The startup of a small business

Executive Summary Paper: You are an analyst for an up and coming business (small-Car dealership ), located in Southeastern United States. The initial plan needs to rise above having only marginal success as a company tasked with analyzing the competition and developing benchmarks for the purpose of both improving profitability and expanding operations.

Identified any competition (list one major brand/company) as your most similar competitor. Your job now is to use multiple tools to analyze your competition’s performance and offer well-researched observations concerning the success and challenges faced by your competition.  You should include an Excel spreadsheet with all calculations.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
I.    Introduction: Provide a concise, professional introduction explaining the purpose of your analysis to your executive.

II.    Horizontal and Vertical Analysis: In this section, you will conduct horizontal and vertical analyses for the balance sheet and income statement accounts and report any significant observations for a two-year period. You should include a table of your calculations as an appendix to your analysis. Specifically discuss the following categories:
A.    Accounts Receivable:
1.    Use basic financial analysis to examine any horizontal changes in competitor’s accounts receivable balances over time.
2.    Use basic financial analysis to examine any vertical changes in competitor’s’ accounts receivable balances over time.
B.    Asset Acquisition, Depreciation, and Amortization:
1.    Use basic financial analysis to examine any horizontal changes in competitor’s fixed assets, intangible assets, depreciation, and amortization over time.
2.    How does competition’s acquisitions affect the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows?
C.    Debt Financing
1.    Use basic financial analysis to examine any horizontal changes in competitor’s short- and long-term debt over time.
2.    Use basic financial analysis to examine any vertical changes in competitor’s short- and long-term debt over time.
3.    Analyze the method of debt financing. In your analysis you should address both current and long-term liabilities, including the issuance of bonds.

III.    Ratio Analysis: Analyze and discuss the financial performance of Starbucks using financial ratios. Include your calculations and amounts in a table in the appendix of your paper. Be sure to show your calculation for each ratio.
D.    Liquidity Ratios
3.    Accurately present and calculate two liquidity ratios for competition.
4.    Discuss what the liquidity ratios reveal about competition, including any description of benchmarks, standard measurements or other types of analysis used once the ratio amount is known.

IV.
E.    Asset Utilization Ratios
C.    Calculate three asset utilization ratios, define why these were chosen, and explain pros/cons of how this effects your competitor.
V.
F.    Debt Utilization Ratios
Determine valuation of what assets are financed through debt. Explain if this helps or hinder your competition.
VI.
G.    Profitability Ratios
3.    Accurately present and calculate two profitability ratios for competitor.
4.    Discuss what the profitability ratios reveal about the company, including any description of benchmarks, standard measurements or other types of analysis used once the ratio amounts are known.

VII.    Conclusion: Provide a concise, professional conclusion to your executive detailing the findings of your analysis. What can you learn from your competitor’s financial statements and performance about determining the overall health of company? Include general suggestions for financial improvements.