You are required at the end of the semester to submit a Final Project in the form of a Business Financial Plan.

For the Final Project you will be developing a business financial plan for a fictional product or company of your choice. Your financial data and other information while fictional must be based on actual industry information. You will need to research this information and can use data from the industry overall or from specific companies within that industry that market a similar product or service. For example, if you were developing a fast food menu item you could look to the fast food industry or to data from chains such as McDonalds and Burger King.         

STRUCTURE

You need to format your final project just as you would format a formal business/financial plan for your company. Make sure your business/financial plan is structured the following way:

• A mission statement (no more than half a page)

• A vision statement (no more than half a page)

• Business research on the industry (one to two pages)

• A marketing plan (one page)

• An operational plan (one page)

• A financial analysis (two pages based on your financial statements, ratios, and SWOT analysis)

1. Look at a few possible products or companies you would like to research.
2. Conduct some preliminary research on these topics.
3. Narrow your choices to three products/companies.
4. Inform your mentor about which three products/companies you are considering and explain why you are interested in them.
5. Decide on one particular product/company to research based on your mentor’s feedback.
6. Notify your mentor of your choice.
7. Submit a list of sources you intend to use for your research.

Note that the financial statements and ratios page count is in addition to the above commendatory. All written commentary should be double-spaced.

Mission Statement Section

In the first section, you need to identify clearly your business and a strategic business plan to identify your product or service. You will need to conduct an industry analysis for the past three years (longer if appropriate).  

Vision Statement Section

Keep in mind that you are presenting your plan to either company management for support or outside venture capitalists for financing depending on the product/company you select to use.

Marketing Section

In the marketing section, develop a plan and budget that will be incorporated into your final financial statements for the company.

Operations Section

In the operations section, identify the applicable operation components that may include facilities, inventories, capacity, distribution channels, technology, and quality control. Develop your operational budget to incorporate into your final financials for the company.

Financial Analysis Section

In your financial analysis section, discuss the capital structure of your company and include all appropriate financial documents including an administrative cost of the capital budget, an income statement, a balance sheet, a cash budget, and a cash flow statement. Remember your marketing and operational budgets need to calculate into these statements.    

Your analysis should include a ratio analysis of the appropriate business ratios for your company found in Chapter 4, “Analysis of Financial Statements,” of the text. Since the numbers in the financial statement will provide the basis for your ratio analysis the ratio discussion will need to be completed after you have developed your financial statements.

Be sure to include a discussion of your company’s capital budgeting decisions and a forecast of where you expect your company to be in three years. Include a discussion of the risks that face your company. A SWOT analysis will reflect the essentials that your company will need to consider.

STAGES OF PRODUCTION

You will produce your business financial plan in three stages:

Stage 1 (Module 2)

For the first stage of the production of your final project:

Submit your choices together with a brief explanation of why these particular topics interest you to your mentor as part of your Module 2 assignment.

Your mentor will give you feedback on your choices and advice regarding what to do next in terms of deciding on which one to pursue.

This assignment is not graded.

Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.

Stage 2 (Module 3)

For the second stage of the production of your final project:

Submit your product/company choice together with a list of sources that you have found so far to your mentor as part of your Module 3 assignment.  

Your mentor will give you feedback on your product/company choice and advice on both your list of sources to research and other possible sources you should consult.

This assignment is not graded.

Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.

Stage 3 (due at end of Module 6)

Based on the comments and advice your mentor has provided for the first two stages of your final project, you will proceed accordingly and produce the full version of your business's financial plan.