Reference no: EM133296925

OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Accounting and Finance

Investment Analysis - R/615/3236
Level 7

Task 1

Tim & Co is building a new factory in Yorkshire, England. They must pay a final construction payment of £ 9,000,000 in six months' time.
Foreign exchange and interest rate quotations are as follows:

You can trade at the following prices:
Spot rate, euro € per British pound sterling £	€1.4876/£
One-year forward exchange rate	€1.4906/£
One-year euro interest rate	4.10 %
One-year pounds' sterling interest rate	3.55%

Prepare a portfolio of evidence that addresses the following questions.
1. Is covered interest arbitrage worthwhile? If so, explain the steps and compute the profit based on an initial transaction of £9,000,000. Briefly discuss your findings.
2. Identify laws and regulations controlling the financial services industry.
3. Assess the principles of direct and indirect taxation and review the implications on a range of business stakeholders.
4. Evaluate the key characteristics of different types of securities and assess the strengths and weaknesses of the securities.

Referencing:
• Each section must reflect any supporting Harvard style citations.
• A comprehensive Harvard style reference list must be included at the end of the work.

Task 2

Air UK & Co PLC is an airline service company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and is based in the UK.
It is a low-cost carrier and has firmly established itself as the UK's leading low fares scheduled passenger airline.
The primary objective of Air UK & Co is to offer airline services at low fares to generate more passenger traffic, whilst maintaining the focus on cost containment and operating efficiencies.
As the strategies, they developed have stimulated demand, Air UK and Co is now looking to invest in another listed company on the LSE which belongs to the economy / value class airline services and provides passengers with an economy class air travel experience.
For this assignment, you are the finance manager of Air UK and Co and are required to develop the business proposal presentation.

Prepare a comprehensive presentation to assess the viability of the business expansion project.
The following requirements need to be addressed when preparing the presentation.
• Review the regulations, policies and procedures used when trading in securities.
• Identify, analyse and review issues in global markets including the London Stock Exchange.
• Evaluate the portfolio management in relation to the investment according to the customer profile and needs.
• Justify appropriate types of savings and investments for the hypothetical expansion of Air UK & Co airline services.
• Explain the principles of investment theory and evaluate the use of securities.
• Demonstrate the underlying concepts of market analysis and efficiency.

Corporate Reporting D/615/3241
Level 7

Task 1
Prepare a formal business report, to be presented to the Directors of your chosen company. You must include the following:
1. An explanation of the main sources for regulatory framework, accounting and corporate concepts, principles and theories.
2. An explanation of the impact of the accounting and finance framework on business organisations in general and your chosen company.
3. Explain and assess specific policies, practices and regulations for your business and the business sector it operates within.
4. An assessment of areas of abuse and exploitation in accounting and financial reporting.
5. An assessment of the importance of accounting concepts, principles and theories.
6. An interpretation and assessment of the published accounting information of your chosen company. You should prepare additional accounting information, for example ratios, in your interpretation and assessment.
You should analyse and assess the following financial statements:
a. Income Statement
b. Statement of Financial Position
c. Cash Flow Statements

Global Finance and Strategy - D/615/3238

Level 7

Case study

Formed in 2000 by the merger of the agronomical divisions of Zeneca and Novartis, Syngenta is one of the world's leading suppliers of seeds and crop protection systems. A multinational company, Syngenta employs 26,000 people across 90 countries. In 2010, its sales exceeded $11 billion. Syngenta's mission is ‘bringing plant potential to life'. It uses the latest science and technology to develop products that help its customers improve crop productivity. Syngenta's products are used by farmers to protect crops against weeds, pests and fungal diseases. The company's herbicides, pesticides and fungicides are usually based on complex chemicals. To develop products that can improve farm output without damaging the natural environment requires intensive Research and Development (R&D). To protect its investment, Syngenta obtains patents for its new products.

In 2008, Syngenta was faced with a major investment decision. As the Amistar range of fungicides moved through its product life cycle, its maximum capacity was approached. Syngenta could not produce more Amistar without investing in its production facilities. A proposal was put forward to expand production through a £150 million investment at the Grangemouth site in Scotland. The company had to decide whether increasing production would be financially viable and a worthwhile investment.

The table below shows estimated cash flow for the Grangemouth expansion project.

Cash flows (£'s million)
Year	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Cash Inflow
Sales		20	400	400	400	400	400	400	400	400
Total Inflow		20	400	400	400	400	400	400	400	400
Cash Outflow
Investment	150
Manufacturing Costs		80	160	160	160	160	160	160	160	160
Sales and Marketing		15	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30
Other Costs		25	25
Total Outflow	150	12	215	190	190	190	190	190	190	190
Net cash flow	-	80	185	210	210	210	210	210	210	210

Task 1

Prepare a report to include:
1. An explanation of the sources of finance, the Syngenta Company, could have used and an assessment of the risks involved in the identified sources.
2. A critical assessment of the costs involved in managing global risk.

3. An analysis of the potential investment decisions and strategies available to the Syngenta Company. Use the data provided to calculate the payback period and accounting rate of return.
4. An assessment of the global environment decisions and strategies affecting the Syngenta Company.

Task 2

You are required to choose a Public Limited Company on which to base your assignment. You are advised to check with your tutor that your choice of company is appropriate.

Prepare a meeting paper that can be used by Company Directors to assess their current Global Finance Strategies.
You must include the following in your meeting paper:

1. An analysis of concept of globalisation and global risks.
2. An assessment of the link between the concept of globalisation and the investment process
3. An explanation of the factors affecting the global business environment.
4. An assessment of the impact of identified factors on national and multinational business organisations
5. An explanation of the current value statement of your chosen business organisation.
6. An explanation of how your chosen business organisation achieves its values and a recommendation of strategies that they could use to enhance their value.
7. An analysis of the strategic decision of your chosen business organisation.
8. An evaluation of the financial consequences of a strategic decision made by your chosen business organisation.
9. An explanation of risk mitigation techniques and an assessment of the suitability of techniques used by a named business organisation to manage their global risk.

Strategic Financial Management - H/615/3242
Level 7

Scenario

You are required to choose a business organisation with which you are familiar in order to identify the organisation's competitive strategies.
In addition, you are asked to identify different business organisations in a similar industry to allow for informative comparisons to be made.

You are advised to check with your tutor that your choice of business organisations is appropriate.

Task 1

Prepare a business report, to be presented to the Directors of your chosen company. You must include the following in your business report:
2. An analysis, using relevant academic theories, of internal and external organisational factors affecting your chosen business organisation.
3. An evaluation of the business resources in your chosen business organisation that are used to meet its organisations objectives.
4. An evaluation of key performance measurement systems.
5. An explanation of the financial analysis techniques used by business organisations.
6. An application of financial analysis systems and techniques to assess the financial performance of the final accounts of your chosen business organisation. For comparison, you should assess the Annual Reports of at least two of the business organisations that you have studied.
7. An explanation of the role of culture in creating a strategy.
8. An analysis of the role of change management.
9. An analysis of the role and effect of culture on change management.
10. An evaluation of key financial theories.
11. An assessment of strategic implementation techniques using balanced scorecard and
portfolio management tools.
12. An application of stakeholder analysis for your chosen business organisation. This should include:
• An analysis of the significance of stakeholder analysis.
• An analysis of business expansion methods and their impact on stakeholders.
• An application of stakeholder analysis to your chosen business organisation.
• Return and risk computations.
• An explanation of the concepts of corporate and business valuation techniques.

Strategic Audit - Y/615/3240

Level 7

Task 1

You have been employed by a large auditing firm as a senior audit practitioner. The audit firm specialises in audit and assurance services across a relatively large geographic area.
You have been asked to prepare a business report to be presented to new members of the audit firm.
You are required to include the following information in your business report.
1. An assessment of historic and current auditing processes and procedures. You are advised to include practical examples based on an audit firm you have researched.
2. An explanation of the rules of professional conduct for auditors.
3. A critical assessment of the rules of professional conduct for auditors.
4. An assessment of current developments in auditing.
5. An assessment of the importance of the current development in audit processes.
6. An explanation of legal and professional requirements when completing an audit.
7. An evaluation of the importance of legal and professional requirements for auditors on the performance of an audit being completed.
8. An analysis of audit strategies used in business organisations.
9. An assessment of the effectiveness of audit monitoring processes.
10. A discussion of the risk involved in the audit process and an analysis of measures to minimize identified risk.
11. An explanation of the link between accounts preparation and audit completed.

Business Research Methods - T/508/0626

Level 7

Task 1

There is no scenario for this assignment. Instead, you must propose an independent, small scale research project about an area of interest to you within a relevant context. Ideally, the research proposal should deal with an opportunity or a problem at the organisation where you are currently employed. Consult with your tutor/supervisor to determine a suitable area of research within the Accounting and Finance discipline.

Instructions

In this task, you will need to produce a research project proposal in which you:

1. Introduction
a. Introduce the problem or opportunity with supporting data and trends.
b. Clearly explain the background to the business problem or opportunity, and justify the reasons for, and the value of, the research to your employer and the wider academic community.
c. Outline the research project's aims and objectives.
d. State the limitations and scope of the proposed research.

2. Literature Review
a. Critically review key literature and recent academic publications around the subject area discussing key definitions, current theoretical frameworks, and research carried out in similar areas.
b. Develop a conceptual and theoretical framework for the research from the literature review explaining how and why it supports and informs your approach the research process.

3. Research Methodology
a. Explain and justify your research approach and strategy.
b. Data collection:
o Discuss data collection methods.
o Select the instrument, design it and justify an appropriate method with an outline of a pre-test/pilot to be included as an appendix.
o Clearly outline the administration of the data collection process.
c. Population and Sampling: Define the research population, sampling strategy and clarify access to respondent issues.
d. Data Analysis: Describe and justify how you propose to analyse and report the results and findings of your research with a discussion about reliability and validity and the management of error.

4. Statement of Ethics
a. Discuss access to respondent issues, permissions from organisation to conduct research, confidentiality, rights of withdrawal, consent, management of data security etc.

5. Timeline
a. Develop a plan using GANTT Chart from start to completion of the research.

Note: Kindly answer Investment Analysis - task 1 of 2 and task 2 of 2

Attachment:- OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Accounting and Finance.rar