Write a 4-6 page paper in which you address the following:
Assess how globalization and technology changes have impacted the corporation you researched.
Apply the industrial organization model and the resource-based model to determine how your corporation could earn above-average returns.
Assess how the vision statement and mission statement of the corporation influence its overall success.
Evaluate how each category of stakeholder impacts the overall success of this corporation.
Use the Strayer University Online Library or the Internet to locate and include at least three quality references. Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do not qualify as academic resources
Assume that a corporation needs to enter the private debt market to raise funds for plant expansion. The corporation expects debt covenants to place restrictions on the levels of its current ratio and total-liabilities-to-assets ratio. Considering the accounts that comprise these ratios, provide examples of accounting estimates, accounting judgments, and structured transactions that the lender should examine closely and explain why each is important. In replies to peers, discuss additional information the lender should consider.
Carol, a local interior designer, just joined the XYZ Corporation Board of Directors. XYZ Corporation produces cell phones and laptop computers. Carol was very excited about being elected to the Board and planned to work diligently and ethically. The Corporation’s attorney gave Carol a welcome packet that included, among other things, a copy of the complete Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. He told her to review the packet and let him know if she had any questions. Another reason Carol was excited to be part of the Board was that her husband was the Lead Auditor from ABC Corp. ABC Corp was the outside auditing firm that XYZ used. In fact, he had been the Lead Auditor for over 8 years and after the completion of this year’s audit, he was hosting a party for all the officers and directors of XYZ the most expensive restaurant in town. (Secretly he was trying to figure how to bill back a portion of the restaurant’s bill to XYZ Corporation.) Carol, as the newest member of the Board was also asked to serve on the Audit Committee of the Board. (This Committee chooses whether to retain the current outside auditing firm.) She was also asked to serve on the Nominations Committee and the Compensation Committee. The Board meets 10 times a year and each Board member is paid $5,000 per meeting. Each Committee meets between 10-15 times per year (many times after the regular Board meeting.) The payment for attending Committee meetings is $2,000 per meeting. Do you see any violations to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act? If so, how could they be resolved? Prepare a 3-4 page reflection paper answering the questions listed above. Your paper does not need a cover sheet and please use 12 pt font and double space.
Imagine that you are working in the role of a senior level network administrator for the IT Guru corporation. The IT Guru corporation is a mid-sized Information Technology consultancy with locations in North America, Europe, and Asia with 5000 employees and 36 offices founded in 1999.
Your organization is expanding its technology footprint, exploring emerging technologies, and consulting clients on information technology strategies and solutions. In your role, you provide recommendations on technology selection and implementation to support the needs of your organization and you are also an advisor to the consulting teams that assess and recommend technology strategies for their clients.
You have been invited to a meeting with your Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Global Sales to discuss the concepts of cloud computing and explain the different cloud services that are available. You will be provided with 30 minutes to present your ideas and this will require 10 slides.
To complete this assignment, complete the following:
Create a 10 slide PowerPoint presentation that includes the following:
Introduction slide
Discuss the concept of cloud computing and the types of cloud services available to include SAAS, PAAS, and IAAS. (3 slides)
Provide an explanation of the components of cloud infrastructure that will need to be adopted to create a cloud platform. (3 slides)
Explain cloud computing strategies to include IOT devices, security, performance, and management. (2 slides)
Panarin Company entered into two contracts on the same date with Hjalmarsson Corporation. Panarin has provided the following analysis of price and cost for the contracts:
Contract AContract BContract price$125,000 $80,000 Cost of related goods 70,000 55,000 Gross profit (loss)$55,000 $25,000
Hjalmarsson, the customer, may cancel both contracts if either of them is not fulfilled by Panarin in a timely manner. Stand-alone prices are typically $120,000 for the goods in Contract A and $80,000 for the goods in Contract B.
Required:
Should the two contracts be combined for purposes of applying the five-step revenue recognition model?
What amount of revenue should Panarin associate with each of the contracts?
When should revenue be recognized on each of the contracts?
Waterways (Chapter 19) For this assignment, you will apply what you have learned from the unit lesson and required unit resources. The Waterways (WP19) case is located on page 19-39 of the textbook. Waterways Corporation is a private corporation formed for the purpose of providing the products and the services needed to irrigate farms, parks, commercial projects, and private lawns. It has a centrally located factory in a U.S. city that manufactures the products it markets to retail outlets across the nation. It also maintains a division that performs installation and warranty servicing in six metropolitan areas. The mission of Waterways is to manufacture quality parts that can be used for effective irrigation projects that also conserve water. By that effort, the company hopes to satisfy its customers, perform rapid and responsible service, and serve the community and the employees who represent them in each community. The company has been growing rapidly, so management is considering new ideas to help the company continue its growth and maintain the high quality of its products. Waterways was founded by Will Winkman, who is the company president and chief executive officer (CEO). Working with him from the company’s inception is Will’s brother, Ben, whose sprinkler designs and ideas about the installation of proper systems have been a major basis of the company’s success. Ben is the vice president who oversees all aspects of design and production in the company. The factory itself is managed by Todd Senter, who hires his line managers to supervise the factory employees. The factory makes all of the parts for the irrigation systems. The purchasing department is managed by Helen Hines. The installation and training division is overseen by vice president, Henry Writer, who supervises the managers of the six local installation operations. Each of these local managers hires his or her own local service people. These service employees are trained by the home office under Henry Writer’s direction because of the uniqueness of the company’s products. There is a small human resources department under the direction of Sally Fenton, a vice president who handles the employee paperwork, though hiring is actually performed by the separate departments. Teresa Totter is the vice president who heads the sales and marketing area; she oversees 10 well-trained salespeople. The accounting and finance division of the company is headed by Ann Headman, who is the chief financial officer (CFO) and a company vice president; she is a member of the Institute of Management Accountants and holds a certificate in management accounting. She has a small staff of accountants, including a controller and a treasurer, and a staff of accounting input operators who maintain the financial records. A partial list of Waterways’ accounts and their balances for the month of November is itemized below. Accounts Receivable $275,000 Advertising Expenses 54,000 Cash 260,000 Depreciation – Factory Equipment 16,800 Depreciation – Office Equipment 2,400 Direct Labor 42,000 Factory Supplies Used 16,800 Factory Utilities 10,200 Finished Goods Inventory, November 30 68,800 Finished Goods Inventory, October 31 72,550 Indirect Labor 48,000 Office Supplies Expense 1,600 Other Administrative Expenses 72,000 Prepaid Expenses 41,250 Raw Materials Inventory, November 30 52,700 Raw Materials Inventory, October 31 38,000 Raw Materials Purchases 184,500 Rent – Factory Equipment 47,000 Repairs – Factory Equipment 4,500 Salaries 325,000 Sales Revenue 1,350,000 Sales Commissions 40,500 Work in Process Inventory, October 31 52,700 Work in Process Inventory, November 30 42,000 Instructions: Based on the information given, construct an organizational chart of the Waterways Corporation. You may create the organizational chart in Microsoft Word or Excel. A list of accounts and their values are given above. From this information, prepare a cost of goods manufactured schedule, an income statement, and a partial balance sheet for the month of November, which should be created using Excel. If you elect to create your organizational chart in a Word document, then you will need to submit both a Word document (containing the organizational chart) and an Excel document (containing the cost of goods manufactured schedule, income statement, and partial balance sheet). If you elect to create your organizational chart in Excel, you will only submit an Excel document, which would contain all components of the assignment. APA formatting is not necessary.
CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR ORDER on ways Corporation is a private corporation formed for the purpose of providing the products and the services needed to irrigate farms, parks, commercial projects, and private lawns.
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A startup business plan serves several purposes. It can help convince investors or lenders to finance your business. It can persuade partners or key employees to join your company. Most importantly, it serves as a roadmap guiding the launch and growth of your new business.
Writing a business plan is an opportunity to carefully think through every step of starting your company so you can prepare for success. This is your chance to discover any weaknesses in your business idea, identify opportunities you may not have considered, and plan how you will deal with challenges that are likely to arise. Be honest with yourself as you work through your business plan. Don’t gloss over potential problems; instead, figure out solutions.
A good business plan is clear and concise. A person outside of your industry should be able to understand it. Avoid overusing industry jargon or terminology.
Most of the time involved in writing your plan should be spent researching and thinking. Make sure to document your research, including the sources of any information you include.
Avoid making unsubstantiated claims or sweeping statements. Investors, lenders and others reading your plan will want to see realistic projections and expect your assumptions to be supported with facts.
This template includes instructions for each section of the business plan, followed by corresponding fillable worksheet/s.
The last section in the instructions, “Refining Your Plan,” explains ways you may need to modify your plan for specific purposes, such as getting a bank loan, or for specific industries, such as retail.
Proofread your completed plan (or have someone proofread it for you) to make sure it’s free of spelling and grammatical errors and that all figures are accurate.
The undersigned reader acknowledges that any information provided by _________________________ in this business plan, other than information that is in the public domain, is confidential in nature, and that any disclosure or use of same by the reader may cause serious harm or damage to ________________________. Therefore, the undersigned agrees not to disclose it without express written permission from ________________________________.
Upon request, the undersigned reader will immediately return this document to ___________________________.
___________________ Signature
___________________ Name (typed or printed)
___________________ Date
This is a business plan. It does not imply an offering of securities.
Table of Contents Confidentiality Agreement 3 I. Executive Summary 5 Executive Summary 6 II. Company Description 7 Company Description Worksheet 8 III. Products & Services 9 Product & Service Description Worksheet 10 IV. Marketing Plan 11 SWOT Analysis Worksheet 12 Competitor Data Collection Plan 14 Competitive Analysis Worksheet 15 Marketing Expenses Strategy Chart 17 Pricing Strategy Worksheet 19 Distribution Channel Assessment Worksheet 21 V. Operational Plan 23 VI. Management & Organization 25 Management Worksheet 26 Organization Chart 27 VII. Startup Expenses & Capitalization 28 VIII. Financial Plan 29 IX. Appendices 31 X. Refining the Plan 32 Now That You’re (Almost) Finished . . . 34
The Executive Summary is the most important part of your business plan. Often, it’s the only part that a prospective investor or lender reads before deciding whether or not to read the rest of your plan. It should convey your enthusiasm for your business idea and get readers excited about it, too.
Write your Executive Summary LAST, after you have completed the rest of the business plan. That way, you’ll have thought through all the elements of your startup and be prepared to summarize them.
The Executive Summary should briefly explain each of the below.
1. An overview of your business idea (one or two sentences).
2. A description of your product and/or service. What problems are you solving for your target customers?
3. Your goals for the business. Where do you expect the business to be in one year, three years, five years?
4. Your proposed target market. Who are your ideal customers?
5. Your competition and what differentiates your business. Who are you up against, and what unique selling proposition will help you succeed?
6. Your management team and their prior experience. What do they bring to the table that will give your business a competitive edge?
7. Financial outlook for the business. If you’re using the business plan for financing purposes, explain exactly how much money you want, how you will use it, and how that will make your business more profitable.
Limit your Executive Summary to one or two pages in total.
After reading the Executive Summary, readers should have a basic understanding of your business, should be excited about its potential, and should be interested enough to read further.
After you’ve completed your business plan, come back to this section to write your executive summary on the next page.
This section explains the basic elements of your business. Include each of the below:
1. Company mission statement
A mission statement is a brief explanation of your company’s reason for being. It can be as short as a marketing tagline (“MoreDough is an app that helps consumers manage their personal finances in a fun, convenient way”) or more involved: (“Doggie Tales is a dog daycare and grooming salon specializing in convenient services for urban pet lovers. Our mission is to provide service, safety and a family atmosphere, enabling busy dog owners to spend less time taking care of their dog’s basic needs and more time having fun with their pet.”) In general, it’s best to keep your mission statement to one or two sentences.
2. Company philosophy and vision
a. What values does your business live by? Honesty, integrity, fun, innovation and community are values that might be important to your business philosophy.
b. Vision refers to the long-term outlook for your business. What do you ultimately want it to become? For instance, your vision for your doggie day-care center might be to become a national chain, franchise or to sell to a larger company.
3. Company goals
Specify your long- and short-term goals as well as any milestones or benchmarks you will use to measure your progress. For instance, if one of your goals is to open a second location, milestones might include reaching a specific sales volume or signing contracts with a certain number of clients in the new market.
4. Target market
You will cover this in-depth in the Marketing Plan section. Here, briefly explain who your target customers are.
5. Industry
Describe your industry and what makes your business competitive: Is the industry growing, mature or stable? What is the industry outlook long-term and short-term? How will your business take advantage of projected industry changes and trends? What might happen to your competitors and how will your business successfully compete?
6. Legal structure
a. Is your business a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership or corporation? Why did you choose this particular form of business?
b. If there is more than one owner, explain how ownership is divided. If you have investors, explain the percentage of shares they own. This information is important to investors and lenders.
After reading the Company Description, the reader should have a basic understanding of your business’s mission and vision, goals, target market, competitive landscape and legal structure.
Use the Company Description worksheet on the next page to help you complete this section.
This section expands on the basic information about your products and services included in the Executive Summary and Company Description. Here are some items to consider:
1. Your company’s products and/or services: What do you sell, and how is it manufactured or provided? Include details of relationships with suppliers, manufacturers and/or partners that are essential to delivering the product or service to customers.
2. The problem the product or service solves: Every business needs to solve a problem that its customers face. Explain what the problem is and how your product or service solves it. What are its benefits, features and unique selling proposition? Yours won’t be the only solution (every business has competitors), but you need to explain why your solution is better than the others, targets a customer base your competitors are ignoring, or has some other characteristic that gives it a competitive edge.
3. Any proprietary features that give you a competitive advantage: Do you have a patent on your product or a patent pending? Do you have exclusive agreements with suppliers or vendors to sell a product or service that none of your competitors sell? Do you have the license for a product, technology or service that’s in high demand and/or short supply?
4. How you will price your product or service: Describe the pricing, fee, subscription or leasing structure of your product or service. How does your product or service fit into the competitive landscape in terms of pricing—are you on the low end, mid-range or high end? How will that pricing strategy help you attract customers? What is your projected profit margin?
Include any product or service details, such as technical specifications, drawings, photos, patent documents and other support information, in the Appendices.
After reading the Products & Services section, the reader should have a clear understanding of what your business does, what problem it solves for customers, and the unique selling proposition that makes it competitive.
Use the Product and Service Description Worksheet on the next page to help you complete this section.
This section provides details on your industry, the competitive landscape, your target market and how you will market your business to those customers.
Market research
There are two kinds of research: primary and secondary. Primary market research is information you gather yourself. This could include going online or driving around town to identify competitors; interviewing or surveying people who fit the profile of your target customers; or doing traffic counts at a retail location you’re considering.
Secondary market research is information from sources such as trade organizations and journals, magazines and newspapers, Census data and demographic profiles. You can find this information online, at libraries, from chambers of commerce, from vendors who sell to your industry or from government agencies.
This section of your plan should explain:
· The total size of your industry
· Trends in the industry – is it growing or shrinking?
· The total size of your target market, and what share is realistic for you to obtain
· Trends in the target market – is it growing or shrinking? How are customer needs or preferences changing?
Barriers to entry
What barriers to entry does your startup face, and how do you plan to overcome them? Barriers to entry might include:
· High startup costs
· High production costs
· High marketing costs
· Brand recognition challenges
· Finding qualified employees
· Need for specialized technology or patents
· Tariffs and quotas
· Unionization in your industry
Threats and opportunities
Once your business surmounts the barriers to entry you mentioned, what additional threats might it face? Explain how the following could affect your startup:
· Changes in government regulations
· Changes in technology
· Changes in the economy
· Changes in your industry
Use the SWOT Analysis Worksheet on the next page to identify your company’s weaknesses and potential threats, as well as its strengths and the potential opportunities you plan to exploit.
Can any of your strengths help with improving your weaknesses or combating your threats? If so, please describe how below.
Based on the information above, what are your immediate goals/next steps?
Based on the information above, what are your long-term goals/next steps?
Product/service features and benefits
Describe all of your products or services, being sure to focus on the customer’s point of view. For each product or service:
· Describe the most important features. What is special about it?
· Describe the most important benefits. What does it do for the customer?
In this section, explain any after-sale services you plan to provide, such as:
·
21
· Product delivery
· Warranty/guarantee
· Service contracts
· Ongoing support
· Training
· Refund policy
Target customer
Describe your target customer. (This is also known as the ideal customer or buyer persona.)
You may have more than one target customer group. For instance, if you sell a product to consumers through distributors, such as retailers, you have at least two kinds of target customers: the distributors (businesses) and the end users (consumers).
Identify your target customer groups, and create a demographic profile for each group that includes:
For consumers:
·
· Age
· Gender
· Location
· Income
· Occupation
· Education level
For businesses:
·
· Industry
· Location
· Size
· Stage in business (startup, growing, mature)
· Annual sales
Key competitors
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in a business plan is to claim you have “no competition.” Every business has competitors. Your plan must show that you’ve identified yours and understand how to differentiate your business. This section should:
List key companies that compete with you (including names and locations), products that compete with yours and/or services that compete with yours. Do they compete across the board, or just for specific products, for certain customers or in certain geographic areas?
Also include indirect competitors. For instance, if you’re opening a restaurant that relies on consumers’ discretionary spending, then bars and nightclubs are indirect competitors.
Use the Competitor Data Collection Plan on the next page to brainstorm ways you can collect information about competitors in each category.
For each factor listed in the first column, assess whether you think it’s a strength or a weakness (S or W) for your business and for your competitors. Then rank how important each factor is to your target customer on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = very important; 5 = not very important). Use this information to explain your competitive advantages and disadvantages.
FACTOR
Me
Competitor A
Competitor B
Competitor C
Importance to Customer
Products
Price
Quality
Selection
Service
Reliability
Stability
Expertise
Company Reputation
Location
Appearance
Sales Method
Credit Policies
Advertising
Image
Positioning/Niche
Now that you’ve assessed your industry, product/service, customers and competition, you should have a clear understanding of your business’s niche (your unique segment of the market) as well as your positioning (how you want to present your company to customers). Explain these in a short paragraph.
How you will market your product/service
In this section, explain the marketing and advertising tactics you plan to use.
Advertising may include:
· Online
· Print
· Radio
· Cable television
· Out-of-home
Which media will you advertise in, why and how often?
Marketing may include:
· Business website
· Social media marketing
· Email marketing
· Mobile marketing
· Search engine optimization
· Content marketing
· Print marketing materials (brochures, flyers, business cards)
· Public relations
· Trade shows
· Networking
· Word-of-mouth
· Referrals
What image do you want to project for your business brand?
What design elements will you use to market your business? (This includes your logo, signage and interior design.) Explain how they’ll support your brand.
Promotional budget
How much do you plan to spend on the marketing and advertising outreach above:
· Before startup (These numbers will go into your startup budget)
· On an ongoing basis (These numbers will go into your operating plan budget)
Use the Marketing Expenses Strategy Chart on the next page to help figure out the cost of reaching different target markets.
You explained pricing briefly in the “Products & Services” section; now it’s time to go into more detail. How do you plan to set prices? Keep in mind that few small businesses can compete on price without hurting their profit margins. Instead of offering the lowest price, it’s better to go with an average price and compete on quality and service.
· Does your pricing strategy reflect your positioning?
· Compare your prices with your competitors’. Are they higher, lower or the same? Why?
· How important is price to your customers? It may not be a deciding factor.
· What will your customer service and credit policies be?
Use the Pricing Strategy Worksheet on the next page to help with your pricing.
Which of the following pricing strategies will you employ? Circle one.
Cost PlusThe costs of making/obtaining your product or providing your service, plus enough to make a profit
Value BasedBased on your competitive advantage and brand (perceived value)
Other:
Provide an explanation of your pricing model selection. Include strategy info on your major product lines/service offerings. List industry/market practices and any considerations to be discussed with your mentor.
Location or proposed location
If you have a location picked out, explain why you believe this is a good location for your startup.
If you haven’t chosen a location yet, explain what you’ll be looking for in a location and why, including:
· Convenient location for customers
· Adequate parking for employees and customers
· Proximity to public transportation or major roads
· Type of space (industrial, retail, etc.)
· Types of businesses nearby
Focus on the location of your building, not the physical building itself. You’ll discuss that later, in the Operations section.
Distribution channels
What methods of distribution will you use to sell your products and/or services? These may include:
· Retail
· Direct sales
· Ecommerce
· Wholesale
· Inside sales force
· Outside sales representatives
· OEMs
If you have any strategic partnerships or key distributor relationships that will be a factor in your success, explain them here.
If you haven’t yet finalized your distribution channels, use the Distribution Channel Assessment Worksheet on the next page to assess the pros and cons of each distribution channel you are considering.
If you’ve already made some sales, you can use those as a basis for your projections. If, like most startups, you haven’t sold anything yet, you’ll need to create estimates based on your market research, your proposed marketing strategies and your industry data.
Create two forecasts: a “best guess” scenario (what you really expect) and a “worst case” scenario (one you’re confident you can reach no matter what).
Keep notes on the research and assumptions that go into developing these sales forecasts. Financing sources will want to know what you based the numbers on.
After reading the Marketing Plan section, the reader should understand who your target customers are, how you plan to market to them, what sales and distribution channels you will use, and how you will position your product/service relative to the competition.
A SCORE mentor can help you complete your Marketing Plan tailored for your business.Find a SCORE mentor.
This section explains the daily operation of your business, including its location, equipment, personnel and processes.
1. Production
How will you will produce your product or deliver your service? Describe your production methods, the equipment you’ll use and how much it will cost to produce what you sell.
Quality control
How will you maintain consistency? Describe the quality control procedures you’ll use.
Location
Where is your business located? You briefly touched on this in the Company Overview. In this section, expand on that information with details such as:
a. The size of your location
b. The type of building (retail, industrial, commercial, etc.)
c. Zoning restrictions
d. Accessibility for customers, employees, suppliers and transportation if necessary
e. Costs including rent, maintenance, utilities, insurance and any buildout or remodeling costs
f. Utilities
Legal environment
What type of legal environment will your business operate in? How are you prepared to handle legal requirements? Include details such as:
g. Any licenses and/or permits that are needed and whether you’ve obtained them
h. Any trademarks, copyrights or patents that you have or are in the process of applying for
i. The insurance coverage your business requires and how much it costs
j. Any environmental, health or workplace regulations affecting your business
k. Any special regulations affecting your industry
l. Bonding requirements, if applicable
Personnel
What type of personnel will your business need? Explain details such as:
m. What types of employees? Are there any licensing or educational requirements?
n. How many employees will you need?
o. Will you ever hire freelancers or independent contractors?
p. Include job descriptions.
q. What is the pay structure (hourly, salaried, base plus commission, etc.)?
r. How do you plan to find qualified employees and contractors?
s. What type of training is needed and how will you train employees?
· What kind of inventory will you keep on hand (raw materials, supplies, finished products)?
· What will be the average value of inventory (in other words, how much are you investing in inventory)?
· What rate of inventory turnover do you expect? How does this compare to industry averages?
· Will you need more inventory than normal during certain seasons? (For instance, a retailer might need additional inventory for the holiday shopping season.)
· What is your lead time for ordering inventory?
Suppliers
List your key suppliers, including:
· Names, addresses, websites
· Type and amount of inventory furnished
· Their credit and delivery policies
· History and reliability
· Do you expect any supply shortages or short-term delivery problems? If so, how will you handle them?
· Do you have more than one supplier for critical items (as a backup)?
· Do you expect the cost of supplies to hold steady or fluctuate? If the latter, how will you deal with changing costs?
· What are your suppliers’ payment terms?
Credit policies
If you plan to sell to customers on credit, explain:
· Whether this is typical in your industry (do customers expect it)?
· What your credit policies will be. How much credit will you extend? What are the criteria for extending credit?
· How will you check new customers’ creditworthiness?
· What credit terms will you offer?
· Detail how much it will cost you to offer credit, and show that you’ve built these costs into your pricing structure.
· How will you handle slow-paying customers? Explain your policies, such as when you will follow up on late payments, and when you will get an attorney or collections agency involved.
After reading the Operational Plan section, the reader should understand how your business will operate on a day-to-day basis.
This section should give readers an understanding of the people behind your business, their roles and responsibilities, and their prior experience. If you’re using your business plan to get financing, know that investors and lenders carefully assess whether you have a qualified management team.
1. Biographies
Include brief biographies of the owner/s and key employees. Include resumes in the Appendix. Here, summarize your experience and those of your key employees in a few paragraphs per person. Focus on the prior experience and skills that have prepared your team to succeed in this business. If anyone has previous experience starting and growing a business, explain this in detail.
2. Gaps
Explain how you plan to fill in any gaps in management and/or experience. For instance, if you lack financial know-how, will you hire a CFO or retain an accountant? If you don’t have sales skills, will you hire an in-house sales manager or use outside sales reps?
3. Advisors
List the members of your professional/advisory support team, including:
a. Attorney
b. Accountant
c. Board of directors
d. Advisory board
e. Insurance agent
f. Consultants
g. Banker
h. Mentors and other advisors
If they have experience or specializations that will increase your chances of success, explain. For instance, does your mentor have experience launching and growing a similar business?
4. Organization Chart
Develop and include an organization chart. This should include both roles that you’ve already filled and roles you plan to fill in the future.
After reading the Management & Organization section, the reader should feel confident that you have a qualified team leading your business.
Use the Management Worksheet and Organization Chart on the next two pages to highlight your management team.
In this section, detail the expenses involved in opening for business and how much capital you’ll need. (Do not include ongoing expenses after your business opens; those are listed in the Financial Plan.) Estimating startup expenses as accurately as possible helps you gather enough startup capital.
1. Start-Up Expenses
Download and complete the Start-Up Expenses template. In working on this Business Plan, you should already have gathered most, if not all, of the information you need. In the body of this section, be sure to explain all of the assumptions behind the figures. How did you come up with these expenses? If you’ve secured or expect to secure loans, explain the source/s, amount/s and terms. If you’ve secured or expect to secure investors, explain how much each investor will contribute and what percentage of ownership each receives in return.
Be sure to include extra capital for unexpected expenses. Opening a new business almost always ends up costing more than expected, and you need to be prepared. List this figure in the Start-Up Expenses template under “Reserve for Contingencies.” How much should you set aside for contingencies? You can talk to other business owners in your industry to get a ballpark figure. If you can’t come up with a figure this way, a good rule of thumb is to set aside 20% to 25% of your total startup costs for contingencies.
2. Opening Day Balance Sheet – NOT REQUIRED
Download and complete the Opening Day Balance Sheet. Use it to detail the expected state of your business finances on opening day. As with the Start-Up Expenses sheet, be sure to explain the assumptions behind the figures.
3. Personal Financial Statement
If you are using the business plan to seek financing, include personal financial statementsfor each owner and each major stockholder. The personal financial statements should detail each person’s assets and liabilities outside of the business and their personal net worth. Investors and/or lenders typically expect business owners to use personal assets to finance a startup, and they’ll want to see how much capital you have available from your personal finances.
After reading the Startup Expenses & Capitalization section, the reader should know how much money is needed to start the business and how well capitalized you are.
Your financial plan is perhaps the most important element of your business plan. Lenders and investors will review it in detail. Developing your financial plan helps you set financial goals for your startup and assess its financing needs. Include the following:
Be sure to explain the assumptions behind the numbers in your P&L. Keep detailed notes about how you came up with these figures; you may need this information to answer questions from potential financing sources.
2. Optional: 3-year profit & loss projection
A three-year profit and loss projection is not essential to a business plan. However, you may want to create one if you expect your business’s financials to change substantially after the first year, or if investors or lenders require it. Download the 3-Year Profit and Loss Projection template, and use it to create your projection.
3. Cash flow projection
The cash flow statement tracks how much cash your business has on hand at any given time. Once your business is up and running, you’ll want to keep close tabs on your cash flow statement. For now, however, you’re creating a cash flow projection. Think of the cash flow projection as a forecast for your business checking account. It details when you need to spend money on things such as inventory, rent and payroll, and when you expect to receive payments from customers and clients. For example, you may make a sale, have to buy inventory to fulfill the sale, and not collect payment from the customer for 30, 60 or 90 days. The cash flow projection takes these factors into account, helping you budget for upcoming expenses so your business doesn’t run out of money.
Depending on your needs and the purpose of your business plan, you may also want to include a 3-year cash flow statement. If so, download the 3-Year Cash Flow Statement and use it to create your projections. This is a much simpler document than the 12-month cash flow statement, but can still be useful in making plans.
5. Projected balance sheet
A balance sheet subtracts the company’s liabilities from its assets to arrive at the owner’s equity. You already created an opening day balance sheet in Section 1. Now, download the Balance Sheet (Projected), and create a projected balance sheet showing the estimated financial condition of your business at the end of its first year. The major difference between the two is that the projected balance sheet includes any owner’s equity resulting from the business’s first year in operation. Lenders and investors may want to see this projection.
6. Break-even calculation
The break-even analysis projects the sales volume you need in order to cover your costs. In other words, when will the business break even? Download the Break-Even Analysis template and, using your profit and loss projections, enter your expected fixed and variable costs. Adjust the categories to reflect your own business.
You can even create a couple of different break-even analyses for different scenarios. For example, your payroll costs will vary depending on whether you hire full-time employees or use independent contractors. Creating different break-even analyses can help you determine the best option.
7. Use of capital
If you’re using the business plan to seek financing from lenders or investors, provide a breakdown of how you will the capital and what results you expect. For example, perhaps you will use the money to buy new equipment and expect that to double your production capacity.
After reading the Financial Plan section, the reader should understand the assumptions behind your financial projections and be able to judge whether these projections are realistic.
A SCORE mentor can help you complete your Financial Plantailored for your business.Find a SCORE mentor.
Don’t slow your readers down by cluttering your business plan with supporting documents, such as contracts or licenses. Instead, put these documents in the Appendices, and refer to them in the body of the plan so readers can find them if needed.
Below are some elements many business owners include in their Appendices.
1. Agreements (Leases, contracts, purchase orders, letters of intent, etc.)
You can also include any other materials that will give readers a fuller picture of your business or support the projections and assumptions you make in your plan. For instance, you might want to include photos of your proposed location, illustrations or photos of a product you are patenting, or charts showing the projected growth of your market.
After reviewing the Appendices, the reader should feel satisfied that the assumptions throughout the plan are backed up by documentation and evidence.
· Will your retail store also have an ecommerce site, or is one planned for the future?
For an Ecommerce Business
· Will you sell a physical product, a service, a digital product (such as eBooks) or some combination of these?
· If you’re selling physical products, how will you brand and package them?
· Will you sell on your own website, online marketplaces (such as Amazon) or both?
· What technology providers and platforms will you use to run your ecommerce site?
· Web hosting service
· Web design service
· Shopping cart provider
· Payment processing service
· Fulfillment & shipping services
· Email marketing services
· Can the solutions you’ve chosen quickly scale up or down as needed?
· Where will you get your products? Will you manufacture them in-house, buy them from manufacturers or use drop shippers?
· How will you handle returns and exchanges?
· What are your customer service policies? How will you provide customer service?
· Will you use any proprietary technology of your own and if so, what advantages does that give you?
For a Software or SaaS business
· What is your pricing structure? Will you use a free trial, “freemium” or paid business model?
· If you offer free services or a free trial option, how will you upsell customers to a payment model? What percentage of customers are expected to become paying customers?
· Have you tested your software? Are any “early adopters” already using the product?
· How will you encourage long-term contracts in order to create recurring revenues?
· How will you manage rapidly changing markets, technologies and costs?
· How will you keep your company competitive?
· Will you use in-house developers or outsource this function?
· How will you provide customer support?
· How will you retain key personnel?
· Are you using any proprietary or exclusive software that will give you a competitive edge?
· How will you protect your intellectual property?
· What additional products or updates to current products are you planning after launch?
After you’ve filled out all the worksheets and executive summary, print them out and you have a business plan. Work with aSCORE mentorto review and refine your plan
Rodriguez Corporation issues 8,000 shares of its common stock for $69,600 cash on February 20. Prepare journal entries to record this event under each of the following separate situations.
1. The stock has a $6 par value.
2. The stock has neither par nor stated value.
3. The stock has a $3 stated value.
· Record the issue of 8,000 shares of $6 par value common stock for $69,600 cash.
Note: Enter debits before credits.
TransactionGeneral JournalDebitCredit1
· Record the issue of 8,000 shares of no-par, no-stated value common stock for $69,600 cash.
Note: Enter debits before credits.
TransactionGeneral JournalDebitCredit2
· Record the issue of 8,000 shares of $3 stated value common stock for $69,600 cash.
Sudoku Company issues 33,000 shares of $7 par value common stock in exchange for land and a building. The land is valued at $243,000 and the building at $372,000. Prepare the journal entry to record issuance of the stock in exchange for the land and building.
Record the issue of 33,000 shares of $7 par value common stock in exchange for land valued at $243,000 and a building valued at $372,000.
The stockholders’ equity section of Jun Company’s balance sheet as of April 1 follows. On April 2, Jun declares and distributes a 20% stock dividend. The stock’s per share market value on April 2 is $10 (prior to the dividend).
Prepare the stockholders’ equity section immediately after the stock dividend is distributed.
JUN COMPANY
Stockholders’ Equity
April 2 (after stock dividend)
Common stock
Paid-in capital in excess of par value, common stock
Use the following information for the Exercises 8-9 below. (Algo)
On June 30, Sharper Corporation’s stockholders’ equity section of its balance sheet appears as follows before any stock dividend or split. Sharper declares and immediately distributes a 50% stock dividend.
Common stock—$10 par value, 82,000 shares issued and outstanding $ 820,000
Paid-in capital in excess of par value, common stock 360,000
Retained earnings 740,000
Total stockholders’ equity $ 1,920,000
(1) Prepare the updated stockholders’ equity section after the distribution is made.
(2) Compute the number of shares outstanding after the distribution is made.
· Prepare the updated stockholders’ equity section after the distribution is made.
SHARPER CORPORATIONStockholders’ Equity Section of the Balance SheetJune 30Common stock, no-par valuePaid-in capital in excess of par value, common stockRetained earningsTotal stockholders’ equity
Compute the number of shares outstanding after the distribution is made.
Use the following information for the Exercises 8-9 below. (Algo)
On June 30, Sharper Corporation’s stockholders’ equity section of its balance sheet appears as follows before any stock dividend or split. Sharper declares and immediately distributes a 50% stock dividend.
Common stock—$10 par value, 82,000 shares issued and outstanding $ 820,000
Paid-in capital in excess of par value, common stock 360,000
Retained earnings 740,000
Total stockholders’ equity $ 1,920,000
Assume that instead of distributing a stock dividend, Sharper did a 3-for-1 stock split.
(1) Prepare the updated stockholders’ equity section after the split.
(2) Compute the number of shares outstanding after the split.
Prepare the updated stockholders’ equity section after the split.
SHARPER CORPORATIONStockholders’ Equity Section of the Balance SheetJune 30Common stock dividend distributablePaid-in capital in excess of par value, common stockRetained earningsTotal stockholders’ equityCompute the number of shares outstanding after the split.Number of common shares outstanding
Paula Boothe, president of the Bramble Corporation, has mandated a minimum 10% return on investment for any project undertaken by the company. Given the company’s decentralization, Paula leaves all investment decisions to the divisional managers as long as they anticipate a minimum rate of return of at least 12%. The Energy Drinks division, under the direction of manager Martin Koch, has achieved a 14% return on investment for the past three years. This year is not expected to be different from the past three. Koch has just received a proposal to invest $1,800,000 in a new line of energy drinks that is expected to generate $312,000 in operating income. Assume that Bramble Corporation’s actual weighted-average cost of capital is 10% and its tax rate is 32%.Calculate the economic value added of the proposed new line of energy drinks. (If the economic value added is negative then enter with a negative sign preceding the number, e.g. -5,125 or parenthesis, e.g. (5,125). Round answer to 0 decimal places, e.g. 5,125.)Economic value added$enter the economic value added in dollars rounded to 0 decimal places
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Enjoy Please Note-You have come to the most reliable academic writing site that will sort all assignments that that you could be having. We write essays, research papers, term papers, research proposals Paula Boothe, president of the Bramble Corporation, has mandated a minimum 10% return on investment for any project undertaken by the company
Write a 6-8 page paper in which you do the following:
Analyze the business-level strategies for the corporation you chose to determine the business-level strategy you think is most important to the long-term success of the firm and whether you judge this to be a good choice. Justify your opinion.
Analyze the corporate-level strategies for the corporation you chose to determine the corporate-level strategy you think is most important to the long-term success of the firm and whether you judge this to be a good choice. Justify your opinion.
Analyze the competitive environment to determine the corporation’s most significant competitor. Compare their strategies at each level and evaluate which company you think is most likely to be successful in the long term. Justify your choice.
Determine whether your choice from Question 3 would differ in slow-cycle and fast-cycle markets