Cost Accounting SEC Term Paper
1.) Company: Xerox: XRX: NYSE
2.Xerox is an interesting company in how they continue to survive in an ever changing in public companies, private companies, government, and personal environments. Technology such as the printing, computers, cloud, email, internet, shared networks and other competition definitely has re-shaped their competitive edge. I would like to see how they remain an effective and large fortune 500 company in this landscape.
3. do my class essays://www.xerox.com/annual-report-2015/pdfs/Xerox-2015-Annual-Report-Form-10K.pdf
4. Forbes 2016 List: #150
5. Income statement : pg 65
Balance Sheet: pg .67
Statement of stockholders equity: pg 69
Statement of Cash Flows: pg 68
In Cost Accounting, the SEC 10K project focuses on cost-related accounts and disclosures found in the financial statements and disclosure of the SEC 10K Report of a manufacturing corporation. Using knowledge learned in prior accounting courses, students compare and contrast the SEC 10K Report of a manufacturing to a non-manufacturing corporation.
ACCT 321: Cost Accounting
SEC 10K Project Requirements
Summary:
This SEC 10-K project challenges students to review, analyze, and interpret financial statements and disclosures of a corporation headquartered in the U.S. To simulate processes used by practicing accountants, students present analyses and findings to the class and participate in a peer review process. The final deliverables include the following: a paper, spreadsheet, and presentation file.
Outcomes: Analyze, interpret, and prepare a report on a U.S. publicly traded manufacturing corporation using its most current SEC 10K report.
Competencies: Review components of SEC 10K Report, analyze financial statements, compare and contrast with SEC 10K Report of non-manufacturing corporation, and interpret results.
Assessments: Assessments will include three documents: a paper, spreadsheet, and presentation.
Microsoft Word document:
? Copy and paste key financial statements into your word document
o They do not affect page count
o You may find graphics in the SEC 10-K that illustrate topics
o These items will assist readers as they review your paper
? Identify highlights of your financial analysis, and contrast to a non-manufacturing (or manufacturing) corporation?s financial statements using your OWN WORDS.
? What do you learn about the company?
? What areas are changing and may be opportunities for cost control and improved profits
? Pricing and Sales: how are sales changing? While the SEC 10-K may not reveal details (consider competitive advantage versus required disclosure)
? As sales change, how does gross profit and net income change?
? Vertical analysis, comparatively, from year to year, is helpful
? Estimated length: five to seven (5-7) pages
? 1 inch margins top & bottom; 1 to 1.25 inches on left & right sides
? Line spacing: single spacing with double spacing between paragraphs
? Font size: 12 CPI
? Font style: Times New Roman
FINAL Microsoft Excel spreadsheet:
he spreadsheet should include 4 worksheets as follows:
1. Company information
2. Income Statement
3. Balance Sheet
4. Financial statement ratios related to accounts specific to cost accounting for your corporation. Vertical and horizontal analysis are important, particularly for the income statement. Consider cost components. How are they changing from year to year? How is the balance sheet, especially stockholders? equity, changing? For example, ratios related to the three inventory accounts, calculation of cost of goods sold, different product line sales in relation to total sales, etc. Be creative and create meaningful cost accounting ratios to assist management?s decision making.
3. Microsoft Power Point presentation:
? Imagine that you are preparing slides to make a formal presentation to the senior management team of the corporation on opportunities for the future.
? You may wish to add audio to the Power Point presentation file or provide speaker?s notes embedded into the file in the notes section.
? Prepare the following
o Cover slide
1. Brief description of corporation
2. Financial statement ratios you created and computed
3. Cost of goods sold calculation
4. Comparison of profitability of various product lines
5. Potential opportunities to control costs in particular product lines, departments, divisions, etc.
6. Recommendations for sustaining existing product(s) lines based on cost analysis
7. Recommendations for eliminating or transitioning existing product(s) lines based on cost analysis
8. Recommendations for potential market opportunities
9. Concluding thoughts
Areas of Focus:
Financial Statments
1.) What does your company produce?
2.) 2. What trends in sales, cost of goods sold, and gross profit do you see?
3.) 3. Take care with the concept of $ dollars. Many financial statements are expressed in millions of $. You would report $895 million for the value $895,000,000. Be a very careful reader.
4.) 4. Diversity in products: comment on divisions and other reporting entitites
5.) 5. Always include the name of your SEC 10-K company in the subject line and the link to your SEC 10-K financial statement when posting
Income Statement
1. Inventory comments: costing information. What do you see? WIP?
2. Inventory: How is inventory described for your SEC 10-K company? LIFO, FIFO, and / or average cost? Relate your answer to topics in our course.
3. Cost and sources for production materials: notice how cost is used in the SEC 10-K
4. Challenges and opportunities you see as you relate our current textbook topics to your company. Details are high level in the SEC 10-K but organizations rely on Cost Accounting.
The postings for the SEC 10-K company should assist you with your SEC 10-K paper and project.
Management Discussion & Analysis
1. The management of risk and uncertainty is often included in the MD&A section comments. What do you learn of interest here?
2. Divisions and Product Lines may be discussed in the MD&A section. What cost accounting issues may arise in these areas as you consider our chapters for the week.
3. Management often explains higher or lower than expected in their comments. Discuss the profitability and other comments in the MD&A section as they relate to our chapters thus on budgets, variance analysis, and management.
MD&A; CSR; Contingencies; Liabilities
Using the SEC 10-K for your company, answer the following questions:
1. Costs and fluctuations are often discussed in the MD&A section. Any comments on your analysis here?
2. Pricing decisions often relate both to knowing your costs as well as to the strategy of pricing. Competition, loss leaders, and other elements may be discussed in the MD&A section. Emerging markets and product lines are also an issue for some companies. What do you learn from your review?
3.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability relate to many issues including pollution and the cost of remediation and hazardous wastes. What do you learn about these topics from the SEC 10-K?
4. Contingencies and liabilities: can they be estimated? Are they probable to occur? What do you learn about your company in this area? How might cost issues including profitability relate to these topics for your company?
