You are a business analyst working for a company called Combined XYZ Pty Ltd. You have been asked to prepare a business report with statistics in it for the managing director. He wants to know how his business is performing and how the different shops and product lines are selling.
Combined sells XYZ and other computer related items to people across Sydney. Whilst not a discount store, the company attempts to keep prices as low as possible. XYZ and other items are imported mostly from China, but also other countries like Thailand and India. The company offers a complete range of products for home XYZ.
The company was formed through the merger of a number of different computer stores. The business plan was that as a group the company could buy more cheaply than its competitors, and whilst this has been successful, there is now also a larger head office staffed with analysts, sales people, etc. Some of the original owners have sold down their shares, although there are still 2 key original owners who hold a large stake in the company.
Business reports provide information to management on the performance of the business. They need to be accurate, to the point, and not contain any unnecessary information. You need to compile a business report of about 20 pages for the managing director and other managers, such as the CFO and sales manager. Most of the managers in this company are friends of the owner/CEO when he was building up the business. They also are not strong in high powered statistics.
The company has fairly ambitious growth plans. Part of the business report is concerned with if growth forecasts are being achieved.
The data is collected by cash registers operated by the local staff and managers. Whilst the data has some problems it is generally fairly accurate.
2 What you need to do
You need to prepare a business report for Combined XYZ Pty Ltd. Business reports contain almost all graphs and useful information with very little writing. On the front page a memo is needed outlining the key observations to the Managing Director. The memo is only one page. The report will consist of:
Memo on the front page
The business report.
The business report should contain the following graphs:
Business Report and Graphs
Information
Graph
Monthly sales
Bar chart (inc regression)
Yearly Sales
Bar chart
Different product lines revenue
Pareto chart
Monthly sales per store
Bar chart (inc regression)
Comparison of revenue from different stores
Pareto chart
Comparison revenue product types
Pie chart
Daily sales for main three stores
Bar chart
Comparison of sales of different types of XYZ
Pie chart
Comparison of all sales
Pie chart
Comparison of forecast sales with actual
Ogive
Any Other relevant information as required
As required
A excel spread sheet is provided with the assignment with all the collected data.
A linear regression is required of all Monthly sales data. The trend for the data should be included on the graph and the details summarised into the memo to management.
The graphs can be generated using any spread sheet program such as Microsoft Excel, Open Office, Word Perfect or Google Spread sheets.
As with any business report presentation is really important. Poorly presented reports are not read and the information in the report is not communicated effectively. Business reports should be snappy, well presented, with good colours and a good flow of ideas.
This business report is mainly concerned with students demonstrating a good understanding of spreadsheeting tools. As such the content of the graphs is dramatically important. Presentation and the use of more complex charting tools will result in higher marks.
A data file is also provided. You will use this to generate the report.
3 Memo to Management
As part of this assignment, you need to complete a memo to senior managers outlining what is in the report. In the memo you will need to specify:
What you have analysed (reported on)
What time period you have considered
Any significant observations
The memo to management should be only one page.
Other than the memo, there should be very limited amounts of writing in the business report.