Semester Project - Industry and Corporate Analysis

Overview
The semester long project is conducted in teams of between five and seven students.  Each student team is assigned an industry and list of firms that are representative of that industry.  Each student in the team must choose one of the companies on the industry list on which he or she will undertake research.   The following rules must be followed.

• The firm must have a 10-K (annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)) filed for its fiscal year 2011 (usually shows up as published in 2012).
• The firm must have three years of 10-Ks
• The firm must have an average volume of 10,000 shares traded per day
• The firm must have a minimum market capitalization of $100,000,000 (the number of shares of common stock outstanding times the price per share – most websites will have the market “cap” listed)
• The firm must be U.S. based (U.S. headquarters and reports in dollars)

 An effort has been made to insure that all firms listed under each industry assignment pass the criteria above.  However, it is up to the student to check and make certain that the firm he or she is following meets the requirements.

The project deliverables are a set of three team presentations and one flash assignment. 

• Each presentation is evaluated as to its delivery and its content.
• Each presentation is time constrained.  Teams going over the time limit will be penalized.  See presentation assignments below for specific time limits.
• Each presentation will supported by a PowerPoint presentation.
• At the conclusion of the presentation the team will “stand” for questions.  Questioning will be done by the class, the TA, and the instructor.  “Q&A” will count towards both delivery and content.
• Each presentation must be accompanied by the following documentation. 
• A summary of not more than two double spaced pages. The summary must include a discussion of the most important element of the presentation.
• Attached to the summary must be copies of the presentation slides (printed four per page).
• In addition, each student will complete a set of workbooks found on the SMGtools SM299 A1 website.

• Each member of the class is to evaluate each presentation.  The evaluation is on two dimensions - the quality of the delivery and the extent of learning.  These evaluations will be considered by the instructor in assigning grades.

 Details of the three presentations and specific worksheet page assignment are below.

Presentation 1 - Team Introduction:
Workbook 1 – SMGtools SM 299 A1 Resources tab (see specific due dates in the Excel file)

Teams will deliver a ten-minute presentation introducing the students on the team, the team's industry and the companies the students are following.  The overall purpose of the presentation is to make the class aware of the team's industry and companies.  Special emphasis should be placed on describing in general terms the types of businesses the companies are in and how the firms have fared in the past few years.  Evaluation is based on presentation (75%) and content (25%).

Presentation 2 - Company Analysis:
Workbooks 2, 3, and 4 – SMGtools SM 299 A1 Resources tab (see specific due dates in the Excel file)

Teams will deliver a twelve-minute presentation discussing the differences and similarities between the financial positions and performances of the firms the team is studying.  Almost certainly teams will want to compare the common size balance sheet and income statements as well as engage in ratio analysis as a basis for the assignment.  The overall purpose of the presentation is to identify characteristics that seem to be keys in evaluating individual firms within the industry.  Presentations must have focus and justification for the elements focused upon.  Evaluation is based on presentation (50%) and content (50%).

Presentation 3 - The Future:
Teams will deliver a twenty-minute presentation discussing the future for the industry and in particular the firms the team followed.  The overall purpose of the presentation is identifying any key industry challenges and opportunities.  The team must provide a vision for how the industry will change over the next several years.  In particular, what forces will act on the industry?  Which companies are better positioned to take advantage of emerging opportunities?  Which companies are best positioned to repel emerging threats?  A comprehensive presentation will include clear justification for the vision of the future imagined by the team.   Evaluation is based on presentation (25%) and content (75%).

Grade and Individual Responsibility
Overall the project counts as 25% of the course grade – 18% for the team presentations and 7% for the flash assignment which is also based on the project.  During the course of the semester, team members will have an opportunity to both deliver and receive constructive feedback.  This will be undertaken electronically using the Team Learning Assistant website.  Students will find documentation on the Team Learning Assistant on the Team Learning Assistant website.  At the end of the semester each student will evaluate each team member’s performance on the project.  Individual student grades will be adjusted based on those evaluations.