Case Study

As the final assignment for this course, students were assigned one of six distinct challenges. The purpose of each challenge was for students to showcase their communication abilities which would be demonstrated by: evaluating the annual reports of two companies, understanding how operating strategies impact financial statements, and making an evidence-based argument in favor of one of the companies. The final deliverables were a five to seven minute presentation in front of my professor, a panel of my fellow students, and two individuals that were currently employed as accountants. Additionally, a professional styled report was to be handed in along with the presentation.

I solicited ideas from my professor to start building the concept of what I wanted to cover in my report. Being concise in my writing as well as my speaking was very important under the time and writing constraints of the project. I then focused on the annual reports of the companies to gain an understanding of how their businesses operated. Once I had a good grasp on how these companies made money, I exported the companies’ financial statements to Excel to better understand the “financial health” of the company before selecting which company I thought was stronger.

Ultimately, my professor was pleased with the decision that I came to as well as with the evidence that I used to support it. I also received high marks from the panel of industry professionals for my public speaking skills. This positive feedback continued onto my written report and I ended up receiving a strong grade on the project as a whole.