SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT BRIEF
| Assessment | Summative assignment – 001 |
| Maximum word count | 1,500 words |
| Weighting | 40% |
| Deadline |
I. Assessment Instructions
Open report (1,500 words)
You are a financial analyst and have been asked by a client to provide advice based on relevant ratio analysis on whether to buy equity shares in Tesco Plc, a supermarket based in the UK but with subsidiaries and investments around the globe.
Your advice is to be based on your analysis of their 2022 annual report. A copy of the reports can be found by following this link: Tesco Plc Annual Report and Financial Statement 2022.
You do not need to calculate key financial ratios as these have been calculated for you and are included as an attachment to this assignment. You can calculate additional ratios if you consider them helpful to your analysis and marks will be awarded for this.
II. Marking Criteria
The examiner will be awarding marks for your ratio analysis based on five main areas:
- Your ability to relate the ratios to the financial performance of the business.
- Your ability to study the accounts to find the information you need.
- Your ability to demonstrate an understanding of the relationships between the ratios.
- The ability to tailor your analysis to the needs of the user group you are addressing. Make sure that you address the specific concerns of the user in the question.
- Your ability to arrive at a clear conclusion. Make sure you base your conclusions on your previous analysis.
The report should include the following sections:
| Section | % Marks Available |
| 1. Introduction and overall report coherence | 10% |
| 2. Comparative analysis of the company’s financial performance | 55% |
| 3. Recommendations and conclusions | 20% |
| 4. Limitations of the advice | 15% |
III. Word count requirements
You must observe the word count specified in this assessment brief. The word count policy for your programme permits markers to accept variations to the recommended word count of plus or minus 10%.
This means that markers will mark your work up to the word count maximum plus 10% and then will stop marking; therefore, all words which are in excess of the word count plus 10% will not be marked. Where your word count is more than 10% below that specified, it is likely that this will result in a lack of analytical depth or relevant content which will be reflected in the mark assigned.
What is in the word count?
The word count includes the main text, including in-text reference citations and quotations.
The word count does not include:
IV. Formatting Requirements
Referencing
You are required to use the Harvard referencing system for citing books, articles, and other sources like websites.
Other Formatting Requirements
Your assessment should be presented and laid out in the following format:
- Arial 12 font
- 2.0 line spacing
- A minimum margin size of 2 cm on all sides
Please submit the assessment as a word-processed document or PDF.
V. Assessment submission
This assessment requires you to anonymously upload your submission to Canvas. If you are submitting multiple files, you must upload all files simultaneously to ensure that they are marked as a single submission. If you want to resubmit one component of your work, you need to re-upload all other files at the same time: every submission must include all files required by the assessment brief.
We recommend that you allow at least 30 minutes before the deadline to upload your submission, as failure to upload your assessment file within the allotted time is not admissible as an exceptional circumstance.
The webpage How do I submit an online assignment? provides further technical information on how to upload an assessment. The advice given here comes directly from Canvas. We do not recommend uploading assignments by mobile. We recommend you view the submission after uploading your work to ensure the correct file has been submitted and no technical errors have occurred.
VI. Assessment Policies
This assessment is subject to the policies stated on the ‘Summative Assessment Policies’ page in Canvas. These policies include (but are not limited to):
- Academic Integrity and submission of student work to Turnitin
- Advice on anonymising your assessment
- Penalties for late submission
- Marking policy for multiple submissions
Please ensure that you have read and understood these policies before starting the assessment.
