PAD 5227: Managing Public Financial Resources

Financial Analysis Project

The project is focused on offering an applied project in financial management. You are expected
to analyze a government or not-for-profit organization’s financial condition and make
suggestions for improvement in an approximately five page double-spaced memo, not including
tables, charts, or other exhibits.

Detailed instructions:

Identify an existing organization with some available financial documents, preferably audited
financial statements, SEC filings, annual reports, and/or form 990s. Using those documents and
comparisons to other documents, such as prior periods for the selected organization and
documents from peer organizations, identify key elements of its financial condition. This should
include some form of ratio analysis and may include other relevant forms of analysis. Based on
this analysis, make recommendations for how the organization might improve its financial
position.

Submit the memo for financial analysis together with tables, charts, graphs, pictures, etc. that
you feel support the analysis. These exhibits may be in the body of the memo or at the end. Do
not submit copies of the financial statements used for the analysis, but include links or citations
for them at the end of the memo. Word the memo as if you are advising a senior manager of the
organization in question.

This is a group project (Maximum 3 students in a group). Contribution of each group member
should be specified either in the memo (maybe in a footnote) or in the submission comment.

Grading criteria:

Five elements will be used to evaluate the analysis:

1. Memo: clarity of writing and argumentation
2. Comparisons: relevance and utility of comparisons selected
3. Analysis: accuracy and relevance of calculations and analysis
4. Exhibits: clarity and value of supporting tables, graphs, charts, etc.
5. Recommendations: logic and support for recommendations