In the final weeks of the course, you will be required to complete a financial analysis of a company of your choice. This project is a fantastic opportunity for you to apply the theories we’ve discussed to a real-world healthcare organization. The intent of this assignment is to evaluate the financial and operational health of the company. You may pursue, analyze and synthesize any information source you choose (e.g., website content, current resident personal interviews, organizational documentation, etc). Feel free to get creative in your information gathering to paint a comprehensive picture. During the development process you will also be asked to review the work of your peers, provide feedback, and help support their development effort. This will also help you (1) learn about other organizations and (2) benchmark your efforts against the work of your peers. This collaborative process is designed to mimic professional environments where peer review is a crucial component of quality assurance.

Your final presentation should be professional, clear, and logical. Think of your audience as executives who need concise and actionable insights. A review of the organization’s location, primary market, competitors, and products/services should be included as an introduction to the company. From a financial perspective, your final presentations should contain analysis and discussion on 2 ratios from each of the primary financial ratio categories discussed in Week 5 (e.g., liquidity, profitability, operating efficiency, and capital structure). Selecting the most telling ratios for your specific company will be a key part of your analytical task. A five-year trend analysis – including the most recent year of available information/data – is expected for each ratio selected (8 ratios total trended for five years). You are required to interpret the ratios and provide your perspectives on the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. Your interpretation is where you truly demonstrate your understanding, moving beyond mere calculation. Simply reporting the data is not sufficient. You must be prepared to explain what the data means. Connecting the numbers back to the company’s strategic position and operational reality is essential. Ultimately, we want to know if the organization is financially sound and has strong long-term growth prospects. Why or why not?

Grading will focus on content development, depth of analysis and professionalism of delivery. We are looking for a compelling narrative supported by solid data. Your final deliverable will be a presentation of no more than 10 minutes in length, developed in an MS PowerPoint slide deck suitable for presentation to the Board of Directors or a C-Suite executive team. The strict time limit requires you to be disciplined in your messaging, focusing only on the most critical findings.

For this preliminary assignment, you are required to submit preparatory materials in narrative format which you will convert in Presenter’s notes for the final presentation. Laying this groundwork now will make the final presentation assembly much smoother. This week is dedicated to selection and careful review of available materials to ensure you can be successful in completing your final project. For this assignment, complete the following:

• Introduction of the organization you chose to include its location, primary market served, competitors, and the products / services provided. This section sets the stage for your entire financial narrative.
• The main part of the submission should be dedicated to the selection and preliminary calculations (show the math in the Presenter’s notes) of 2 ratios from each of the primary ratio categories (e.g., liquidity, profitability, operating efficiency, and capital structure). Carefully consider your selected ratios within each category and ensure all of the data necessary to fully complete the analysis for the final project is available for your target organization. Your rationale for choosing specific ratios is just as important as the calculations themselves. Note: this step may prompt you to change your target organization due to data non-availability. Recall that for your final deliverable a five-year trend analysis – including the most recent year of available information/data – is expected for each ratio selected. A preliminary data check is a crucial risk management step in this project. You will be required to show the data, interpret each of the ratios you have selected, and provide your perspectives on the financial strengths and weaknesses of the organization. Week 5 is your opportunity to develop a draft and receive the faculty’s feedback that may help you improve the final product. Take full advantage of this feedback loop to refine your analysis before the final submission.
• The benchmarking and financial key performance indicator analysis for the chosen organization should be conducted in detail for the final project. Create outline with the main ideas you will be discussing in week 11. Your outline should serve as a clear roadmap for your final presentation’s narrative.
• Locate and reference the source data for the financial statements you plan to use (and used for the draft in week 5) for your final project. Properly citing your data sources is a fundamental component of academic and professional integrity.

The Final Project Healthcare Financial Analysis Project Part 1 – “Organization Selection/Ratio Analysis” is due no later than 11:59pm ET on Tuesday. Please be mindful of the deadline to ensure you receive timely feedback for the next stage. Propose a financial health assessment of a selected company, detailing its competitive landscape and providing perspectives on its long-term viability for your final project.