Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapter 10, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 from your textbook; review the website AnnualReports.com (Links to an external site.); and review the Week 4 Weekly Lecture.
Go to AnnualReports.com (Links to an external site.) and review the annual reports recently released by two corporations in the same industry. Review each report and discuss the issues listed below.
It is strongly encouraged that you receive feedback on your paper using the Ashford Writing Center Paper Review at least two days before it is due. Then implement the feedback into your paper before submitting it to Waypoint. For instructions on how to use this feature, please review the Ashford Writing Center Paper Review (Links to an external site.). Make sure you appropriately cite your sources from AnnualReports.com and include a minimum of two scholarly and/or credible sources from the library in addition to the course text.
In your paper,
Describe organizational differences that you see in how each corporation discusses its annual performance.
Explain how clearly the data is or is not presented for enabling shareholders to draw conclusions about how well the company performed.
Explain what goals, challenges, and plans top managers emphasize in their discussion of results.
Describe ways the format and organization of each report enhances or detracts from the information being presented.
The Annual Report Formats paper
Must two to three double-spaced in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)
Must include a separate title with the following:
Title of paper
Student’s name
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Date submitted
For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).
Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
Must use at least two scholarly or credible sources in addition to the course text.
The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view this Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.
Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
