Project Final

Project Final.

Project Final

Your Course Project

—A Comparative Analysis of Oracle Corporation and Microsoft
Corporation

Here is the link for the financial statements for Oracle
Corporation for the fiscal year ending 2011. First, select 2011 using the drop-down
arrow labeled for Year on the right-hand side of the page, and then select
Annual Reports using the drop-down arrow labeled Filing Type on the left-hand
side of the page.

You should select the 10k dated 6/28/2011 and choose to
download in PDF, Word, or Excel format.

Here is the link for the financial statements for Microsoft
Corporation for the fiscal year ending 2011. You need to press the word Go on
the left-hand side of the page. Then you should select the 10k dated 7/28/2011
and choose to download in Word or Excel format.

A sample project template is available for download in Doc
Sharing. The sample project compares the ratio performance of Tootsie Roll and
Hershey using the 2012 financial statements of Tootsie Roll and Hershey
provided at their websites.

This
course contains a Course Project. You will be required to submit one draft of
the project at the end of Week 5 and the final, completed project at the end of
Week 7. Using the financial statements for Oracle Corporation and
Microsoft Corporation, respectively, you will calculate and compare the
financial ratios listed further down this document for the fiscal year ending
2011 and prepare your comments about the two companies’ performance based on
your ratio calculations. The entire project will be graded by the instructor at
the end of the final submission in Week 7, and one grade will be assigned for
the entire project.

 For
the Final Submission:

Your final Excel workbook submission should contain the following
items. You cannot use any other software but Excel to complete this project.

1.     A completed worksheet title page
tab, which is really a coversheet with your name, the course, the date, your
instructor’s name, and the title for the project.

2.     A completed worksheet profiles
tab that contains a one-paragraph description regarding each company with
information about their history, what products they sell, where they are
located, and so on.

3.     All 18 ratios for each company,
with the supporting calculations and commentary on your worksheet ratio tab.
Supporting calculations must be shown either as a formula or as text typed into
a different cell. The ratios are listed further down this document. Your
comments for each ratio should include more than just a definition of the
ratio. You should focus on interpreting each ratio number for each company
and support your comments with the numbers found in the ratios.

4.     The Summary and Conclusions
worksheet tab is an overall comparison of how each company compares in terms of
the major category of ratios described in Chapter 13 of your textbook. A nice
way to conclude is to state which company you think is the better investment
and why.

5.     The Bibliography worksheet tab
must contain at least your textbook as a reference. Any other information you
use to profile the companies should also be cited as a reference.

Required Ratios for Final Project Submission

1.     Earnings per Share of Common
Stock

1. Current
   Ratio
2. Gross
   Profit Margin
3. Rate
   of Return on Sales (Net Profit Margin) 
4. Inventory
   Turnover
5. Days’
   Inventory Outstanding (DIO)

7.     Accounts Receivable Turnover

8.     Days’ Sales Outstanding (DSO)

1. Asset
   Turnover
2. Rate
   of Return on Total Assets (ROA)
3. Debt
   Ratio
4. Times
   Interest Earned Ratio
5. Dividend
   Yield [For the purposes of this ratio, use Yahoo Finance to look up
   current dividend yield and stock price; just note the date that you looked
   up this information]
6. Rate
   of Return on Common Stockholders’ Equity (ROE)
7. Free
   Cash Flow
8. Price/Earnings
   Ratio (Multiple) [For the purpose of this ratio, for Oracle, use the
   market price per share on May 30, 2011 and for Microsoft, use the market
   price per share on June 30, 2011.]

The Excel files uploaded in the Dropboxes should not
include any unnecessary numbers or information (such as previous years’ ratios,
ratios that were not specifically asked for in the project, etc.).

Please upload your final submission to the Week 7 Dropbox by
the Sunday ending Week 7.

For the Draft:

Create an Excel spreadsheet or use the project template to
show your computations for the first 10 ratios listed above. The more you can
complete regarding the other requirements, the closer you will be to completion
when Week 7 arrives. Supporting calculations must be shown either as a formula
or as text typed into a different cell. If you plan on creating your own
spreadsheet, please follow the format provided in the Tootsie Roll and Hershey
template file. 

Please upload your draft submission to the Week 5 Dropbox by
the Sunday at the end of Week 5.

Other Helpful information:

If you feel uncomfortable with Excel, you can find many
helpful references on Excel by performing a Google search.

Chapter 13 contains ratio calculations and comparison
comments related to Apple and Dell; you will likely find this information
helpful.

BigCharts.com provides historical stock quotes.

Either APA or MLA style can be used to complete the
references on your Bibliography tab. There is a tutorial for APA and MLA style
within the Syllabus.

Project Final