Learning Team Analysis of Financial Statements

Resource: Valley of the Sun United Way website located at http://www.vsuw.org/

Access the Valley of the Sun United Way’s audited financial statements for the most current year.

·         Navigate from the homepage by clicking on About Us and then Ethics & Accountability.

·         Click on the link for Audited Financial Statements.

Review the following statements to prepare for the Learning Team assignment:

·         Combined Statements of Financial Position

·         Combined Statements of Activities

·         Combined Statements of Functional Expenses

·         Combined Statements of Cash Flows

Review the Week Two objectives and discuss additional insights and questions that may have arisen, if needed.

Resource: Valley of the Sun United Way Web site located at http://www.vsuw.org/

Complete the following using the two years of audited financial statements for the Valley of the Sun United Way:

·         Where do you see major increases or decreases in line items?

·         What internal or external factors might have caused those changes in the line items over the course of the year? 

·         What is your hypothesis for the changes? Consider both macro and micro possible causes. 

·         Acting as a financial analyst, what questions would you ask Valley of the Sun United Way’s CFO regarding the changes in the organization’s financial statements over the years? Why is it important that you ask financial questions of the organization?

·         Use at least four financial ratios as performance measures of the organization. Refer to Ch. 5 of Financial Management for Human Service Administrators.

·         Providea SWOT analysis to complete your financial analysis. Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the organization and justify your analysis.     This is my portion of the assignment answer should be about 300 words

Format the paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Submit your responses to the questions.

Individually submit Learning Team Evaluation too.

Content

Points Available

9

Points Earned

X/9

Additional Comments:

All key questions are answered in a substantive way and are supported by specific details, examples, or analysis from the Valley of the Sun United Way’s 2009 audited financial statement:

· Major increases or decreases in line items, taking into consideration both dollar amounts and percentage change.

· Internal or external factors that may have caused those changes in the line items over the course of the year.

· Hypothesis for the changes, considering both macro and micro causes.

· Key questions to ask to Valley of the Sun United Way’s CFO regarding changes in the organization’s financial statements.

· Correct utilization of at least four financial ratios as performance measures.

· Comprehensive SWOT analysis of Valley of the Sun United Way’s financial situation.

Organization / Development

Points Available

3

X/3

· The introduction provides sufficient background on the topic and

previews major points.

· Paragraph transitions are present and logical and maintain the flow

throughout the paper.

· The tone is appropriate to the content and assignment.

· Sentences are complete, clear, and concise.

· Sentences are well-constructed with consistently strong, varied

sentences.

· Sentence transitions are present and maintain the flow of thought.

· The conclusion is logical, flows, and reviews the major points.

Mechanics

· The paper, including the title page, reference page, tables, and appendices, follow APA guidelines for format.

· Citations of original works within the body of the paper follow APA guidelines.

· The paper is laid out with effective use of headings, font styles, and white space.

· Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed.

· Spelling is correct

Total Available

Total Earned

15