UMACTF-15-M Corporate Financial Strategy Component B Assessment Brief | UWE Bristol

UMACTF-15-M Module learning outcomes:

Learning outcomes assessed by the Individual assignment

1. MO1: Evaluate the corporate objectives of the firm and the relationship of the firm with its various stakeholders 
2. MO2: Understand the theoretical underpinning of corporate finance 
3. MO3: Review and synthesize a wide range of competing theories underlying corporate finance practice 
4. MO4: Evaluate theory and practical innovations in corporate financial policy areas 
5. MO5: Collect and analyse data on real world corporate finance problems 
6. MO6: Apply strategies for dealing with complex corporate finance issues 
7. MO7: Apply a range of tools and methods within a corporate finance context

What am I required to do on this assessment?

Context and Requirement

You have recently been appointed as a Financial Analyst for a leading investment bank in London. In advance of a forthcoming board meeting, you have been asked to prepare an executive briefing on the two most important corporate finance issues facing Diageo plc based on its 2023 Annual Report. The two issues must be selected from the following list:

• Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policy
• Dividend policy
• Capital structure policy
• Mergers and acquisitions policy
• International Financial Risk Management Policy

The Finance Director has therefore asked you to develop a briefing report of no longer than 1,500 words to explain each of the two issues. It should first identify the nature of the issue facing Diageo plc. Then it must explain the alternative strategies available to the group for dealing with that issue. This could be those currently used by Diageo.  Alternatively, you could propose a different solution. Your analysis must be based on the 2023 Annual Report and hence research on subsequent events for Diageo should not be included.

The briefing report should be carefully structured and written in an analytical style using plain clear English. A glossary of all technical finance terms and acronyms used should be included in an appendix (not included in the word count). 

This is an individual assessment. Please make sure to base your answer on a thorough review of referenced sources including key textbooks on corporate financial strategy, academic journal paper references, and the business and financial press to understand the implications for Diageo of the issues at hand. 

Where should I start?

Carefully read the entire assignment brief, including its requirements, and attend the lectures throughout the academic semester.

What do I need to do to pass? 

Please refer to the marking criteria and the requirements of the assignments, and also read the key aspects of the assignment below:

1. The introduction section should be concise and importantly should contain the policies that you have chosen to investigate.
2. The policies discussed in the report must be relevant to what is required in the assignment brief. Financial information should be analysed using the 2023 annual report and the separate ESG report if appropriate.
3. You should use qualitative and quantitative evidence in your discussion as well as depth of reasoning. Using the key data and information published by Diageo and integrating them into your discussion is critical for your report. 
4. If a table is used in the main body of the report, the information presented in the table should be analysed and discussed in the main text.
5. In order to back up your arguments on the required issues, you need to compare and contrast your key findings with industry practice or economic indicators, where required.
6. In the conclusion, you should justify your points and provide some specific examples from the policies that you have analysed.
7. Remember you need to analyse, discuss, and critically evaluate the issues identified in the assignment brief and explain the rationale for your points, where necessary. Good critical discussion normally accounts for why something is good or poor, why it works or fails, why it is rational or irrational, why it is useful or useless.
8. Ensure that your analysis is based on Diageo’s 2023 annual report.
9. Avoid listing items and/or using the Q&A format.
10. Avoid pasting tables/figures directly from the annual report.
11. The report should be well-written in a professional business style. Correct referencing is very important.
12. Do not cut or copy and paste any information or materials from annual reports and other sources into your report.

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How do I achieve high marks in this assessment? 

Please refer to the marking criteria and the requirements of the assignments, and also read the key aspects of the assignment indicated above. Furthermore, your report should be clear, concise, and predominately analytical rather than descriptive. It is not enough only to show negative or positive points or to give short answers to the research questions identified above. You need to analyse, discuss, and critically evaluate the identified issues in your report and explain the rationale for your points.

How does the learning and teaching relate to the assessment? 

The lectures on Capital Structure, Dividend Policy, International Risk Management and Mergers and Acquisitions are crucial to the assignment.

What additional resources may help me complete this assessment?

• All Blackboard material on the topics mentioned above.
• You can consult the Module Leader up to 15 April 2024. Support given will be limited to exploring the possible interpretations of the assignment.
• Your independent research and time management. 

What do I do if I am concerned about completing this assessment?

UWE Bristol offer a range of Assessment Support Options that you can explore through this link, and both Academic Support and Wellbeing Support are available.

For further information, please see the Academic Survival Guide.

How do I avoid an Assessment Offence on this module?

Use the support above if you feel unable to submit your own work for this module. 

Avoid plagiarism (taking sentences, arguments, and chunks from somebody else’s work – for instance from the Internet) and collusion with other students (that is working together on the same piece of work) and other types of assessment offences. Make every effort to write your own sentences with originality (not copied). Avoid contract cheating as having the work done by someone else is a serious offence and is punished very heavily. Please refer to the UWE webpages for further information at Assessment offences – Assessments | UWE Bristol.

Marks and Feedback

Your assessment will be marked according to the following marking criteria.

Assessment Criteria	Marks
Presentation: Clear, well-structured report with appropriate headings and approved style of referencing.	10
Issue 1 – the nature of the issue facing the company	20
Issue 1 – discussion of strategies for dealing with the issue	20
Issue 2 – the nature of the issue facing the company	20
Issue 2 – discussion of strategies for dealing with the issue	20
A competent and logical summary of the issues discussed in report	10
Total	100

 The letter grade on your transcript will be according to the following table.

A+	(85-100%)	Outstanding Pass; An outstanding piece of work
A	(70-84%)	Distinctive Pass; Excellent work that exceeds the requirement of the module learning outcomes in all important dimensions
B	(60-69%)	Meritorious Pass; Very good work at M level – satisfied all important requirements of assessment task and module learning outcomes
C	(50-59%)	Pass; Good work at M level – student demonstrates achievement against all learning outcomes but with some limitations
D	(45-49%)	Marginal fail; Does not meet the required overall standard – may have some good qualities but some learning outcomes not met
E	(0-44%)	Fail; Contains significant flaws, few of the learning outcomes for the module have been demonstrated