Steps for a Successful Business Analysis: SWOT, Financial Statements, and Strategy

Mission Statement Components

1. Great mission statements address these 9 components:

Customers: Who are the firm’s customers?

Products or services: What are the firm’s major products or services?

Markets: Geographically, where does the firm compete?

Technology: Is the firm technologically current?

Concern for survival, growth, and profitability: Is the firm committed to growth and financial soundness?

Philosophy: What are the basic beliefs, values, aspirations, and ethical priorities of the firm?

Self-concept: What is the firm’s distinctive competence or major competitive advantage?

Concern for public image: Is the firm responsive to social, community, and environmental concerns?

Concern for employees: Are employees a valuable asset of the firm?

2.Analysis of the firm’s existing business model

3.SWOT Analysis (comes from researching the firm, industry, and competitors)

It is important to know the difference between causes and effects in the SWOT analysis. Causes are important, not effects. Once the SWOT Analysis is created, each group needs to construct the SWOT Bivariate Strategy Matrix.

Deliverables for this section include:

a.SWOT Analysis

b.Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix

c.External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix

d.SWOT Bivariate Strategy Matrix

4.BCG Matrix (follow the Strategy Club’s template, not the textbook’s format)

5.Competitive forces, Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM), and competitor’s ratios

Deliverables for this section include:

a.Competitive forces analysis

b.CPM and analysis

c.Competitor’s ratios and analyis

6.Current and historical Financial Statements (Income Statement (I/S), Balance Sheet (B/S) and Statement of Cash Flows) from the 3 most current years for the firm

The financial statements must include changes (deltas) between years.

7.Ratios from the most current and available 3 years with deltas and analysis

8.Alternative strategies (giving advantages and alternatives for each)

Pro-Forma Financial Statements (I/S, B/S and Statement of Cash Flows) with deltas out 3 years and analysis

9.Each year must have 2 columns: 1 with your strategy and 1 without your strategy.

a.Include Pro-Forma ratios for the first year out with deltas contrasting from the most current year’s ratios.

10.Net Present Value analysis of proposed strategy’s new cash flow and EPS/EBIT analysis – you may use Excel to calculate these.

NOTE: To construct the first cash flow (cf1) at the very minimum, the new revenue from your strategy(s) must be discounted back to the present value by calculating EBIT and that figure will be your cfn for each year. cf0 (initial cost of your strategy), cf1 (discounted cash flow first year), r (opportunity cost of capital, the rate of the next best alternative use of cash/debt/equity resources).

11.Specific recommended strategy and long term objectives

Explain why you chose the strategy, and discuss how much the strategy will cost to implement and how much new revenue your strategy will create. Include your action timetable agenda for accomplishing your strategy.

Have your group leader place the results of the case study analysis in a single document and post it to the Group Case Study forum on your Group Discussion Board Forum.