Reference no: EM133516251

Accounting Systems in the Digital Age

Question 1: Interactive Dashboard / Strategic Competitive Position

Using Microsoft Office 365 / Excel, prepare a single interactive dashboard of the key ratios that you feel would help an analyst to evaluate the strategic competitive position of the two companies you have been allocated (see attached list of allocated companies).

Please note, to create the ratios you must use the company data tables provided (i.e., Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet). Ratio calculations should be shown on a separate table / worksheet to the interactive dashboard.

Please select any four ratios from the following categories: Liquidity, Asset Management, Leverage / Debt Management, Profitability, Cash Flow and Market Based Ratios (see ratio analysis lecture material provided).
In addition, to the four ratios selected, students are also required to calculate the Altman Z score for the two companies allocated. Altman Z score calculations should be detailed on a separate worksheet.

The single Dashboard should contain, at a minimum: 1) two different chart types; 2) images of company brand and other graphical images related to each company'sbusiness; 3) filters for data in your charts to engage user interaction with your Dashboard; and 4) Title and text boxes to explain the charts and diagrams in yourDashboard.

Question 2: Excel Case Study: APAC Data Model

Case study detail: - imagine you are a recently appointed graduate accountant in APAC International Limited and your manager has asked you to investigate the overall sales and profitability for the company and to identify key areas for improvement and present your findings to the board. Using Microsoft Office 365 / Excel and the APAC Data Model provided (see Assessment folder), prepare a two-page interactive dashboard of your findings and recommendations. Your analysis should include all areas: customers, products and regions (i.e. locations). Please note, remember to select data model when creating and inserting pivot tables.

The visualisations should contain, at a minimum: 1) two interactive dashboards; 2) different chart types,and tables; 3) calculated fields; 4) filters for data in your visualisations to engage user interaction with visualisation; and 5) Title and text boxes to explain the charts and diagrams in yourvisualisations.

Question 3: Cash Budget

Using Microsoft Office 365 / Excel create a cash budget (use dynamic arrays where possible) for September to December 2023 for Pasta Food Services, a small food provider to retail outlets. The staff of the firm has compiled the following set of assumptions and forecasts to be used in the cash budgeting process:

(1) Actual and expected sales through to January are as follows:

Note: * July and August sales are actual
(2) 50% of sales are for cash. Of the remaining 50% of sales, 60% is collected in the following month and 40% is collected two months after the sale.
(3) Raw materials inventory purchases are equal to 50% of the following month's sales (e.g., July purchases are 50% of expected August sales). 70% of purchases are paid for in the month following the purchase, and the remainder are paid in the following month.
(4) Wages are forecast to be equal to 25% of expected sales.
(5) Payments for leases for equipment are $15,000 per month.
(6) Tax payments of $25,000 will be paid in September and December.
(7) $160,000 is scheduled to be paid in October for capital investment, but management is flexible on the scheduling of this outlay. Use the Scenario Manager to show the optimal month for the investment.
(8) Pasta Food Services must keep a minimum cash balance of $20,000 by agreement with its bank. Its cash balance at the end of August was $35,000.