Financial Analysis free essay sample

In this task, the budget schedule and proformas as well as the flexible budget were reviewed. Below you will find my analysis and recommended corrective actions as well as how management by exception applies. Budget Planning Concerns Competition Bikes has a good starting point for a budget but is overall weak and has several budgetary concerns. A few of those items are mentioned for budget planning below. Advertising Research Development. Competition Bikes is expecting an increase in sales in year 9 yet they are not investing in any more in advertising or research and development. In year 7 when sales were the highest, Competition Bikes spent $32,760 in advertising. In year 8 when the advertising budget fell to $27,428, so did the sales. Although management is predicting an increase in the market for year 9 and the advertising expense is 2% of projected gross margin, this may be unrealistic. Annual Budget. Quarterly budgets are more efficient for planning, coordinating, evaluating, and controlling costs. It allows the analyst to compare line items on financial statements over a certain period of time. It is typically performed monthly, quarterly and annually. In the case of Competition Bikes Inc. the horizontal analysis reflects change between years six and seven and seven and eight. I will be doing the horizontal analysis by reviewing the company’s balance sheets and income statements. Between years six and seven a strength in net sales is noted with an increased 33. 3% totaling $1,495,000. The cost of goods from year six to seven was 31. 82 %. Between years seven and eight the net sales of the CarbonLite was weak with a product decrease of 15% with a loss totaling $897,000. Yet again, between years six and seven a strength is noted in gross profit, increasing by 37. 5%. The gross profit between years seven and eight decreased by 16. 3% totaling $266,600. From this factual accounting information we can conclude between years six and seven were stronger than between years seven and eight. The operating cycle is the period of time it takes to purchase, manufacture, and distribute raw material. The operating cycle decreased from 50. 52 in year six to 48. 00 in year seven. This translates into an increase in sales and a decrease in inventory also known as a low cash conversion cycle. The cash conversion cycle is the time it takes for a company to convert resource contributions into cash movements. The cash conversion cycle (CCC) is the total time, in days; it takes for a business to sell inventory, collect cash, and pay bills. The lower the CCC the better. When assessing the CCC of Competition Bikes Inc. it is apparent that the CCC is negative three years. This is strength indicating the company is effectively supervising its resources. Year Change in Percent Change in Sales 6 and 7 33. 3% $1,495,000 7 and 8 14. 9% ($897,000) When looking at year six and seven it is apparent the operating income increased 154. 6% totaling $191,820. In years seven and eight the operating income decreased 61. 9% totaling $218,420. Yet again showing a weakness in years seven and eight. When looking at the horizontal analysis one can see the overall general and administrative expenses for years six and seven show an increase of $156,440 or 20. 4 percent. Net income increased by 313. 4% for years six and seven and declined by 81. 6% for years seven and eight. We have no reason to believe the increase in administrative expenses in years six and seven are correlated to the net income. Stockholder equity is a part of the balance sheet that shows the amount of capital from investors in exchange for stock, also known as paid in capital. According to the horizontal analysis, during years six and seven the stockholder equity increased 2. 9%. In years seven in eight this decreased by only 0. 1%. This shows us that the company practically broke even in comparison of years six and seven, and seven and right. Vertical Analysis The vertical analysis is relative analysis of a financial statement. It shows each line item as a percentage of the gross sales. A vertical analysis of a balance sheet is a percentage of total assets. Overall, it shows the financial performance a company over time. Year Total Assets 6 $4,199,303 7 $4,319,217 8 $4,316,817 (Balance Sheet) Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Total Current Assets 24. 5% 31. 5% 36. 8% Accounts/Notes Payable 1. 6% 4. 5% 6. 1% Accrued Salaries and Related Expenses 0. 4% 0. 3% 0. 3% Other accrued Expenses 0. 5% 0. 6% 0. 6% Total Current Liabilities 2. 5% 5. 4% 7. 0% Mortgage Payable 42. 9% 39. 4% 37. 1% Other Long Term Liabilities 2. 1% 2. 0% 1. 9% Total Liabilities 47. 5% 47. 0% 46. 2% Total Stockholder’s Equity 52. 5% 53. 3% 54. 1% The vertical analysis in the table above is measuring the total equities, assets, and liabilities. A strength in strong internal control is noted due to little fluctuation of overall operating expenses. Another strength is noticed in stockholder equities. The stockholder equities have been increasing steadily indicating capital is growing. Trend Analysis Trend analysis is used to find a pattern, or trend, in the data. â€Å"Through trend analysis, management can see where improvement is occurring and where difficulties exist† (pg. 515). In this section we will review the financial performance over a period of time. The balance sheet shows a strength in that business is trending upward over the past three years showing the company is growing. This is proven by the trend % increasing from year six at 100%, year seven at 133. 3% and year eight at 113. 3%. Even though year 8 is lower than 7 it is still higher than the trend % in year six. The growth rate average is 3. 3%. The trend analysis shows weakness between years seven and eight, sales decreased. However, the profit margin remained strong due to little boost in overhead costs. This is encouraging of future sales of stock holding its value in years nine, ten, and eleven. Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Net Sales $4,485,000 $5,980,000 $5,083,000 Trend % 100. 0% 133. 3% 113. 3% From the trend analysis in the table above the company has forecasted net sales for years nine, ten, and eleven. This prediction shows a strength in that sales are expected to increase encouraging stockholder to stay invested. However, when you review the sales from the past you can see that they are growing at a smaller rate than predicted. Only time will tell if net sales will increase as forecasted. Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis is layman terms is comparing past years to current with ratios and trends. This shows strengths and weaknesses in the business. There are three ratio categories, liquidity, efficiency, and profitability. Liquidity Ratios are found in the balance sheet and determine the liquidity of the company the day the balance sheet was created. Liquidity ratios consist of current, quick, and debt to equity ratios. Current ratios â€Å"A liquidity ratio that measures a companys ability to pay short-term obligations† (Investopedia). This checks the liquidity of the company and shows if the working capital will meet the company’s goals. The current ratio of CBI in 2007 was 1. 20% or 1. 20:1. In 2008 it was 1. 74% or 1. 74:1 showing the company’s returns and sales have improved positioning their market share segments higher. Due to low liquidity level of the company there is no reason for the company to halt operations. Quick ratio is found by dividing the total quick assets by the total current liabilities. With most of CBI’s capital tied directly to its inventory the quick ratio is low. Since most of its product is sold store front it is important to have inventory. The company is clearly managing its inventory well with a quick ratio of 3. 21% in 2007 and 3. 11% in 2008. Debt to equity ratio is found by dividing total liabilities by stockholder equity. It shows how much debt and equity the company is spending to finance its assets. We can tell the company depends on equity financing opposed to debt financing by reviewing by looking at the long term debt to equity ratio which is 3. 21% compared to the industry mean of 3. 95%. This also makes the company more susceptible for government financing so long term debt will not accrue. Efficiency Ratio is gathered from information on the income statement and balance sheet. They are used to determine the worth of the companys receivables and how resourcefully it uses its other assets. These fractions are key to determine capability of its debts, assets, and accounts. Inventory Turnover Ratio is found by dividing the total sales by the total inventory. It measures how efficient the company is in managing and selling inventory. It helps determine how the owner can increase sales by controlling inventory and gauges liquidly of inventory. A high inventory ratio indicates the business is proficiently managing and selling its inventory. CBI’s inventory turnover ratio dropped from 46. 7 to 45. 9 in years 2007 and 2008. This indicates the company is having a hard time managing and selling inventory making it hard to acquire loans from financial institutions. Average Collection Period Mean is the estimated time it takes a company to receive payments from its customers. It is calculates by receivable/credit sales/365 = # days. CBI’s average collection period mean is 102. 6 days. This is not a good thing for the company because the money is needed to pay off debt. Profitability Ratio is â€Å"a class of financial metrics that are used to assess a businesss ability to generate earnings as compared to its expenses and other relevant costs incurred during a specific period of time† (Investopedia). Seeing an increase year over year (YOY) is a positive in these ratios. You also want to notice a high value than competitors when it comes to profitability ratios. Return on Assets frequently referred to as ROA determines how profitable a business is compared to its total assets. It is calculated by dividing annual earning by total assets. ROA shows if the company is using its assets to generate earnings well. CBI is proficient in generating profits on its assets with a ROA of 4. 52% in year 2007 and 4. 25% in year 2008. Gross Profit Margin (GPM) calculated by taking revenue subtracted by cost of goods sold divided by revenue. It is used to asses a companies â€Å"financial health by revealing the proportion of money left over from revenues after accounting for the cost of goods sold† (Investopedia). The GPM of CBI dropped from 27. 4% in 2007 to 27% in 2008. The operating profit margin also dropped from 5. 3% in 2007 to 4. 7% in 2008. This shows poor management of operations indicating the need of strategic planning. Working Capital â€Å"Working capital, defined as the excess of current assets over current liabilities, often increases as the result of higher balances in accounts receivable or inventory necessary to support a project. Such increases are uses of cash and should be included in a discounted-cash-flow analysis† (Hilton 701). In the case of Competition Bikes Inc. the working capital is calculated by finding the difference between total liabilities and total assets. Year six had $1,768,000 in working capital while year seven had $2,123,000. Year eight had more with a total of $2,273,000. The increase in working capital reflects the company’s continual improvement and success. The working capital can be used for many growth opportunities along with cost savings initiatives. Internal control Strengths â€Å"An internal control system is designed to provide reasonable assurance of the achievement of objectives in: (1) the effectiveness and efficiency of operations; (2) reliability of financial reporting; and (3) compliance with laws and regulations† (pg. 569). The internal control strengths of CBI can be found in the supply chain process, purchasing system, and account system. The account department has a satisfactory amount of capital to warranty the company unremitting operation over the fiscal years. They are handling the capital well by not spending excessively. A strong internal control strength is also noted by the company’s activities that are mostly provided for by the company itself. The amount of potential clients is an internal strength because the company has a good chance of attracting and retaining customers. CBI has a strong customer base with viability. The check and balance system is an internal control strength by successfully controlling cash management, sales, and purchases. The supply chain process is an internal control strength. Before manufacturing material have been purchased they go through a process to compare three vendors to ensure the best price is guaranteed. Asking for bids from vendors is an internal strength allowing CBI to pick the lowest cost. The purchasing system revolves on a monthly basis making sure an overstock of inventory does not occur. This strengthen the system as a whole. Internal Control Weaknesses 1. How supplies is ordered could be a potential internal control weakness. Currently CBI is ordering supplies based off of its monthly budget and not a sales trend. This could lead to high amount of inventory with no customer want. 2. Lack of online business and e commerce is an internal control weakness. 3. Sales need to increase. I would suggest focusing on social media and event marketing. The more sales the more cash flow. 4. Self-conducted internal audit can lead to fraud- internal control weakness. 5. Internal weakness of not considering frontline staff’s opinions. There is a notable gap between employees and executives. The company needs to consider the suggestions of the frontline staff. Weakness Corrective Actions 1. Observing market product trend will allow management to better gauge which supplies need ordered. Just because the budget allows for a number of bike A to be ordered doesn’t mean the demand for bike A is out there. They should be replacing bikes as they sell. 2. A website would allow for customers to order bikes online expanding the customer base. It would also allow customers to order individual parts and accessories. Having the option to pay for the bike online gives customers flexibility. The website can be used to market as well. 3. Creating an online marketing campaign via social media will trigger an increase in sales. To decide which social marketing website to use a survey can be filled out prior to receiving item at the cash registers. Marketing at bike competitions with the ability to actually purchase a bike would be a great marketing tool. 4. Contract an outside company to audit the company. This allows CBI to get an outsiders perspective on where weaknesses are. It also prevents anyone from being untruthful. 5. Several employees have said they do not feel their ideas are considered when expressed. Employees are free marketers. You want to engage them as much as possible. I recommend a monthly collaborative session with employees and following through with suggested ideas. Risks 1. Every company is at risk. CBI is at risk due to competition, auditing process, and invoice turnover rate. The auditing process possess a huge risk for internal fraud. Currently the employees are auditing their own work making it easy to cover up mistakes. We know everyone is not perfect and sooner or later someone will make a mistake. It is important to create a culture of accountability to ensue mistakes are brought forward instead of swept under the rug. 2. Another risk is noticed when comparing CBI to its competitors. The risk is decrease in profits. A well-known competitor is offering the same product at a lower price. Currently the competition has engaged in several marketing strategist making CBI look nonexistent. CBI needs to find a way to be competitive with marketing and pricing to stay ahead. 3. An internal control risk can occur when accounting fails to send payable invoices timely. Currently, invoices are typically outstanding for over three months. This is having a strong effect on cash flow and puts the company at risk. When invoices are not paid on time the ordering of parts is also delayed. This has a ripple effect on the company and can effect production deadlines, delivery deadlines, and customer satisfaction. Risk Mitigation Risk mitigation also known as risk management can be completed by forming a risk management team. The risk management team will be composed of interdisciplinary members. This team will ensure the company follows through with all goals pertaining to risk. With the companies best interest in mind a risk management team will allow the company to achieve success. 1. When dealing with an internal control risk such as self-auditing it is key to implement a successful fail proof system. The risk management team should find an outside auditing team that has no inside connections to do all auditing. 2. The competition internal control risk can be resolved by setting marketing goals and by completing a competitor gap analysis. Goals should be detailed and measurable. The gap analysis should also be detailed with sections focusing on marketing strategies, product, accounting processes, and growth. 3. To mediate the accounts payable internal control risk an accounts receivable and payable excel spreadsheet should be created to monitor purchases, invoices, and payments. This should be accessible by both the accounting and purchasing departments. Compliance Sarbanes-Oxley Act was put into place to protect shareholders by prevent fraud. It is a part of the Public Company Accounting reform and Investors Protection Act. Currently the CBI complies with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act by using its internal auditing system. The act also says that all records need to be kept for at least five years. CBI currently has a records department which ensures they abide by this rule. CBI is a simple company with code of conduct and standards to ensure its employees work in a safe uplifting environment. They stay complaint with all regulatory bodies. The executive leadership oversees all operations and updates the appropriate individuals and policies when updates need to be made. Noncompliance Corrective Action The auditing process possess a huge risk for internal fraud and non-compliance. Currently the employees are auditing their own work making it easy to cover up mistakes. We know everyone is not perfect and sooner or later someone will make a mistake. It is important to create a culture of accountability to ensue mistakes are brought forward instead of swept under the rug. When dealing with an internal control risk such as self-auditing it is key to implement a successful fail proof system. The risk management team should find an outside auditing team that has no inside connections to do all auditing. CBI would benefit from a balanced scorecard. â€Å"The balanced scorecard is a model of business performance evaluation that balances measures of financial performance, internal operations, innovation and learning, and customer satisfaction† (Hilton 9). This would allow the company to measure improvement a track areas of weakness. Management currently publishes an internal control annual report to its board of directors. I would suggest, due to possible internal control issues, an accounts receivable and payable excel spreadsheet should be created to monitor purchases, invoices, and payments. This should be accessible by both the accounting and purchasing departments.