The project is an individual one using the assigned case (SEE ATTACHMENT: case for project). The task is to prepare a written proposal for a CFO and CEO for their determination of whether this project should be approved, or at least be kept for further consideration after others are reviewed. It is not a marketing document for a customer; it is not a research paper, but rather an applied exercise using the concepts of the course.

The suggested approach and relevant content are as follows:

• Create a data block
• Create an income statement
• Create a cash flow statement and criteria calculations
• Perform modeling analysis and preliminary report (based on week 10 content)
• Prepare the report
• Review and refine, including TurnItIn review

Submit the financial analysis as a MS Word document and Excel spreadsheet(s).. Submit the final report no later  than July 31st.

The final report should be 8-12 pages in length. The report should include a cover page, an executive summary, and the proposal. The length limit of the report includes the cover page, executive summary, the proposal and appendices if any. A table of contents is optional. The length does not include the separate Excel workbook. A length more than 12 pages will be penalized.

This proposal itself should have an introduction, the financial analysis that explains the critical data and results, discussion of critical variables and their implications for which financial modeling is relevant, and a conclusion While financial statements should be in the Word document (abbreviated versions are recommended), a complete set also should be submitted in a separate Excel file.

Since this is a project for preparing a financial proposal for a CFO/CEO rather than a research paper, APA format is not required. There are not a required number of references. But there is a requirement; inherent in all writing, that if the creative work of others are used it must be cited.  

Submit your finished paper to TurnItIn. Directions for TurnItIn are posted in the Turnitin discussion topic.  This is required. Although students must do the submission to TurnItIn and can make multiple submissions to remove problem areas, the results will be retrieved from the TurnItIn site by the professor when the paper is graded.

Tom Sant (2004), in his book Persuasive Business Proposals, includes the following comments concerning business proposals.

• First and foremost, focus on the reader, their background, and their needs from the report. Do not include any verbiage that a CFO and CEO already know, and especially not anything that tells them how to do their job.
• The focus must be on the project and its relevance to the company, not you the writer. It is not a resume. Therefore, formal business proposals should not contain personal pronouns like “I”, ‘me” or “we”.
• The short executive summary provides the information that the executive uses to decide whether to read any more than the summary. Focus only on what he/she needs to know up front. Get right to the point in the first sentence. State up front the benefits of the proposal with the most important first. This includes results of evaluation criteria (financial and non-financial). Executives use this up front evaluation to decide whether to continue reading and it is referred to as an executive summary for this reason. They immediately need to know what problem will be addressed and the criteria and their results.
• The body of the report contains the details that support the claims stated in the executive summary. Use data to support any claims and show how conclusions were made. Condense the actual data, for instance showing every fifth year or other approach, to give the reader the needed information without losing them in details. Reference the details as being in the spreadsheets. Discuss risks found in a modeling analysis. Suggest actions, besides normal project management, that should be taken before and during the project that would reduce these risks.
• The conclusion of about a page should repeat much of what was in the executive summary, but is stated to reflect the information in the report. Do not request executives to call you with questions as they of course will do that if needed. Rather in the conclusion, summarize the potential, risks, and what the organization needs to do next, including any deadlines.
• Make it compelling…