with leaders from other departments or the community at large. Being seen and heard is an important facet of leadership.

Conclusion

Leadership opportunities abound for healthcare financial managers who wish to take advantage of them. By broadening their scope beyond management functions, healthcare financial managers help move their organizations forward while receiving recognition for their work. Developing leadership skills will increase their visibility throughout the organization and in the community, which, in turn, will help them advance in their career.

[Author note]
ABOUT THE AUTHORS

[Author note]
Robert B. Kowalski, MSHS, is health data director, Parkland Community Health Plan, Dallas, Texas, and a member of HFMA's Lone Star Chapter.

[Author note]
Manie W. Campbell is a principal, CampbellWilson, Dallas, Texas, and a member of HFMA's Lone Star Chapter

Pick a company. Please write a paper about the financial manager at the company you selected, answering these questions:

Who is in charge of international financial management at your company?
What is his or her background?
Can you find any special information on his or her approach?
How does the company you selected manage risk?

Describe everything you can about the financial manager of the company you selected. Be detailed and be specific but write no more than three pages.

How can financial managers create value through investment and financing decisions? Paper needs to be 2 pages with one inch margins. No quotes. Paper needs to include intext citations as well as the work reference page. Two sources.

Please write a paper about the international financial manager at Apple Inc. This is the individual who is in charge of international financial management at your company. Also, describe the position they hold in the firm?

What is his or her background?

Discuss his or her approach to managing foreign risks? Give examples.

Be detailed and be specific but write no more than three pages and post it on CourseNet by the end of this module.

Prepare a 2 page self-reflection; are you enrolled in the right major for your dream job, what type of skills do you need to develop, does your personality profile match the characteristics of this job?


https://www.16personalities.com/estj-personality
My personality type is Executive and my dream job is Financial manager

Please do it before 12am

5 page paper
apa format
Explore one (1) financial market and the types of transactions supported by it in the U.S. and global economies. Determine how valuable these transactions are to the overall U.S. and the global economies.
Evaluate all the factors that affect interest rates to determine the one that appears to impact interest rates the most in todays economic climate. Support your answer with evidence and examples.
Analyze the ease or difficulty of forecasting interest rate changes. Assess the value the forecast provides.
Examine why the Federal Reserve was created. Then construct an argument as to whether or not the Federal Reserves major roles are essential to the U.S. economy.
Choose a recent monetary policy (adopted during the past twelve (12) months). Analyze its current and future impact on the U.S. and global economies.
Imagine you are a financial manager. Develop a strategy for the use of bond markets by either an investor or firm of your choice to meet a stated financial objective of your choice for that investor or firm.

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 students name, the professors 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:

Describe the various types of financial markets and the types of transactions supported by each market in the U.S. and globally.
Analyze the factors that affect interest rates and forecast interest rate changes.
Explain the operation of the Federal Reserve and describe how monetary policy is used in the U.S. and other countries to manage the economy.
Develop strategies for the use of bond markets by investors and firms to meet stated financial objectives.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in financial markets and institutions.

This is FIN630 / Global Financial Management at American Intercontinental University (AIU), the paper is actually a True/False and written work paper. On the last set of answers as indicated in the paper, all work must be shown.
Please let me know today if this work can be completed by your skilled employees.
I am not sure how to pay for this type of work so I will put a payment in the order and wait to see if I need to add money to the order.
Thank you,

CHAPTER 1
AN OVERVIEW OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND THE FINANCIAL ENVIRONMENT


Please see the preface for information on the AACSB letter indicators (F, M, etc.) on the subject lines.


True/False

Easy:

(1.2) Firm organization F M
. The form of organization for a business is not an important issue, as this decision has very little effect on the income and wealth of the firm's owners.

a. True
b. False

(1.2) Firm organization F M
. The major advantage of a regular partnership or a corporation as a form of business organization is the fact that both offer their owners limited liability, whereas proprietorships do not.

a. True
b. False

(1.2) Partnership F M
. There are three primary disadvantages of a regular partnership: (1) unlimited liability, (2) limited life of the organization, and (3) difficulty of transferring ownership. These combine to make it difficult for partnerships to attract large amounts of capital and thus to grow to a very large size.

a. True
b. False

(1.2) Proprietorship F M
. Two disadvantages of a proprietorship are (1) the relative difficulty of raising new capital and (2) the owner's unlimited personal liability for the business' debts.

a. True
b. False


(1.2) Limited liability F M
. One key value of limited liability is that it lowers owners' risks and thereby enhances a firm's value.

a. True
b. False

(1.3) Value maximization F M
. If a firm's goal is to maximize its earnings per share, this is the best way to maximize the price of the common stock and thus shareholders' wealth.

a. True
b. False

(1.4) Financial intermediaries F M
. If Firm A's business is to obtain savings from individuals and then invest them in financial assets issued by other firms or individuals, Firm A is a financial intermediary.

a. True
b. False

(1.8) Financial markets F H
. If an individual investor buys or sells a currently outstanding stock through a broker, this is a primary market transaction.

a. True
b. False

(1.8) Financial markets F H
. Recently, Hale Corporation announced the sale of 2.5 million newly issued shares of its stock at a price of $21 per share. Hale sold the stock to an investment banker, who in turn sold it to individual and institutional investors. This is a primary market transaction.

a. True
b. False

(1.11) Stock market transactions F H
. One of the functions of NYSE specialists is to facilitate trading by keeping an inventory of shares of the stocks in which they specialize, buying when investors want to sell and selling when they want to buy. They change the bid and ask prices of the securities so as to keep supply and demand in balance.

a. True
b. False



(1.2) Partnership F M


11. The disadvantages associated with a proprietorship are similar to those under a partnership. One exception relates to the more formal nature of the partnership agreement and the commitment of all partners' personal assets. As a result, partnerships do not have difficulty raising large amounts of capital.

a. True
b. False

(1.2) Proprietorship F M


12. The facts that a proprietorship, as a business, pays no corporate income tax, and that it is easily and inexpensively formed, are two key advantages to that form of business.

a. True
b. False


Multiple Choice: Conceptual

:

(1.2) Firm organization C M
13. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. One of the disadvantages of incorporating a business is that the owners then become subject to liabilities in the event the firm goes bankrupt.
b. Sole proprietorships are subject to more regulations than corporations.
c. In any type of partnership, every partner has the same rights, privileges, and liability exposure as every other partner.
d. Sole proprietorships and partnerships generally have a tax advantage over many corporations, especially large ones.
e. Corporations of all types are subject to the corporate income tax.




















(1.2) Firm organization C M
14 Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. One of the disadvantages of a sole proprietorship is that the proprietor is exposed to unlimited liability.
b. It is generally easier to transfer one?s ownership interest in a partnership than in a corporation.
c. One of the advantages of the corporate form of organization is that it avoids double taxation.
d. One of the advantages of a corporation from a social standpoint is that every stockholder has equal voting rights, i.e., ?one person, one vote.?
e. Corporations of all types are subject to the corporate income tax.

(1.2) Firm organization C M
15. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. It is generally more expensive to form a proprietorship than a corporation because, with a proprietorship, extensive legal documents are required.
b. Corporations face fewer regulations than sole proprietorships.
c. One disadvantage of operating a business as a sole proprietorship is that the firm is subject to double taxation, at both the firm level and the owner level.
d. One advantage of forming a corporation is that equity investors are usually exposed to less liability than in a regular partnership.
e. If a regular partnership goes bankrupt, each partner is exposed to liabilities only up to the amount of his or her investment in the business.

(1.2) Firm organization C M
16. Cheers Inc. operates as a partnership. Now the partners have decided to convert the business into a regular corporation. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. Assuming Cheers is profitable, less of its income will be subject to federal income taxes.
b. Cheers will now be subject to fewer regulations.
c. Cheers? shareholders (the ex-partners) will now be exposed to less liability.
d. Cheers? investors will be exposed to less liability, but they will find it more difficult to transfer their ownership.
e. Cheers will find it more difficult to raise additional capital.


















(1.2) Firm organization C M
17. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. It is usually easier to transfer ownership in a corporation than it is to transfer ownership in a sole proprietorship.
b. Corporate shareholders are exposed to unlimited liability.
c. Corporations generally face fewer regulations than sole proprietorships.
d. Corporate shareholders are exposed to unlimited liability, and this factor may be compounded by the tax disadvantages of incorporation.
e. Shareholders in a regular corporation (not an S corporation) pay higher taxes than owners of an otherwise identical proprietorship.



(1.2) Corporate form of organization C M
18. Which of the following could explain why a business might choose to operate as a corporation rather than as a sole proprietorship or a partnership?

a. Corporations generally find it relatively difficult to raise large amounts of capital.
b. Less of a corporation?s income is generally subjected to taxes than would be true if the firm were a partnership.
c. Corporate shareholders escape liability for the firm's debts, but this factor may be offset by the tax disadvantages of the corporate form of organization.
d. Corporate investors are exposed to unlimited liability.
e. Corporations generally face relatively few regulations.

(1.4) Financial transactions C H
19. You recently sold 100 shares of your new company, XYZ Corporation, to your brother at a family reunion. At the reunion your brother gave you a check for the stock and you gave your brother the stock certificates. Which of the following statements best describes this transaction?

a. This is an example of an exchange of physical assets.
b. This is an example of a primary market transaction.
c. This is an example of a direct transfer of capital.
d. This is an example of a money market transaction.
e. This is an example of a derivatives market transaction.















(1.6) Interest rates C H
20. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. If expected inflation increases, interest rates are likely to increase.
b. If individuals in general increase the percentage of their income that they save, interest rates are likely to increase.
c. If companies have fewer good investment opportunities, interest rates are likely to increase.
d. Interest rates on all debt securities tend to rise during recessions because recessions increase the possibility of bankruptcy, hence the riskiness of all debt securities.
e. Interest rates on long-term bonds are more volatile than rates on short-term debt securities like T-bills.


(1.7) Hedge funds C O
21. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. Hedge funds are legal in Europe and Asia, but they are not permitted to operate in the United States.
b. Hedge funds have more in common with commercial banks than with any other type of financial institution.
c. Hedge funds have more in common with investment banks than with any other type of financial institution.
d. Hedge funds are legal in the United States, but they are not permitted to operate in Europe or Asia.
e. The justification for the "light" regulation of hedge funds is that only ?sophisticated? investors with high net worths and high incomes are permitted to invest in these funds, and such investors supposedly can do the necessary ?due diligence? on their own rather than have it done by the SEC or some other regulator.


(1.8) Money markets C O


22. Money markets are markets for

a. Foreign stocks.
b. Consumer automobile loans.
c. U.S. stocks.
d. Short-term debt securities.
e. Long-term bonds.

(1.8) Financial markets C H
23. Which of the following is a primary market transaction?

a. You sell 200 shares of IBM stock on the NYSE through your broker.
b. IBM issues 2,000,000 shares of new stock and sells them to the public through an investment banker.
c. You buy 200 shares of IBM stock from your brother. The trade is not made through a broker--you just give him cash and he gives you the stock.
d. One financial institution buys 200,000 shares of IBM stock from another institution. An investment banker arranges the transaction.
e. You invest $10,000 in a mutual fund, which then uses the money to buy $10,000 of IBM shares on the NYSE.

(1.8) Financial markets C H
24. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. If Disney issues additional shares of common stock through an investment banker, this would be a secondary market transaction.
b. If you purchased 100 shares of Disney stock from your brother-in-law, this would be an example of a primary market transaction.
c. The IPO market is a subset of the secondary market.
d. Only institutions, and not individuals, can participate in derivatives market transactions.
e. As they are generally defined, money market transactions involve debt securities with maturities of less than one year.

(1.8) Financial markets C H
25. You recently sold to your brother 200 shares of Disney stock, and the transfer was made through a broker, and the trade occurred on the NYSE. This is an example of:

a. A futures market transaction.
b. A primary market transaction.
c. A secondary market transaction.
d. A money market transaction.
e. An over-the-counter market transaction.



(Comp: 1.7-1.9) Financial markets C H
26. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. The New York Stock Exchange is an auction market with a physical location.
b. Capital market transactions involve only the purchase and sale of equity securities, i.e., common stocks.
c. If an investor sells shares of stock through a broker, then this would be a primary market transaction.
d. Consumer automobile loans are evidenced by legal documents called "promissory notes," and these individual notes are traded in the money market.
e. While the distinctions are blurring as investment banks are today buying commercial banks, and vice versa, investment banks generally specialize in lending money, whereas commercial banks generally help companies raise capital from other parties.






(Comp: 1.7-1.9) Financial markets C H
27. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. Capital market instruments include both long-term debt and common stocks.
b. An example of a primary market transaction would be your uncle transferring 100 shares of Wal-Mart stock to you as a birthday gift.
c. The NYSE does not exist as a physical location; rather, it represents a loose collection of dealers who trade stocks electronically.
d. If your uncle in New York sold 100 shares of Microsoft through his broker to an investor in Los Angeles, this would be a primary market transaction.
e. While the two frequently perform similar functions, investment banks generally specialize in lending money, whereas commercial banks generally help companies raise large blocks of capital from investors.

(Comp: 1.7-1.9) Financial markets C H
28. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. While the distinctions are blurring, investment banks generally specialize in lending money, whereas commercial banks generally help companies raise capital from other parties.
b. A liquid security is a security whose value is derived from the price of some other ?underlying? asset.
c. Money market mutual funds usually invest most of their money in a well-diversified portfolio of liquid common stocks.
d. Money markets are markets for long-term debt and common stocks.
e. The NYSE operates as an auction market, whereas the Nasdaq is a dealer market.

(1.2) Corporate form of organization C M
29. One drawback of switching from a partnership to the corporate form of organization is the following:

a. It subjects the firm to additional regulations.
b. It cannot affect the amount of the firm's operating income that goes to taxes.
c. It makes it more difficult for the firm to raise additional capital.
d. It makes the firm?s investors subject to greater potential personal liabilities.
e. It makes it more difficult for the firm?s investors to transfer their ownership interests.









(1.2) Corporate form of organization C M
30. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. A hostile takeover is the main method of transferring ownership interest in a corporation.
b. Unlimited liability and limited life are two key advantages of the corporate form over other forms of business organization.
c. A corporation is a legal entity that is generally created by a state, and it has a life and existence that is separate from the lives of its individual owners and managers.
d. Limited liability of its stockholders is an advantage of the corporate form of organization, but corporations have more trouble raising money in financial markets because of the complexity of this form of organization.
e. Although its stockholders are insulated by limited legal liability, the legal status of the corporation does not protect the firm?s managers in the same way, i.e., bondholders can sue its managers if the firm defaults on its debt, even if the default is the result of poor economic conditions.




(1.2) Partnership form of organization C M
31. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. In a regular partnership, liability for other partners? misdeeds is limited to the amount of a particular partner?s investment in the business.
b. Partnerships have more difficulty attracting large amounts of capital than corporations because of such factors as unlimited liability, the need to reorganize when a partner dies, and the illiquidity (difficulty buying and selling) of partnership interests.
c. A slow-growth company, with little need for new capital, would be more likely to organize as a corporation than would a faster growing company.
d. In a limited partnership, the limited partners have voting control, while the general partner has operating control over the business. Also, the limited partners are individually responsible, on a pro rata basis, for the firm?s debts in the event of bankruptcy.
e. A major disadvantage of all partnerships relative to all corporations is the fact that federal income taxes must be paid by the partners rather than by the firm itself.











(1.2) Partnership form of organization C M
32. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. Corporations are at a disadvantage relative to partnerships because they have to file more reports to state and federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Administration, even if they are not publicly owned.
b. In a regular partnership, liability for the firm's debts is limited to the amount a particular partner has invested in the business.
c. A fast-growth company would be more likely to set up as a partnership for its business organization than would a slow-growth company.
d. Partnerships have difficulty attracting capital in part because of their unlimited liability, the lack of impermanence of the organization, and difficulty in transferring ownership.
e. A major disadvantage of a partnership relative to a corporation as a form of business organization is the high cost and practical difficulty of its formation.




(1.2) Firm organization C M
33 Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. Most businesses (by number and total dollar sales) are organized as proprietorships or partnerships because it is easier to set up and operate in one of these forms rather than as a corporation. However, if the business gets very large, it becomes advantageous to convert to a corporation, primarily because corporations have important tax advantages over proprietorships and partnerships.
b. Due to limited liability, unlimited lives, and ease of ownership transfer, the vast majority of U.S. businesses (in terms of number of businesses) are organized as corporations.
c. Due to legal considerations related to ownership transfers and limited liability, most business (measured by dollar sales) is conducted by corporations in spite of large corporations? often less favorable tax treatment.
d. Large corporations are taxed more favorably than sole proprietorships.
e. Corporate stockholders are exposed to unlimited liability.

(1.2) Firm organization C M
34. Jane Doe, who has substantial personal wealth and income, is considering the possibility of starting a new business in the chemical waste management field. She will be the sole owner, and she has enough funds to finance the operation. The business will have a relatively high degree of risk, and it is expected that the firm will incur losses for the first few years. However, the prospects for growth and positive future income look good, and Jane plans to have the firm pay out all of its income as dividends to her once it is well established. Which of the legal forms of business organization would probably best suit her needs?

a. Proprietorship, because of ease of entry.
b. S corporation, to gain some tax advantages and also to obtain limited liability.
c. Partnership, but only if she needs additional capital.
d. Regular corporation, because of the limited liability.
e. In this situation, the various forms of organization seem equally desirable.



(1.2) Corporate charter and bylaws C M
35. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. The corporate bylaws are a standard set of rules established by the state of incorporation. These rules are identical for all corporations in the state, and their purpose is to ensure that the firm?s managers run the firm in accordance with state laws.
b. The corporate charter is a standard document prescribed by the state of incorporation, and its purpose is to ensure that the firm?s managers run the firm in accordance with state laws. Procedures for electing corporate directors are contained in bylaws, while the declaration of the activities that the firm will pursue and the number of directors are included in the corporate charter.
c. Companies must establish a home office, or domicile, in a particular state, and that state must be the one in which most of their business (sales, manufacturing, and so forth) is conducted.
d. Attorney fees are generally involved when a company develops its charter and bylaws, but since these documents are voluntary, a new corporation can avoid these costs by deciding not to have either a charter or bylaws.
e. The corporate charter is concerned with things like what business the company will engage in, whereas the bylaws are concerned with things like procedures for electing the board of directors.

(1.3) Business ethics B M
36. With which of the following statements would most people in business agree?

a. A corporation?s short-run profits will almost always increase if the firm takes actions that the government has determined are in the best interests of the nation.
b. Firms and government agencies almost always agree with one another regarding the restrictions that should be placed on hiring and firing employees.
c. Although people?s moral characters are probably developed before they get into a business school, it is still useful for business schools to cover ethics, including giving students an idea about the adverse consequences of unethical behavior to themselves, their firms, and the nation.
d. It is not useful for a large corporation to develop a formal set of rules defining ethical and unethical behavior. Such rules generally can't be applied in many specific instances, so it is better to deal with ethical issues on a case-by-case basis.
e. ?Whistle blowers,? because of the courage it takes to blow the whistle, are generally promoted more rapidly than other employees.








(1.3) Goal of firm C M
37. The primary operating goal of a publicly-owned firm interested in serving its stockholders should be to

a. Maximize the stock price per share over the long run, which is the stock?s intrinsic value.
b. Maximize the firm's expected EPS.
c. Minimize the chances of losses.
d. Maximize the firm's expected total income.
e. Maximize the stock price on a specific target date.

(1.3) Corporate goals and control C M
38. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. The proper goal of the financial manager should be to attempt to maximize the firm?s expected cash flows, because this will add the most to the wealth of the individual shareholders.
b. The financial manager should seek that combination of assets, liabilities, and capital that will generate the largest expected projected after-tax income over the relevant time horizon, generally the coming year.
c. The riskiness inherent in a firm?s earnings per share (EPS) depends on the characteristics of the projects the firm selects, and thus on the firm?s assets. However, EPS is not affected by the manner in which those assets are financed.
d. Potential agency problems can arise between stockholders and managers, because managers hired as agents to act on behalf of the owners may instead make decisions favorable to themselves rather than the stockholders.
e. Large, publicly-owned firms like AT&T and GM are controlled by their management teams. Ownership is generally widely dispersed, hence managers have great freedom in how they manage the firm. Managers may operate in stockholders? best interests, but they may also operate in their own personal best interests. As long as managers stay within the law, there is no way to either force or motivate them to act in the stockholders? best interests.













(1.6) Security prices and interest rates C H
39. Suppose the U.S. Treasury announces plans to issue $50 billion of new bonds. Assuming the announcement was not expected, what effect, other things held constant, would that have on bond prices and interest rates?

a. Prices and interest rates would both rise.
b. Prices would rise and interest rates would decline.
c. Prices and interest rates would both decline.
d. There would be no changes in either prices or interest rates.
e. Prices would decline and interest rates would rise.


(1.6) Interest rates C H
40. Which of the following would be most likely to lead to higher interest rates on all debt securities in the economy?

a. Households start saving a larger percentage of their income.
b. The economy moves from a boom to a recession.
c. The level of inflation begins to decline.
d. Corporations step up their expansion plans and thus increase their demand for capital.
e. The Federal Reserve uses monetary policy in an attempt to stimulate the economy.

(1.6) Interest rates C H
41 Which of the following factors would be most likely to lead to an increase in interest rates in the economy?

a. Households reduce their consumption and increase their savings.
b. The Federal Reserve decides to try to stimulate the economy.
c. There is a decrease in expected inflation.
d. The economy falls into a recession.


e. Most businesses decide to modernize and expand their manufacturing capacity, and to install new equipment to reduce labor costs.

(Comp: 1.8,1.9,1.11) Financial transactions C H
42 Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. If General Electric were to issue new stock this year it would be considered a secondary market transaction since the company already has stock outstanding.
b. Capital market transactions only include preferred stock and common stock transactions.
c. The distinguishing feature between spot markets versus futures markets transactions is the maturity of the investments. That is, spot market transactions involve securities that have maturities of less than one year, whereas futures markets transactions involve securities with maturities greater than one year.
d. Both Nasdaq "dealers" and NYSE ?specialists? hold inventories of stocks.
e. An electronic communications network (ECN) is a physical location exchange.



(Comp: 1.2,1.3) Miscellaneous concepts C M
43. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. Corporations generally are subject to fewer regulations and more favorable tax treatment than sole proprietorships and partnerships. This is why corporations do most of the business in the United States.
b. Managers who face the threat of hostile takeovers are less likely to pursue policies that maximize shareholder value than are managers who do not face the threat of hostile takeovers.
c. One advantage of the corporate form of organization is that liability of the owners of the firm is limited to their investment in the firm.
d. Because of their simplified organization, it is easier for sole proprietorships and partnerships to raise large amounts of outside capital than it is for corporations.
e. Bond covenants are an effective way to resolve conflicts between shareholders and managers.




(Comp: 1.2,1.3) Miscellaneous concepts C M
44. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. A good goal for a firm?s management is maximization of expected EPS.
b. Most business in the U.S. is conducted by corporations, and corporations? popularity results primarily from their favorable tax treatment.
c. Because most stock ownership is concentrated in the hands of a relatively small segment of society, firms' actions to maximize their stock prices have little benefit to society.
d. Corporations and partnerships have an advantage over proprietorships because a sole proprietor is exposed to unlimited liability, but the liability of all investors in the other types of businesses is more limited.
e. The potential exists for agency conflicts between stockholders and managers.




(Comp: 1.2,1.3) Miscellaneous concepts C M
45 Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. One disadvantage of operating as a corporation rather than as a partnership is that corporate shareholders are exposed to more personal liability than partners.
b. There is no good reason to expect a firm's stockholders and bondholders to react differently to the types of new asset investments a firm makes.
c. Bondholders are generally more willing than stockholders to have managers invest in risky projects with high potential returns as opposed to safer projects with lower expected returns.
d. Stockholders are generally more willing than bondholders to have managers invest in risky projects with high potential returns as opposed to safer projects with lower expected returns.
e. Relative to sole proprietorships, corporations generally face fewer regulations, and this makes it easier for corporations to raise capital.


(1.8) Ownership and going public C M
46. Which of the following statements is NOT CORRECT?

a. When a corporation?s shares are owned by a few individuals and are not traded on public markets, we say that the firm is ?closely, or privately, held."
b. ?Going public? establishes a firm's true intrinsic value, and it also insures that a highly liquid market will always exist for the firm?s shares.
c. When stock in a closely held corporation is offered to the public for the first time, the transaction is called ?going public,? and the market for such stock is called the new issue market.
d. Publicly owned companies have shares owned by investors who are not associated with management, and public companies must register with and report to a regulatory agency such as the SEC.
e. It is possible for a firm to go public and yet not raise any additional new capital at the time.










PROBLEMS FROM CHAPTER 2 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, CASH FLOW, AND TAXES

(47) Net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT) C K
Bae Inc. has the following income statement. How much net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT) does the firm have?

Sales $2,000.00
Costs 1,200.00
Depreciation 100.00
EBIT $ 700.00
Interest expense 200.00
EBT $ 500.00
Taxes (35%) 175.00
Net income $ 325.00

a. $370.60
b. $390.11
c. $410.64
d. $432.25
e. $455.00








(48) Net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT) C K Answer: c MEDIUM
EP Enterprises has the following income statement. How much net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT) does the firm have?

Sales $1,800.00
Costs 1,400.00
Depreciation 250.00
EBIT $ 150.00
Interest expense 70.00
EBT $ 80.00
Taxes (40%) 32.00
Net income $ 48.00

a. $81.23
b. $85.50
c. $90.00
d. $94.50
e. $99.23


(49) Net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT) C K Answer: c MEDIUM
EP Enterprises has the following income statement. How much net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT) does the firm have?

Sales $1,800.00
Costs 1,400.00
Depreciation 250.00
EBIT $ 150.00
Interest expense 70.00
EBT $ 80.00
Taxes (40%) 32.00
Net income $ 48.00

a. $81.23
b. $85.50
c. $90.00
d. $94.50
e. $99.23

Thank you.

As financial managers, it is important that you identify and allocate costs appropriately. Discuss the major cost categories. What are some of the methods used to determine the cost category? (50 words).
How can service organizations benefit from activity-based management to become competitive? Cite specific examples. (50).
1. Cost flows in an accounting system (half a page)
2. Just-in-time manufacturing (160 words)
3. Product versus period classification (half a page)
4. Value chain (half a page)
5. Proactively controlling costs using target costing
6. Conversion costs (160 words)
Use at least two references to prepare the question responses and the cited summary. The references should be one academic and one practitioner resource.
Academic resources are theoretical and include accounting journals and a companys internal policies and procedures manual.
Practitioner resources are practical applications and include accounting textbooks, white papers, and research papers.
One inch margins, 330 words per page as specified on the essay town website and standard 12 inch times roman standard. 2-4 sources are required.

Accountants and financial managers are mere bean-counters and cannot be expected to contribute to strategic thinking ; neither do they possess the tools to enable them to do so.

Discuss whether you agree or disagree with the above statements.Make reference to the potential uses of both balanced scorecards and shareholder value analysis.



Please Note it will go through turn it in and it is for a mba course.

Using the attachments, answer the following questions:
1) How would you define time value of money in your own words? Please provide a brief definition of time value of money in your own words.
2) To what extent is it important for financial managers to understand the concept of time value of money? Why? Please explain your reasoning in two to three paragraphs.

3) Calculate the future value of the following showing work:
a. $54,298 if invested for five years at a 7% interest rate
b. $99,112 if invested for three years at a 4% interest rate
c. $121,124 if invested for seven years at an 2% interest rate
d. $929,129 if invested for ten years with a 0.9% interest rate

4) Calculate the present value of the following showing work
a. $455,126 to be received three years from now with a 4% Interest rate
b. $289,231 to be received five years from now with a 5% interest rate
c. $921,000 to received two years from now with a 12% interest rate
d. $278,111 to be received eight years from now with a 1% interest rate.

5) Suppose you are to receive a stream of annual payments (also called an "annuity") of $309,723 every year for three years starting this year. The interest rate is 4%. What is the present value of these three payments?

6) Suppose you are to receive a payment of $239,201 every year for three years. You are depositing these payments in a bank account that pays 2% interest. Given these three payments and this interest rate, how much will be in your bank account in three years?

Contents of the Term Paper

Your research can be general or focused on an industry or one or more organizations. Your paper should do the following:

Clearly state the issues that you are addressing and describe the organization(s) that are affected.

For example, you could decide to address the financial ramifications of actions to reduce pollution. Some articles suggest that companies' efforts to improve the environment are reflected in their financial performance. Other articles indicate that ethical policies can be costly and often are not financially rewarding. If you choose this topic for your ethics paper, you would identify the financial issues for the affected organization.

A paper on corporate governance would review the historical methods (Corporate Boards, Audit Committees, compensation policies) for aligning managerial and employee behavior with that of stakeholders. In addition, your evaluation should consider current proposals to reform governance (laws, restructuring of Corporate Boards and Audit Committees, more aggressive active by the SEC and so on).

A paper on electronic commerce could explore the impact of changes in information technology and the financial impact of such changes on the structure of industries and in the ways companies compete, demonstrate how the organization's financial success is now being or will be affected in the future by the issues, e.g., costs, access to capital, revenues, risks.

Where data is available, include a financial analysis that leads to your conclusion.

Where data is not available, describe in detail the type of analysis you would perform and the data needed to reach a conclusion.

As a financial manager, discuss how you would integrate the issue(s) into your decision-making process. For example, would you use financial criteria exclusively? If so, which ones? If you would use non-financial criteria, which ones and how would you reconcile them with desired financial outcomes. Few managerial decisions have only a single solution. Also, there may be opportunity costs and risks that should be weighed.
Elect and defend the approach that seems most appropriate at this time. If you believe that there are evolving issues, what future actions do you recommend?
The paper should

Be between 10 - 15 pages, plus appendices, exhibits, and references.

Include a one-page Executive Summary immediately following the title page that includes a statement of the major issue(s) and your specific recommendations. The content of an Executive Summary is similar to an abstract.

Properly cite reference sources: these may include course material, information from magazines, journals, and online sources. All reference sources must have a publication date no earlier than 2002. If you want to use a source published before 2002, contact me with your request and reason.
The paper will be graded for writing style, organization, grammar, and spelling, as well as for analysis and content. The writing style must follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition. Citations for online sources should include the online address (URL) and access date as well as the citation for the specific reference. See the Student Writing Resources Page for further guidelines about form and policies.
Submit your paper for a grade in your Assignments Folder by the due date/time indicated in the Course Guide/Schedule, adhering to all class policies for deliverables.

Multinational corporations need to carefully plan for various risks, including currency risks and the threat of currency crisis in the international market. The currency crisis in Asia was devastating for many corporations. Therefore, it is important for the multinational corporations to prepare themselves for the currency crisis in the global market.



To complete the Module 2 Case Assignment, please choose FedEx Corporation (http://fedex.com ; http://www.fedex.com/us/investorrelations/financialinfo/goals/) that is listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: Symbol - FDX).



Read the information in the background material, look for more information, and then write a 3 to 4 page paper answering the following questions:



To what extent can exchange rate risks impact on the business operations of the FedEx Corporation? Please explain your reasoning.



Are there any options that the financial managers of the FedEx Corporation can use to manage exchange rate risk?



Are there any advantages and disadvantages of the different exchange rate risk management options that you suggested to the financial managers of the FedEx Corporation?



Case Assignment Expectations:



In Module 2 Case Assignment, you are expected to:



?Describe the purpose of the paper and conclusion.



?Answer the case assignment questions clearly and provide necessary details.



?Provide a quality argument; that is, no poor sentence structure, no spelling and grammar mistakes or run-on sentences.



?Provide citations to support your argument and references on a separate page. Please use APA format to provide citations and references http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ or click Student Guide to Writing a High Quality Academic Paper.



?Answer all the case assignment questions in an essay format instead of point format. Please do not type questions in the paper.



?Type and double space the paper.



Grading Rubric: Click here.



Case Assignment Readings:

BNET Editorial (2010). Assessing exchange rate risk. Retrieved from http://www.bnet.com/article/assessing-exchange-rate-risk/68748 ; www.stern.nyu.edu/~igiddy/fxrisk.htm

Fisme.org (2007). Impact of exchange rate fluctuations: options for SMEs. Retrieved from http://fisme.org.in/document/Exchange%20Rate%20Fluctuations.pdf

Bleakley, F. (1997). How U.S. firm copes with Asia crisis -- Avon move to protect again. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), New York. Retrieved from library portal via coursenet.

Abor, J. (2005). Managing foreign exchange risk among Ghanaian firms. Journal of Risk Finance, 6(4), 306-318. Retrieved from library portal via coursenet. [Read Pages: 308 to 310]

Grady, G. (2010). Foreign exchange risk management methods. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Foreign-Exchange-Risk-Management-Methods&id=3047383

Papaioannou, M. (2006). Exchange rate risk measurement and management: Issues and approaches for firms. International Monetary Fund, 1-22. Retrieved from http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2006/wp06255.pdf

Assignment # 1 ? Understanding the Concepts - market prices, Valuation Principle,
Net present Value, interest rates, bonds (draws on material from Chapters 3 to 6)

You are to write a three to five (3-5) page report that answers the following:

1. Explain why market prices are useful to a financial manager.
2. Discuss how the Valuation Principle helps a financial manager make decisions.
3. Describe how the Net Present Value is related to cost-benefit analysis.
4. Explain how an interest rate is just a price.
5. Describe how a bond is like a loan.

The format of the report is to be as follows:
o Typed, double spaced, Times New Roman font (size 12), one inch margins on all sides, APA format.
o Type the question followed by your answer to the question.
o In addition to the three to five (3-5) pages required, a title page is to be included. The title page is to contain the title of the assignment, your name, the instructor?s name, the course title, and the date.

Simulation 1

In this simulation you will prepare an article for a company newsletter explaining, in general terms, several GAAP principles. You will also research the FASB documents, including the online codification, to insure you are relying on authoritative sources; textbooks are not an authoritative source. You are to prepare a professional product which reflects your understanding of the subject matter.

Prepare the required worksheet and memo. Remember to use the FASB code log in effect 9/4/2012:
Student Access
username - AAA51829
password - mxtWuXv

Submit completed file through the file exchange. If you cannot complete the assignment on time you must submit what you have completed before class. Let me knowif you want more time and I will extend the deadline.. There may be a penalty for the late submission.

Role: The stipulated role establishes the identity of the writer or speaker for purposes of the assignment.
In this case assume the role of a consultant hired by White Pharmaceuticals.

Audience: The audience is the person or group that the student, in role, is addressing. The audience and the role are a matched set.
The target audience are mid- level non-financial managers and executives who have extensive business experience but no formal accounting education. Simply cutting and pasting from FASB statements or direct quotes from an accounting textbook will not be suitable for this audience. You need to explain the technical accounting jargon in a manner a typical business manager can understand.

Task: The task is the specific assignment. Defining task involves not only what content is expected, but also the behavior, organization, form, format, and personnel required to accomplish it.

Walt White wishes to train the non-financial managers through an article in the company newsletter about the requirements of GAAP for revenue recognition and matching principles. The company is concerned by the controversy over certain transactions involving accrual transactions. Some managers in the production department do not understand why their profit centers are charged for expenses before cash is paid. Managers in the sales department are confused as to why cash advances from customers are not book as revenue when the cash advance is received. You have not been asked for an opinion on aspecific transaction but a report on general GAAP principles.

You should use the recommendations from Effective Writing ? Handbook for Accountants for writing an article that are presented on page 248 . For research should include Statement of Financial Concepts #6 and the FASB ASC. You can obtain SFAC-6 on the portal or at the FASB.org. An access instruction for the FASB ASC is also available on the portal.

You should summarize your research in a clear concise manner. Mr. White is a very tech savvy fellow; he has informed you that he will pay you nothing - or worse - if you plagiarize!
Required:
1. Explain to the managers how the principals of revenue recognition and matching affect the timing of recognition of revenue and expenses.
2. Describe the four approaches used to implement the matching principle.
3. In your article the company wants you to generally address which of the four matching approach should be used to recognize the cost as expense for each type of transaction.
a. The cost of labor & material used in producing a product.
b. The cost of research & development.
c. The cost of lab equipment used to make products.
d. The cost of office equipment used in the human resources area.
e. The cost of monthly rent on a warehouse building.
f. The commission salary of a sales employee.
Grading

You are expected to follow the following guidance from the writing guide:
Tips for the effective writer:
1. Content: Be sure that the accounting content is correct and complete. Have you addressed all relevant accounting issues?
2. Critical Thinking: Think carefully and critically about the issues with which you?re dealing. Anticipate questions and objections your audiences may raise.
3. Appropriate for reader: Write the document with a particular audience in mind. Check that issues are discussed on a level that the audience can understand. For this assignment it is better to focus on practical, explicit advice related to the case you are discussing, rather than general accounting theory.
4. Conciseness: Write as concisely as possible, given the audience?s needs and the issues to be addressed.
5. Clarity: Develop a style that is clear and readable. Choose words that the audience will understand, and construct sentences that convey your meaning with precision and clarity.
6. Coherence: Structure the document so that it is coherent. The organization should be logical and the train of thought easy to follow. Summarize main ideas near the beginning of the document, and begin each paragraph with a topic sentence.
7. Revision: Revise the document so that it is polished and professional. It should be free of all spelling errors and typos; grammatical errors should not detract from the message.

case example:

Mary Contrary
Wolf Company
Tallahassee, FL

Dear Ms. Contrary,

As we discussed in our phone conversation, I am providing you authoritative basis for our firm?s position regarding when rental income must be recognized. Your position is the revenue should be recorded when received. We established that there are many instances when the rent received includes payments for months beyond the end of a fiscal year.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principals (see FASC 605-10-25-1) require the use of the realization principle when recording revenue. The realization principle requires that two criteria be satisfied before revenue can be recognized:
? The earnings process is judged to be complete or virtually complete
? There is reasonable certainty as to the collectibility of the asset to be received
Obviously, collectability is not at issue; it is just the first criterion that is at issue. Since the tenants are entitled to occupy the premises through the last day for the payment made, the earnings process is not complete until that day passes. Since revenue cannot be recognized on the date the payment is received, the corresponding account to cash must be a liability account recognizing the unearned revenue. As the rental period expires you, will reduce the liability and increase rental revenue.
Recording rental revenue as you currently do is allowable for income tax purposes and is acceptable under the cash basis of accounting. However, since you wish to have an audited set of financial statements issued, Generally Accepted Accounting Principals (see FASC cite above) require the use of the accrual method.
Therefore, it is our firm?s position that you must alter your accounting treatment of rent collections to comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principals. Please feel free to contact me for any other clarification or additional issues.

Yours Truly,
Student Name


Tips for the effective writer:

1. Content: Be sure that the accounting content is correct and complete. Have you addressed all relevant accounting issues?

2. Critical Thinking: Think carefully and critically about the issues with which you?re dealing. Anticipate questions and objections your audiences may raise.

3. Write the document with a particular audience in mind. Check that issues are discussed on a level that the audience can understand. For most documents, it is better to focus on practical, explicit advice related to the case you are discussing, rather than general accounting theory.

4. Write as concisely as possible, given the audience?s needs and the issues to be addressed.

5. Develop a style that is clear and readable. Choose words that the audience will understand, and construct sentences that convey your meaning with precision and clarity.

6. Structure the document so that it is coherent. The organization should be logical and the train of thought easy to follow. Summarize main ideas near the beginning of the document, and begin each paragraph with a topic sentence.

7. Revise the document so that it is polished and professional. It should be free of all spelling errors and typos; grammatical errors should not detract from the message.


The following grading points will be used to score this assignment.

worth 125 points
30 pts Define revenue and matching principles. Source referenced is authoratative
30 pts Gives the four methods for matching:
7 The cost of labor & material used in producing a product
8 The cost of reseach & development
8 The cost of manfacturing equipment used to make products
8 The cost of office equipment used in the human resources area
7 The cost of monthly rent on the warehouse building
7 The commission salary of a sales employee
the rest of pts effective writing for accountants with tone to audience, organiztion, introduction that gets audience attention,states purpose & preview of main point

In recent years many companies chose to at least partially outsource their IT operations. They are of the opinion that the IT is not the core competence of the company and outsiders who will undertake to provide the IT operation as outside contractors will do a better, and possibly cheaper job.
The financial manager must be able to assess the wisdom of the investment in technology, and in particular in IT, from the viewpoint of the shareholders. The basic question that one must try to answer is: would an investment in technology and IT raise the value of the shares and increase the wealth of the owners of the company - the shareholders? Would an outsourcing be more beneficial? Should the company lease (or outsource) these technologies or should it invest in developing new technologies? What impact would these decisions have on shareholders value?
In this module we will be considering this investment decision with reference to IT outsourcing and its relation to capital budgeting and risk. Please review at least in overall terms the following documents relating to IT outsourcing:
Thor Olavsrud (2011). IT Outsourcing. Datamation. Retrieved from http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/career/article.php/3875026/IT-Outsourcing.htm#IT_Outsourcing_Pros_and_Cons.
James Bucki (2011). Introduction to Outsourcing. About.com. Retrieved from http://operationstech.about.com/od/costsavingstrategies/a/OutSrcDefine.htm.
James Bucki (2011). Top 7 Outsourcing Advantages. About.com. Retrieved from http://operationstech.about.com/od/officestaffingandmanagem/a/OutSrcAdvantg.htm.
James Bucki (2011). Top 6 Outsourcing Disadvantages. About.com. Retrieved from http://operationstech.about.com/od/outsourcing/tp/OutSrcDisadv.htm.
F. John Reh (2011). Offshoring - Outsourcing to Extreme. About.com. Retrieved from http://management.about.com/cs/people/a/offshoring104.htm.
Dhanya Ann Thoppil (2011). IT Firms Split on Outsourcing Demand for 2011. IndiaRealTime. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/02/17/on-outsourcing-demand-for-2011-indian-it-is-split/

Also read these document discussing managerial decision-making concerning return on investment, capital budgeting and risk.
Cresswell AM. Return on Investment In Information Technology: A Guide for Managers Retrieved Sept. 23, 2007 from http://www.ctg.albany.edu/publications/guides/roi

Graham J and Campbell H (2002) How Do CFOs Make Capital Budgeting And Capital Structure Decisions? Journal of Applied Corporate Finance. Retrieved Sept. 23, 2007 from http://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/~jgraham/website/SurveyJACF.pdf

In addition, read this overview of the lease vs. buy decision and this article on such decisions in IT.
The background information has further material on using financial data to assess risks and comparatively evaluate the future possibilities for companies. In addition, you may wish to seek out further information through your own research. When you have reviewed the advice and the plans. please prepare a short (3 page) paper discussing:
Agree or disagree: Standard financial investment information and criteria are all that is needed to effectively evaluate IT outsourcing decisions. (When evaluating the options be sure to compare debt vs. equity)
Please carefully explain your reasoning, with reference to the appropriate financial and other information.

In your project assignment for this module, you'll be pleased to know that there is no calculation involved, at least not by you directly. This time, you'll acquire some hands-on familiarity with a financial information system through exploring what they refer to as the "Kuali test drive". This is a sort of experiential tutorial intended to give financial managers considering the application of Kuali in their organizations the opportunity to see how it works and the kind of interfaces that the system would present to their staff and to users.

For this module, you should go to the Kuali test drive page, read about the system, review the driver's manual, and try the first two scenarios described in the test drive. If you are asked for a username you can use 'khuntley'.

When you have completed your activities here, write a short (2-3 page) report describing what you did during the test drive, your evaluation of the system at this point (admittedly, this will be based on limited information, but that's okay), and questions that are in your mind regarding the use of a financial information system such as Kuali.

This will be a preliminary assessment; you'll be returning to the test drive in module five, and to have an opportunity to further your understanding of it and to clarify some issues.



SLP expectations:

Use information from the modular background readings as well as any good quality resource you can find. Please cite all sources and provide a reference list at the end of your paper.

LENGTH: 2-3 pages typed and double-spaced.

The following items will be assessed in particular:

1.Your ability to demonstrate your understanding of the basic transaction processing capabilities and benefits of Kuali;

2.Some in-text references to modular background readings

The long term goals of a corporation include goals such as growth in revenues, growth in earnings, wider profit margins, cash flow growth, higher returns on invested capital, a more diversified revenue base, earning per share (EPS) growth, dividend growth, etc. The incorporation of the long term goals in the financial planning is good for the long term survivability of a company.



To complete the Module 1 Case Assignment, please choose Nike Inc. (NKE) that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (http://www.nikebiz.com/; http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=NKE).



Read the information in the background material, look for more information, and then write a 2 to 3 page paper answering the following question:



How important is the setting of long-term financial goals/objectives in the financial planning of the Nike Inc.? Please explain your reasoning.



Case Assignment Expectations:



In Module 1 Case Assignment, you are expected to:



?Describe the purpose of the paper and conclusion.



?Answer the case assignment questions clearly and provide necessary details.



?Provide a quality argument; that is, no poor sentence structure, no spelling and grammar mistakes or run-on sentences.



?Provide citations to support your argument and references on a separate page. Please use APA format to provide citations and references http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ or click Student Guide to Writing a High Quality Academic Paper.



?Answer all the case assignment questions in an essay format instead of point format. Please do not type questions in the paper.



?Type and double space the paper.



Grading Rubric: Click here.



In the course of preparing your paper, you will probably want to think about, among other things, the points such as:



? Long term financial goals/objectives of Nike Inc.,



? Financial strategy of Nike Inc.,



? Major decisions that need to be made by the financial managers of Nike Inc., etc.



Required/Case Assignment Readings:

Articlesbase.com (2013). Long-term financial goals of Nike. Retrieved from http://www.articlesbase.com/sales-articles/long-term-financial-goals-of-nike-3848503.html ; http://www.rttnews.com/story.aspx?ID=1294436

Olsen, E. (2008). Examples of corporate objectives. Retrieved from http://mystrategicplan.com/resources/objectives/

Hofstrand, D. (2009). Creating a mission statement, setting goals and developing strategies (action plans). Retrieved from http://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/html/c5-09.html

Brannen, L. (2005). Good companies, bad planning. Business Finance, 11(8), 9-12. Accessible via Trident online library.

Keeler, D. (2000). Planning for change. Global Finance, 14(3), 73-74. Accessible via Trident online library.

Byrne, J. A. (1996). Strategic Planning. Business Week, New York, Aug 26, 46-51. Accessible via Trident online library.

In Module 2, assume that Nike Inc. (NKE) (http://www.nikebiz.com/; http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=NKE) is expanding globally. One way to expand globally is to buy shares of other companies, while other way is to open up new branches. But both options are not risk free.



Read the information in the background material, look for more information, and then write a 2 to 3 page paper answering the following questions:



How important is it for the financial managers of Nike Inc. to use economic variables in identifying long term financial goals?



Are there any major techniques/tools that the financial managers of Nike Inc. can use for forecasting future directions in the stock market and in the economy as a whole?



Please explain your reasoning.



Case Assignment Expectations:



In Module 2 Case Assignment, you are expected to:



?Describe the purpose of the paper and conclusion.



?Answer the case assignment questions clearly and provide necessary details.



?Provide a quality argument; that is, no poor sentence structure, no spelling and grammar mistakes or run-on sentences.



?Provide citations to support your argument and references on a separate page. Please use APA format to provide citations and references http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ or click Student Guide to Writing a High Quality Academic Paper.



?Answer all the case assignment questions in an essay format instead of point format. Please do not type questions in the paper.



?Type and double space the paper.



Grading Rubric: Click here.



In the course of preparing your paper, you will probably want to think about, among other things, the main economic variables such as interest rates, inflation,.??...that are used by financial managers to identify long-term trends.



Required/Case Assignment Readings:

Eplresidential.com (2010). Step by step to building a financial plan through understanding & evaluating your economic climate. Retrieved from https://www.eplresidential.com/data/Unsorted/epl-Evaluating-the-economic-climate.doc

Mahaffy, D. (2002). Predictive intelligence helps CFOs forecast demand. Financial Executive, 18(8), 48-50. Accessible via Trident online library.

StockCharts.com (2010). Fundamental analysis. Retrieved from http://www.stockcharts.com/education/Overview/fundAnalysis1.html

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc (2002). Six key economic variables (Power Points). Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/class/msande247s/econVariables.ppt

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc (2007). Six key economic variables ? measuring the economy. Retrieved from http://econ.yorku.ca/paschakis/courses/2400/chapter2.pdf

The paper should be based on the Value Based Management(VBM)and should analyze one organization. Often the goal of VMB is to increase Economic Value Added (EVA). Capital budgeting decisions decisions play a major role in determining how much value management creates. EVA= Net operating Profit after taxes minus annualcost of capital used by management to earn the operating profit. In this paper particular interest should be given to the cost of capital and capital budgeting decision, which determine the amount of capital invested, and where those investments are made so as to maximize the operating profits from the capital invested. If management can reduce the cost of capital and/or the amount of invested capital, EVA will increase, often leading to greater shareholder value in the long run.
1) Clearly state the issues that you are addressing and describe a particular organization that is affected.
2) Demonstrate how the organization''s financial succes is(will) be affected by the issues that will be identified in the research. include a financial analysis that will lead to the conclusions.
3)As a financial manager, discuss how you would integrate the analysis into the decision-making process. For example, would you use financial criteria exclusively? If you would use non-financial criteria, which ones and how would you reconcile them with the desired financial outcomes?There may be opportunity costs and risks that should be weighed.
4) Select and defend the approach that seems most appropriate at this time. If there are evolving issues, what future actions do you recommend?
5)Include an Executive Summary, stating the key issues addressed in the paper and the conclusions and recommendations

Complete and submit a portion (column 2, 3, and 4) of the following table:
Prepare a table with the following columns:

Company name:FEDEX CORPORATION

Are there any important economic variables that financial managers of FedEx Corporation need to identify before expanding in Canada?

What are the main challenges that the financial managers of FedEx Corporation will face to open up new branch in Canada?