1) a spreadsheet containing your horizontal and vertical analysis

You will submit two files: 1) a spreadsheet containing your horizontal and vertical analysis (and perhaps your ratios) and 2) a word document containing your essay.

Choose a publicly traded company and perform an expanded analysis on the financial statements. Please use the most current 10K statements available on www.sec.gov http://www.sec.gov or annual statements in finance.yahoo.com http://finance.yahoo.com.

Part 1: Please complete the following for your chosen firm in an Excel spreadsheet:

1. Horizontal and vertical analysis of the Income Statements for the past three years (all yearly balances set as a percentage of total revenues for that year).

2. Horizontal and vertical analysis of the Balance Sheets for the past three years (all yearly balances set as a percentage of total assets for that year).

3. Ratio analysis (eight ratios of your choosing) for the past three years PLUS a measurement for the creditworthiness of your firm as measured by Altman’s Z-score.

Part 2: The Paper:

 5-6 pages in length.

 Include a proper introduction and conclusion.

Your paper should provide your reader with an overall understanding of the financial health of your chosen firm including the following:

o Discussion of the ratio analysis results, including rationale for the ratios chosen.

o Discussion of all horizontal and vertical analysis.

o Discussion of four items from the management discussion of the firm that support the conclusion formed in your discussion of the financial results.