SEC 10-K Project
The SEC 10-K Project is a culmination of the learning, research, and analysis completed on your chosen SEC corporation throughout the course in weekly discussion posts and course projects.
Use the research and analysis, along with an explanation of accounting concepts, to tell a story about your corporation’s financial performance and position.
Part 1: Written Report: SEC 10-K Analysis
Using the Internet, access the SEC 10-K annual report for a publicly-traded company of your choice.
Select a company that is publicly traded and has inventory and accounts receivable. Most students find the SEC 10-K annual report at their company’s web site in sections such as About Us and / or Investor Relations. Look for SEC and Annual Filings (you will often find drop-down menus to click).
Research and secure the SEC 10-K Annual Report for the most recent year. Save the file to your computer for access. Do not print as the report is usually 100 pages or more.
Post the name of your company, the SEC 10-K web link, and how you found the SEC 10-K in the SEC 10-K discussion for approval by your professor.
Review the company’s MD&A as well as financial statements and the accompanying footnotes.
Use this information to prepare your “analytic” results. The SEC 10-K report and the materials from our class are the only resources you should use. Avoid a copy and paste approach except for the presentation of financial statements.
The content of your paper should focus on accounting issues and include words used in our accounting class, including financial accounting as well as managerial accounting. Include details you learned this semester.
Use terms from our class along with the research and financial analysis completed for your SEC 10-K company. The use of headings will label the sections in your paper.
Present inventory turnover, days sales in inventory, days sales in accounts receivable, and other financial ratio analysis from our course, both for the current year and as they relate to changes in accounts from one year to the next.
Explain the financial statements and the information of the SEC 10-K with the knowledge you learn from our class. While not explaining every item in the SEC 10-K, your paper should tell a story and illustrate your mastery of accounting terms and concepts. No more than one page should be devoted to your company’s history and non-financial information.
Part 2: PowerPoint Presentation
A PowerPoint presentation (no more than 10 slides) will also need to be prepared to summarize and cover the highlights of your paper.
Post the presentation in the designated SEC 10-K discussion near the end of the semester to share with other students. Read your classmate’s presentation and provide comments to at least one other posting.
After the discussion week, you should review your PowerPoint presentation and submit the final version in the assignment folder. This is the PowerPoint file to be graded.
The PowerPoint Presentation discussion is part of participation and designed to assist you in creating your final project. However, if you fail to participate in that discussion it may affect the ‘grade’ for your PowerPoint Presentation. Don’t miss the easy points.
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Instructions:
You may benefit from the use of the UMGC writing center. (See:http://www.umgc.edu/ewc/index.shtml)
Start early. You have plenty of time to complete this project. Your paper should consist, at a minimum, of the following:
3 – 4 pages single spaced, double space between paragraphs. Page count does not include title page, tables and exhibits, table of contents, and works cited list.
title page.
bibliography or works cited (business classes use APA format).
in-text citations (business classes use APA format).
tables, and appendixes if you wish to copy and paste financial statements or materials you did not write (these will not be part of the ‘page count’).
Your paper should use one-inch margins on the left, right, top, and bottom of each page, and font set at 12 points.
Take care to comply with the UMGC policy for academic integrity.
Write your paper, in your own words, using accounting words from our textbook and explaining how these relate to the financial statements of your company.
Our discussion postings during the semester should assist you in completing this paper.
Ask questions of your professor on this project.
Visit the Accounting Toolbox in the Course Content of our LEO classroom.
The Accounting Toolbox is a central resource in our UMGC undergraduate accounting courses.
Links and explanations to assist you with this paper may appear in this resource.
