Reference no: EM131041592

Corporate Governance

One of the most significant debates about corporate governance centers on whether the organization owes a greater responsibility to the shareholder who has invested in the company or to the stakeholders and those who can most be affected by its actions, namely the employees, suppliers, creditors, and customers.

After reviewing the resources for this week, respond to the following:

• Use the Internet to research alternative goals for shareholder wealth maximization.
• Identify countries with goals that differ from the U.S. or countries that are home to firms that have differing goals from those based in the U.S.
• Compare and contrast the difference between stakeholder focus goals versus shareholder focus goals.
• What are potential problems with both?

Please review the Discussion Posting and Response Rubric before posting, and remember to include proper APA citations in all Discussion posts.

Investment Analysis and Recommendation Paper

Understanding Financial Decision Making: Tools for Evaluation

Overview: During the next 7 weeks, you will examine theoretical and empirical points of view and apply the knowledge you have gained from your study and research in order to understand how financial decisions are made within a large publicly traded company that you choose as an exemplar. You will utilize financial tools to evaluate current financial data and use your calculations to justify those decisions. Approach this exercise as though you were a financial consultant who has been asked to analyze the value of the company as a potential investment. This assignment will require access to in-depth financial information, so selecting a company for which this information is easily obtainable will be most beneficial.

You will conduct a detailed analysis of the financial dealings of your selected organization. Each week you will focus on a different aspect of the company's financial information. You will explore the monitoring capabilities of the Board of Directors and use financial tools to compare ratios with one of the firm's competitors. You will establish an estimated growth rate and predict future dividends. In addition, you will use annual reports as a tool in capital budgeting to determine potential real options, establish a market risk premium, calculate the weighted average cost of capital, and compare the mix of debt and equity that the firm uses to an industry average. Finally, you will prepare an executive summary of the company, complete with current stock prices and a recommendation on investing in the business you select. Your paper will contain topics unique to the company chosen, but will incorporate the themes covered each week. Refer to each of the weekly Application areas for further details.

The Investment Analysis and Recommendation Paper will comprise a minimum of 8-10 pages in APA style format. Three to five diagrams and presentation slides may be included, but they will be additional to the required length of the paper. Each week you are required to submit sections of the paper to your Instructor. Each section will then be used as a part of your final analysis and will be included in the complete paper that is due in Week 7.

Please review the Investment Analysis and Recommendation Paper Rubric before beginning, and remember to include proper APA citations in all sections.

This week, select a publicly traded company that you wish to analyze for this paper. Submit the name to your Instructor for approval. Obtain the company's financial statements (annual report) and the most recent proxy statement.

Using the information on the proxy statement:

• Evaluate the monitoring potential of the firm's Board of Directors.
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of how the board is structured, as well as any ethical concerns.

Write a 1-page summary of your findings.