Overview
ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW
This major assignment requires you to conduct in-depth accounting research on a selected publicly held healthcare company. You should produce a professional business research report — written in concise business report format — that demonstrates your ability to locate, analyze, and interpret publicly available financial and regulatory information.
Helpful Resources
- Finding Company Information in Edgar is hereDownload here
- Sample Research Report - Pages 1-4 is here Download here
- Optional Report Template is here Download here
- Download of Assignment requirements is hereDownload here
Assignment Notes:
- The assignment is designed to bridge the gap between academic accounting theory and the realities of financial reporting in a complex, regulated industry.
- There is no exact answer, so enjoy the process of researching and learning.
- A well written report is critical. If providing a well written report is a challenge, please plan on submitting to the writing center for review and assistance in advance of the due date.
- At the Masters level, quality always beats quantity. A well-sourced, analytically sharp 8-12-page report will outperform a padded 20-page one. Students should aim to write like they're producing a report for a senior manager or audit committee — clear, precise, and evidence-based.
Report Requirements:
Suggested Source Documents for Each Area:
- 10-K Annual Report — primary source for most of the above
- 10-Q Quarterly Reports — for recent developments
- DEF 14A Proxy Statement — compensation and related parties
- 8-K Current Reports — major events, M&A announcements
- SEC Comment Letters — reveal areas where the SEC questioned the company's accounting
Report Format: Business Report format with Table of Contents
Typical Length: 8 –15 pages (Single spaced in business report format) (Concise, professional memo-style report) (Concise content is more important than length)
Structure & Page Estimates
- Executive Overview / Company Background — 1-2 pages
- Each of the 10 Research Areas — .5-1.5 pages each (5–15 pages total)
- Overall Assessment / Conclusions — 1–2 pages
- References — 1–2 pages
Report Overview
The memo/business report format report that covers the 10 research areas listed below for the company you have selected. Please utilize the FY2024 Form 10-K, SEC filings, and earnings disclosures and other relevant research materials.
Your completed report should reflect the rigor, clarity, and professionalism expected of a senior accountant, auditor, or financial analyst preparing a research memorandum for a senior manager, audit committee, or investment professional.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this assignment, you will be able to:
- Navigate and interpret SEC filings, including Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, Form 8-K, and the DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- Identify and critically evaluate a company's significant accounting policies and their compliance with U.S. GAAP
- Assess material risks, contingencies, and disclosures relevant to a publicly held healthcare entity
- Analyze the quality and transparency of a company's financial reporting, including its use of non-GAAP financial measures
- Communicate complex accounting and financial information in a clear, professional written format
COMPANY ASSIGNMENT
Please select a specific publicly held healthcare company from the NASDAQ or NYS Exchange. The list is provided in the Period 3 Discussion.
REPORT FORMAT AND LENGTH
Your report must be written in business memorandum/business report format. See sample pages 1-4 of sample company and sample report template provided.
The body of the report should be approximately 8 to 15 pages, excluding the reference list and any supporting appendices. The report should be written in clear, professional writing style.
Excessive use of bullet points, tables, or lists in place of substantive written analysis is discouraged. Tables may be used to present financial data but must be accompanied by written interpretation.
Formatting requirements:
- Font: 12-point Times New Roman or equivalent serif font
- Margins: 1 inch on all sides
- Line spacing: Single spaced
- Page numbers required on all pages
- All financial figures should be cited to their source
REQUIRED RESEARCH AREAS
Your report should address each of the following ten research areas. Each area should be treated as a distinct section with a clearly labeled heading. Sections should be of roughly equal depth, though particularly complex or material topics may warrant additional analysis. It is possible that 1 or more topics may not apply to the company. If that is the case, please state that.
Research Topics:
- Revenue Recognition Policies
Identify and explain how the company recognizes revenue under ASC 606. Describe the nature of the company's performance obligations, the timing of revenue recognition (point in time versus over time), and any unusual or complex revenue streams such as bill-and-hold arrangements, long-term contracts, licensing, or service revenue. Evaluate whether the disclosed policies are consistent with the company's business model and assess any areas of judgment or estimation risk.
- Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Examine the company's goodwill and intangible asset balances. Identify the sources of goodwill (i.e., prior acquisitions), describe the company's annual impairment testing methodology under ASC 350, and evaluate the key assumptions embedded in the impairment analysis (e.g., discount rates, growth rates, projected cash flows). Assess the risk of unrecognized impairment given current market and operational conditions, and identify any significant intangible assets such as patents, customer relationships, or trade names and their remaining useful lives.
- Regulatory and Compliance Risk
Research the company's regulatory environment. Identify all relevant federal and state regulatory bodies (e.g., FDA, CMS, HHS-OIG, DOJ), applicable laws and standards (e.g., ISO certifications, FDA registration, HIPAA), and any disclosed compliance programs. Summarize any regulatory investigations, enforcement actions, warning letters, or compliance-related disclosures found in SEC filings or public records. Assess the potential financial impact of regulatory non-compliance on the company.
- Customer or Payer Concentration Risk
Analyze the composition of the company's revenue base. For healthcare service providers, this means examining the payer mix (Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, and self-pay) and the sensitivity of revenue to reimbursement rate changes. For healthcare products companies, this means identifying major customers and evaluating concentration risk. Discuss the disclosure of any customers representing 10% or more of revenue, and assess the financial implications of losing or experiencing significant reductions in revenue from a major customer or payer.
- Loss Contingencies and Litigation
Review the company's contingency disclosures under ASC 450. Identify any pending or threatened litigation, regulatory investigations, malpractice claims, False Claims Act matters, or other legal proceedings. Distinguish between amounts that have been accrued (probable and estimable) and those that are only disclosed (reasonably possible). Assess the adequacy and transparency of the company's contingency disclosures, and identify any areas where additional disclosure may be warranted.
- Lease Accounting (ASC 842)
Examine the company's lease portfolio. Identify the nature and scale of the company's operating and finance leases, including key facilities and equipment. Analyze the right-of-use asset and lease liability balances, the weighted-average discount rate and lease term, and the maturity schedule of lease payments. Assess how the adoption of ASC 842 has affected the company's balance sheet and key financial ratios such as leverage and return on assets.
- Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures
Identify any significant business combinations or divestitures completed or announced during the research period. For each major transaction, describe the strategic rationale, the acquisition consideration and financing method, and the purchase price allocation under ASC 805 (including amounts assigned to goodwill, identified intangibles, and tangible assets). Assess the financial impact of the transaction on the company's balance sheet, income statement, and debt levels. Identify any contingent consideration (earn-outs) and explain the related accounting treatment.
- Debt Structure and Liquidity
Analyze the company's capital structure, including all long-term debt instruments, revolving credit facilities, and other borrowings. Summarize key debt terms including interest rates, maturity dates, covenant requirements, and security arrangements. Evaluate the company's current liquidity position using relevant metrics such as the current ratio, free cash flow, and available borrowing capacity. Assess the company's ability to meet its near-term and long-term debt obligations based on disclosed financial information.
- Executive Compensation and Related Party Transactions
Using the company's most recent DEF 14A Proxy Statement, analyze the structure and level of executive compensation for the named executive officers (NEOs). Describe the components of compensation (base salary, annual incentive, long-term equity awards), the performance metrics used to determine variable compensation, and the relationship between pay and company performance as disclosed in the Pay versus Performance table. Separately, identify and describe any material related party transactions disclosed under ASC 850 and Item 404 of Regulation S-K.
- Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Earnings Quality
Identify all non-GAAP financial measures reported by the company in its earnings releases, investor presentations, or SEC filings. For each measure, describe what is excluded from the GAAP equivalent and evaluate whether the exclusions appear reasonable or potentially misleading. Assess whether excluded items appear to be genuinely non-recurring or whether they recur across multiple reporting periods. Discuss the overall quality of the company's earnings, including the relationship between net income and operating cash flow as an indicator of accrual quality.
REQUIRED SOURCE DOCUMENTS
Your research should draw primarily from authoritative primary sources. The following documents are required as applicable:
Document | Primary Use |
|---|---|
Form 10-K (Annual Report) | Core source for all ten research areas |
Form 10-Q (Quarterly Reports) | Recent developments, interim financial data |
Form 8-K (Current Reports) | Material events, M&A announcements, earnings releases |
DEF 14A (Proxy Statement) | Executive compensation and related party transactions |
SEC EDGAR Comment Letters | Areas of SEC accounting scrutiny |
Company Investor Relations Website | Earnings presentations, non-GAAP reconciliations |
Students are encouraged to supplement primary sources with academic literature, industry publications, and reputable financial databases where relevant. Secondary or aggregated sources (e.g., financial data websites) may be used to corroborate data but should not replace primary source research.
CITATIONS AND REFERENCES
All facts, figures, and quoted disclosures must be cited in the body of the report using the APA citation style. A complete reference list must be included at the end of the report. Academic integrity standards apply — all work must be your own, and you are prohibited from using generative AI to develop or write the content of your report.