Prepare
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, compare and analyze the annual reports of two corporations from the same industry. This task will help you understand how companies communicate their performance to shareholders and the broader public, as well as how the format and organization of their reports affect the clarity and effectiveness of their message. Prior to beginning work on this assignment, review the following resources:
- Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 8 of your textbook
- the website AnnualReports.com.
Explore
Steps to Complete Your Assignment
Select Two Corporations from the Same Industry:
Visit AnnualReports.com and choose two corporations from the same industry that you are interested in. Review their most recent annual reports.
Analyze the Annual Reports
In your paper,
Organizational Differences
- Identify two corporations from the same industry.
- Describe how each corporation discusses its annual performance. How do the structures of the reports differ?
Clarity of Data
- Explain the financial data of the two corporations.
- Explain how clearly each corporation presents its financial data. Are shareholders able to easily understand how well the company performed?
Goals, Challenges, and Plans
- Identify the goals, challenges, and future plans for the company's performance.
- Analyze what top managers emphasize in their discussion of the company’s future performance.
Format and Organization
- Discuss how the format and organization of each report either enhance or detract from the clarity and effectiveness of the information presented.
Here is a sample paper structure for your reference:
- Title page
- This should be a separate page.
- Introduction
- Include the thesis statement here.
- Organizational differences
- Compare how each corporation discusses its annual performance.
- Clarity of data
- Evaluate how clearly each corporation presents its financial information.
- Goals, challenges, and plans
- Explain the key goals and challenges the corporations emphasize.
- Format and organization
- Analyze how the structure of each report enhances or detracts from its effectiveness.
- Conclusion
- References page
- Format this according to APA style.
- must be 2 to 3 double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Microsoft Word resource.
- must include a separate title page with the following in title case:
- title of paper in bold font
- Space should appear between the title and the rest of the information on the title page.
- student’s name
- name of institution (The University of Arizona Global Campus)
- course name and number
- instructor’s name
- due date
- title of paper in bold font
- must utilize academic voice.
- Review the Academic Voiceresource for additional guidance.
- must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph.
- Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
- For assistance in writing Introductions & Conclusions and Writing a Thesis Statement refer to the Writing Center resources.
- must use at least 2 scholarly and/or credible sources in addition to the course text