Proposal to the Bank Investment Officer

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:

• Interpret the key sections of financial statements to make management decisions

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Scenario

You are the owner of a small business, Julian’s Car Repair. You start work each day by checking your office mail. As you look through the mail, you come to a letter from the bank that your business works closely with. You are notified that your net income has decreased significantly from last month.

Recently, there has been an increase in unanticipated expenses for your repair shop. Unfortunately, an active hurricane season has severely impacted the oil refineries and caused the price of oil to spike. To further affect your situation, recent tariffs have caused the cost of steel to increase. Because of this, your suppliers have increased the cost of their auto parts and have begun charging extra to deliver the parts.

Because of these changes, the bank has showed concern for your business. You have a meeting with the senior investment officer next week to discuss continuing your business’s line of credit with the bank. As the owner, you will need to analyze your financial statements and write a proposal to the senior investment officer that identifies the areas that need improvement and includes a plan to improve your business’s financial performance.

Money Lender Bank 1,000 Washington St. Seattle, WA 12345 August 3, 2018 Attn: Julian’s Car Repair                                 FINANCIAL NOTIFICATION: REPLY REQUIRED Account No. 12345678                                           To whom it may concern, Please be informed that your recent financials show a significant change from June 1st to July 31st. You are receiving this notification to ensure the requirements for your line of credit continue to be met. Please contact me to schedule a meeting so we can work together and discuss your business’s finances. Sincerely, Marcus L. James Marcus L. James Senior Investment Officer

Directions

Proposal to the Bank Investment Officer: You share the letter you received from the bank with your accountant and they suggest a meeting to discuss how to prepare an effective proposal to maintain your line of credit. In your meeting with your accountant, you gain the following insight and are given the following recommendations:

• Analysis: Your accountant explains that it is your responsibility to constantly monitor financial activities of your business. You will need to analyze your financial statements to determine the current state of your business. Specifically, a successful proposal will include a financial analysis that addresses the following:
  • Analyze the appropriate line items for each financial statement (income statement, statement of equity, and balance sheet). Consider what information each financial statement provides regarding the financial performance of your business.
  • Use your financial statements to assess the business’s current financial state. Consider what the financial statements say about the strengths and weaknesses of your business, and identify any areas of concern.
• Action Plan: Your accountant explains that you will need to come prepared to discuss the changes you plan to make to improve your situation. Consider how you can use the financial information to control and monitor your business. Your accountant recommends that you be proactive and wants you to include a plan of action in your proposal to discuss with the investment officer. The plan of action should addresses the following:
  • Propose operational changes that will improve business performance. For instance, should you increase your prices? Should you look for new vendors? Does it make sense to tighten your credit policies?
  • Using your analysis of the financial information, explain the reasoning behind your proposed managerial decisions.

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What to Submit

Every project has a deliverable or deliverables, which are the files that must be submitted before your project can be assessed. For this project, you must submit the following:

Proposal to the Bank Investment Officer
You will submit a proposal that includes an analysis of your financial statements and an action plan to implement operational changes to your business. Your proposal must be 750 to 1,250 words in length (plus a cover page and references).