The purpose of this assignment is to locate, read, and interpret various public company disclosures.
For this assignment, you will interpret the financial statements of a single company. It is suggested you choose one of the following companies: Apple Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, or Southwest Airlines.
Select a company and locate the investor relations section of the company’s website. Search for various public filings, such as 8-K, 11-K, S-8, and PX14A6G. Assume your supervisor has requested an interpretation of two disclosures filed by Apple, Coca-Cola, or Southwest Airlines during the most recent calendar year. In addition, your supervisor has recently learned about XBRL and would like to know more about XBRL and how it could be helpful in analyzing the selected company’s financial statements.
Utilize the “ACC-656 Sample Memo Format” to create a 400-500-word memo that responds to the four questions below, addressing questions 1 and 2 for each of the two disclosures. Include a references page with a minimum of three external sources to fully support your position.
Describe the intent of the disclosure (i.e., why is the disclosure important to users of the company’s financial statements).
Interpret the information provided in the disclosure by summarizing the details provided in the disclosure. In addition, discuss how an external user may use the information to make a decision regarding the investment in the company.
Discuss why the disclosure of this matter is deemed important enough that the SEC requires it to be disclosed outside of the annual filing of Form 10-K. Include any impact such disclosures may have on the stock value of the company.
Describe XBRL and how it would be used in an analysis of the company’s financial statements.
For Questions 1 and 2 (above), provide separate headings for each individual disclosure so as not to combine the two distinct disclosures.
Prepare this assignment using effective business writing style. Refer to the resource, “Effective Business Writing,” located in the Class Resources, for specific guidelines and formatting requirements.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
