Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing

Individual Assignment
December 2019
Finance for Effective Marketing (FEM)

Examination /Assignment Registration 14th to 27th October 2019

Period

Examination / Assignment Registration 28th to 31st October 2019

Grace Period

Assignment Submission Period 04th to 10th November 2019

Late Submission Period 11th to 17th November 2019

Assignment Acceptance time period Weekend and Weekday from 9.00am to 3.00pm

Presentation Date N/A

Email address to send soft copy fem.pgd@slim.lk

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GUIDELINES

ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION:

 You are required to register for examinations / assignments within the above given
period. Assignments will not be accepted if you have not registered for the
exam/assignment.
 Assignments should be submitted to SLIM within the Assignment Submission Periods
indicated above.
 Assignments will not be accepted after the late submission period under any
circumstances.
 SLIM will issue an acknowledgement slip upon the submission of your assignment and
it must be retained by the student as proof of submitting the assignment.

ASSIGNMENT COVER PAGE:

 Attached cover page format should be used, printed in the relevant colour (Stage 1-
Blue/Stage 2-Green/ Stage 3-Pink).

THE ASSIGNMENT MARKING SHEET should be attached after the cover page followed by the
Assignment checklist & declaration form.

A SOFT COPY of your assignment should be sent to the above mentioned email address for
which you will receive an automated reply of receipt of the assignment. If you have
not received the automated reply, please verify with course coordinator. The soft copy
is only a reference document that will not be considered as an assignment submission.

IMPORTANT NOTES

 If you have not submitted the assignment" your results for the respective subject will
appear as “Fail” in the final grading.

 In case of absence at the examination, the student has to re-do the assignment in order
to pass the subject in the next examination.

 If you are a student of an Accredited Study Centre, you can submit the assignment to
the accredited study centre and presentation date and time will be notified to the
centre once all assignments are received by SLIM Home and SLIM web site.

 Present university students are allowed to submit the assignment without attending
lectures since they register as self-study students. However, they have to attend
individual presentation sessions.

 Refer student deliverables indicated below for specific details about assignment
submissions and presentations.

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 Financial performance analysis and making corporate finance
decision
BACKGROUND

Financial statements are used as a yard stick to measure the performance of an organization.
Ratio analysis has been identified as one such performance measuring criteria. However,
depending solely on financial measurements to measure business performance is not
recommended as non-financial factors too play a vital role. You are required to select two
companies in the same industry listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange and carryout the following
tasks based on the information available in their annual reports and other supportive industry
related external information. Avoid selecting companies from banking, finance and insurance
sectors.

Financing Decision is yet another crucial decision made by the finance department relating to the
financing-mix of an organization. It is concerned with identifying alternative sources of funds,
assessing their relative merits and demerits, and its impact on the overall cost of capital and value
of the firm. Part two of the assignment requires you to assess the balance sheet and other related
factors that support corporate financing decisions.

TASK ONE

Present a brief background study about the two companies you have chosen for your analysis
including the nature of their business and industry trends.

Guideline Note 01

You are required to highlight the nature of the business, turnover, products and services offers,
key milestone of each company and general information about the micro and macro
environmental factors affecting the company and its industry.

TASK TWO

Using financial ratios, you are required to produce a critical analysis of the financial performance
and the stability of the two selected companies.

You should perform an assessment of each individual firm’s financial performance and stability
by comparing their most recent financial statements with prior period results. You may consider
the financial statements for three consecutive financial years. Your analysis should be further
extended to perform a comparison of financial performance and stability between the two
selected companies. Your analysis should take account of the competitive and macro-economic

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influences on these ratios. Based on your analysis, chose a company having better financial
performance and strong financial stability.

Guideline Note 02

You may use the relevant financial indicators such as profitability, working capital, liquidity,
financial leverage, to assess the financial performance and stability. (You will need to show all
relevant workings and supporting documentation). Your analysis will be based upon the ratios
calculated and utilizing any background industry/company information you think is relevant.

TASK THREE

Your chosen company is seeking to purchase a building complex to expand its business
operations. The proposed investment represents 25% of its net assets employed. You are
required to make a proposal as to how the company should access the funds required to finance
the proposed investment. This might be from internal or external sources but must be based upon
the company performance and capital structure. Justify your choice.

Guideline Note 03

You are required to evaluate the current capital structure and the financial ratios calculated in
Task 01

IMPORTANT:

Please refrain from copying-and-pasting information from the Internet or another source and
make sure to reference your work according to the Harvard referencing format.

Word allocation for each task

Task Content Weightage
Task one 40%
Task two 30%
Task three 30%
Total ( word count 2000 – 2500) 100%

Note: Please refer the given assignment marking scheme for marks allocation.

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 ASSIGNMENT CHECKLIST & DECLARATION

This document is intended as a guide to check and improve your assignment. Review your
assignment together with the specific guidelines and criteria (marking schedule) that are
mentioned in the programme handbook given to you.
You are expected to confirm that your assignment fulfils the below requirements. Please tick (√)
in the cages as necessary.

Student Name

Registration No ( As per registration book )

Cover page with relevant colour code of the stage

Stage 1 – Blue

Stage 2 – Green

Stage 3 – Pink

Assignment checklist & declaration form ( This sheet)

Assignment marking scheme is attached

Assignment sheet is attached

Table of contents

Body of the assignment

References

Course fee paid in full (coaching/registration/exam and membership)

Exam registration completed

Assignment emailed to relevant email address

(You will receive an automated reply of receipt for the assignment. If you have not received the
automated reply, please verify with course coordinator. The soft copy is only a reference document
that will not be considered as an assignment submission)

I’m fully aware that any misleading information provided in the above checklist will lead to the
rejection of my assignment.
I, the undersigned, confirm that I have read and understood the statement about plagiarism
which is outlined in the students’ handbook. I confirm that the work that I have submitted
accompanying this report is wholly my own, and that any quotations or sections of text taken
from the published or unpublished work of any other person is duly and fully acknowledged
therein.

Signature: _________________ Date: _________________

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 Assignment Marking Scheme
December 2019
Subject Finance for Effective Marketing (FEM)

Student Registration Number

Marks
Criteria
Allocated Awarded

Aligning to the purpose of the assignment 20

Some of the answer addresses to the purpose of the question 1-5
This has addressed the purpose of the assignment 6-10
Has addressed the purpose of the assignment coherently 11-15
This has addressed the purpose of assignment comprehensively 16-20
Clarity of expression 20
An attempt to organize in a logical manner 1-5
Satisfactory showing of logical manner and organization 6-10
Shows higher level of Carefully and logically organized 11-15
Shows coherent structure with clearly expressed ideas 16-20
Using examples/evidences 20
Shows a little use of examples 1-5
Some use of examples. Some evaluation attempted 6-10
Some use of examples. Well evaluated 11-15
Shows appropriate examples are fully and reliably evaluated 16-20
Critical analysis of concepts, theories, conclusions 20
Demonstrates limited evidence of critical analysis 1-5
Demonstrates some critical analysis of relevant theory 6-10
Demonstrates application of theory through critical analysis 11-15
Demonstrates application of critical analysis well integrated 16-20
Following assignment guidelines 20
Limited follow-up of assignment guidelines 1-5
Some level of follow-up of assignment guidelines 6-10
Good display of adherence to assignment guidelines 11-15
Excellent adherence to assignment guidelines 16-20

Total
100
Special Remarks

Signature of the Examiner

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 FINANCE FOR EFFECTIVE MARKETING (FEM)

Assignment Topic

Student Name

Reg. No.

December 2019 Examination

Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing

Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing

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