assignment 3 company analysis report

Company Analysis Report

Report generator.

You’ve probably heard a ton of people ask about how a particular company “looks” on paper. But what does this statement really mean?

When people talk about how a company looks on paper, they often refer to the financial aspect of the organization itself. This should answer questions in regards to the risks, strengths, and assets faced by the said company. It also provides a clear picture of where the company stands in the market it is in. But for these elements to be discovered, the company must first conduct a simple analysis to understand where it wants to go and how it could get there.

Company Analysis Report Template

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B2C Company Analysis Report Example

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BioStock Company Analysis Report Example

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BMW Company Analysis Report Example

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Definition of a Company Analysis

A company analysis is a comprehensive study done to get to know a company’s health in a number of areas. This analysis is usually written in a report for business owners, associates, and investors to refer to. There are a variety of ways to do this, depending on the specific areas a company wishes to understand, but a good analysis typically centers on the feasibility and productivity of the company, as well as a general overview of its corporate financial health.

Ultimately, a company analysis is used to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of a company, along with the direction it is headed.

Think about it this way. It’s almost like a road trip. You can’t get to where you’re going unless you know exactly where you are. You need a map, and several directions and means of transport to get to your destination. Each method has its own share of pros and cons that you’re forced to weigh down carefully. You may also see statement analysis examples .

You would also need to consider various factors like time, money, and efficiency when making stern decisions. An outline on the internal and external factors affecting your journey will allow you to avoid the potholes and detours that may slow you down. Otherwise, you’re bound to get lost along the way, wasting a good amount of resources on a path that’s a lot farther than where you’re supposed to be. You may also like customer analysis examples .

With a company analysis, knowing where you’re starting from enables you to bring your company down a better, brighter road toward success. The general analysis will make it easier for you to determine where the company can go, as well as what it would take to get there.

What Is Included in a Company Analysis?

What’s included in a company analysis would usually depend on the primary objectives of a researcher.

An analysis may be done to look into an organization’s sales potential and accomplishments, or perhaps the information generated from the analysis would be used as an operational or investment tool. It’s also possible for the company to perform a standard SWOT analysis to refine its marketing and sales operations. A company analysis provides executives with an in-depth look into the various areas of the organization that may have been overlooked.

Regardless of its purpose, here are a few things that must be investigated in an established analysis:

1. Financial Status

This is the part where you’re required to dig into some of your most important financial records, such as your balance sheets , income statements , cash flow statements , and shareholders equity statements. This offers you a good picture of how money comes in and out of your reach. These documents are typically compiled for a three-to-five-year period to complete the analysis report.

2. Workflow and Efficiencies

See how your company has been performing over a given time period by looking into the different factors that may affect it, including employee sick time and productivity.

3. External Factors

These are the threats that might be affecting the company’s market performance. Some of the most common threats include the current status of the economy and the number of competitors serving the same audience.

On the other end of the spectrum, a company’s external factors may also refer to the opportunities it has to expand its reach and increase sales. It’s important to consider factors like market and economic trends to find out how the company may prosper in a fast-changing industry You may also see sales analysis examples .

4. Internal Factors

This refers to all the items that a company has control over. Everything from financial funding to investment opportunities are considered, along with the physical resources used by the company.

Keep in mind that your employees, administrative management, marketing campaigns and their allocated budget, and even the software programs used by various departments within the organization can greatly influence where the company currently stands. You may also like market analysis examples .

The Purpose of a Company Analysis

The report produced from a company analysis can be useful in more ways than one. This is often presented to investors or financial organizations hoping to provide the company with its much needed cash flow.

Conducting a company analysis is also a great way to take note of where a company stands before it enters a new phase in its journey. Some companies might even want to diversify its investments or create new portfolios for its own growth and development in the marketplace. You may also check out literary analysis examples .

By understanding its current financial commitments along with a forecast of where it’s headed, the company can make better and more informed decisions. After all, you’ll never how your company is truly performing until you take a good look at its present status. You might be interested in industry analysis examples .

Construction Company Analysis Report Example

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Formal Company Analysis Report Example

Fundamental Company Analysis Report Example

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Professional Company Analysis Report Example

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General Types of Company Analysis

A company analysis offers several different perspectives on how an organization runs. Listed below are some of the most common examples of an organizational analysis , each of which is designed to examine how a certain area is performing and how it may affect the company’s overall operations.

1. Company Financial Analysis

In spite of what anyone says, the whole existence of a business revolves around the money. This is why it’s important for company leaders to know where the business stands from a financial point of view to prevent potential disasters coming down the pipes. The analysis should give the company a clear glimpse of the money coming in, the money going out, and the money on hand. You may also like needs analysis examples .

2. Company SWOT Analysis

A detailed SWOT analysis is done to study the internal and external factors (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) affecting a company’s operations. This includes the organization’s finances, debts, properties, staff, competitors, and the like. This can help the company identify the different areas that need to be addressed accordingly, especially in terms of cutbacks, investments, and potential projects.

3. Company Performance Analysis

Performance indicators may vary depending on the nature of a business, but this generally offers company leaders a good look into which departments are meeting targets, who possesses budget surpluses (if any), and where possible shortfalls are happening. This can help indicate where operations need to be modified using productivity and cost assistance, as well as how profit may be balanced effectively. You may also check out operational analysis examples .

4. Company Productivity Analysis

A productivity analysis report is made to see how a business is getting the most out of its staff. One example for this would be McDonald’s bold move in 2017 to replace cashiers with interactive ordering kiosks.

Besides taking an advanced approach to speed up the business process through the use of technology, this also allowed the company to refocus its staff on quality control and order processing. By replacing manual procedures with automation, the company’s productivity may lead to significant increases in profitability. You might be interested in requirements analysis examples .

In the advent of technology and various software programs utilized in the field of business, several technical and outsourcing solutions prove to be the best options for a company to thrive in a competitive market.

Toyota Motor Corporation Company Analysis Report Example

Cleantech Invest Company Analysis Report Example

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Comparable Company Analysis Report Example

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How to Perform an Effective Company Analysis

There are two ways to start an analysis, either with the use of a template or a special type of software. Noting down your analysis ensures that all company areas are addressed accordingly.

To develop a credible analysis, here are a few guidelines to remember:

1. Determine the type of analysis best suitable for your company.

Select a kind of analysis that best suits your company. This would depend on the scope of the basic analysis and the budget allotted to perform it. For instance, most business intelligence systems come with a hefty price tag, which makes them impractical for businesses that haven’t been operating for too long.

Companies with sophisticated technology integrated into their daily processes often cover larger areas compared to those who apply manual methods—and for obvious reasons.

Simply put, it is necessary for a large corporation to use a fancy business intelligence software to conduct an accurate and efficient analysis on their company. A simple business such as a hair salon or convenience store, on the other hand, may not require a lavish software system to obtain an effective company analysis. You may also see financial analysis examples .

2. Study different analysis methods.

It’s impossible to perform a successful company analysis with little or no knowledge on what to expect from it. Generally, a thorough evaluation of your company should answer what is being done right or wrong based on a specified time period. You may also like regression analysis examples .

Keep in mind that there are different analysis methods designed for financials, marketing, human resources, and others. You can’t do a human resources analysis if you’re a solo entrepreneur, simply because there aren’t any employees to evaluate in the first place. That being said, be sure to understand the different analysis methods before you begin with the first step of the desired process.

3. Choose a method and implement it.

Once you have done your research, you can now implement the selected method. Here, you need to make sure to cover the internal and external factors that impact the business. If you’re doing a company analysis through a software application, percentages and diagrams will be shown to highlight the areas that require improvement. You might be interested in feasibility analysis examples .

But if you’re using a template to complete the analysis, you need to think critically about the competitive circumstances affecting the entire business. Take note that the manual approach does require you to work carefully to ensure that every vital aspect of the business is covered as planned. You may also see fault tree analysis examples .

4. Use statistics to prove your claims.

One of the best ways to generate a reliable analysis is to use statistics to support your findings. Quantitative data can offer an incredible amount of help in solidifying your analysis report. This is usually achieved through direct contact with your target audience. You may also like financial health analysis examples .

Say for example, count the number of people who enter your store but leave without buying anything. You can find out the reason for such behavior by using a survey questionnaire . You can then use this feedback to gain a deeper understanding about what runs through the minds of an average consumer. There are many ways to process and present this data, but it’s best to stick with graphs and tables for a more accurate visual illustration.

5. Evaluate results and make the necessary adjustments.

Review the results from your analysis. Look for weaknesses or areas that require improvement and take the necessary actions to correct them. You can use this analysis to conclude issues and problems present within the organization, and identify possible solutions to address them. You may also check out process analysis examples .

Given how an analysis provides a snapshot of the company during a particular time, it’s important to pay attention to the entire process to figure out the best method for enhancing the company internally and externally.

A company analysis refers to the fundamental assessment of an organization in which company leaders are tasked to analyze the overall profile, security, profitability, goals, and values of a company.

Knowing where the company is starting from and what it’s got to work with in order to accomplish its goals and objectives will contribute greatly to the entity’s growth. Because of this, it’s important for managers and analysts to conduct a thorough analysis on the company’s internal and external components. So if you find yourself in need of a company analysis, make sure to refer to our guidelines and templates for successful evaluation.

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Generate a report on the impact of technology in the classroom on student learning outcomes

Prepare a report analyzing the trends in student participation in sports and arts programs over the last five years at your school.

How to Write a Business Analysis Report [Examples and Templates]

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To see what Databox can do for you, including how it helps you track and visualize your performance data in real-time, check out our home page. Click here .

Business analysis reports are a lot like preparing a delicious meal.

Sometimes, the recipe is simple enough that you only need to use the basic ingredients. Other times, you will have to follow specific instructions to ensure those tasty delicacies turn out just right.

Want to make sure your business report never turns out like a chewy piece of meat? You’ve come to the right place.

Stay tuned until the end of this blog post, and we promise you won’t be hungry… for business knowledge!

What Is a Business Analysis Report?

Why is analytical reporting important, what should be included in a business analysis report, how do you write a business analysis report, business data analysis report examples and templates.

• Improve Business Reporting with Databox

A business analysis report provides information about the current situation of your company. This report is usually created by the management to help in the decision-making process and is usually used by other departments within a company.

Business analysis reports can either focus your research on the effectiveness of an existing business process or a proposed new process. Besides, an effective business analysis report should also assess the results to determine if the process changes had a positive or negative effect on the company’s goals. In fact, according to Databox’s State of business reporting , an overwhelming majority of companies said that reporting improved their performance.

Analytical reports are the bridge that connects your company to an effective, data-driven business intelligence strategy . By leveraging analytical reports , you can make informed decisions about your organization’s most critical issues. You will no longer need to rely on gut instinct or anecdotal evidence when assessing risks, threats, and opportunities. Instead, you will have access to a wealth of reliable data to inform your decisions.

Here are some essential benefits of analytical reporting:

• Improve communication and foster collaboration – The most obvious benefit of business analysis report writing is an improvement in communication between all stakeholders involved in the project. Also, analytical business reports can help you to generate more trust and foster better collaboration among your employees and colleagues. By using data analytics reporting tools , you will be able to monitor your employees’ performance on a day-to-day basis. This will allow you to hold them accountable for their actions and give them greater freedom within the business as they know that their superiors have faith in their decision-making capabilities.
• Increase productivity – Without this level of shared insight, businesses struggle to stay on top of their most important tasks and can become less efficient. An effective analytical business report provides the information needed for more efficient internal processes and helps you find more time for strategic activities such as improving your business strategy or working on long-term goals .
• Innovation – In today’s digital age, the pressure to innovate was never greater. When consumers basically have everything they want at their fingertips, stepping up to the plate with a new and improved product or service has never been more important. With an accessible dashboard in place, you will be able to create data-driven narratives for each of your business’ critical functions. For example, if you are a software company, you can use the insights gained from report analysis done with your dashboard software to tailor your product development efforts to the actual needs of your customers. By doing so, you will be able to develop products that are better tailored to specific customer groups. You can also use the same information for developing new marketing strategies and campaigns.
• Continuous business evolution – When it comes to digital businesses, data is everything. No model lasts forever, so having access to a business dashboard software that allows you to constantly keep tabs on your business’ performance will help you refine it as time goes on. If there are any glitches in your business model, or if something isn’t panning out as expected, the insight offered by a business analysis report can help you improve upon what works while scrapping what doesn’t.

A business analysis report has several components that need to be included to give a thorough description of the topic at hand. The structure and length of business analysis reports can vary depending on the needs of the project or task.

They can be broken down into different sections that include an:

• Executive summary
• Study introduction
• Methodology
• Review of statistics

Reports of this nature may also include case studies or examples in their discussion section.

A report can be written in a formal or informal tone, depending on the audience and purpose of the document. While a formal tone is best for executives , an informal tone is more appropriate for technical audiences . It is also a good idea to use something like an executive summary template to report on the results repeatedly with ease.

A good business analysis report is detailed and provides recommendations in the form of actionable steps. Here we have listed some simple steps that you need to follow to write a good business analysis report. Report writing is a major part of the business analysis process. In this section, you will learn how to write a report for your company:

Preparation

Presentation.

Obtain an overview of what you want to analyze in the business report . For example, if you are writing a business analysis report on how to improve customer service at an insurance company, you will want to look through all the customer service processes to determine where the problems lie. The more prepared you are when starting a project, the easier it will be to get results. Here is what your preparation should look like:

Set your goals

The first step in writing this document is to set your goals . What do you hope to accomplish with this paper? Do you need to assess the company’s finances? Are you looking for ways to make improvements? Or do you have outside investors who want to know if they should buy into the company? Once you know what your goal is, then you can begin setting up your project.

PRO TIP: How Well Are Your Marketing KPIs Performing?

Like most marketers and marketing managers, you want to know how well your efforts are translating into results each month. How much traffic and new contact conversions do you get? How many new contacts do you get from organic sessions? How are your email campaigns performing? How well are your landing pages converting? You might have to scramble to put all of this together in a single report, but now you can have it all at your fingertips in a single Databox dashboard.

Our Marketing Overview Dashboard includes data from Google Analytics 4 and HubSpot Marketing with key performance metrics like:

• Sessions . The number of sessions can tell you how many times people are returning to your website. Obviously, the higher the better.
• New Contacts from Sessions . How well is your campaign driving new contacts and customers?
• Marketing Performance KPIs . Tracking the number of MQLs, SQLs, New Contacts and similar will help you identify how your marketing efforts contribute to sales.
• Email Performance . Measure the success of your email campaigns from HubSpot. Keep an eye on your most important email marketing metrics such as number of sent emails, number of opened emails, open rate, email click-through rate, and more.
• Blog Posts and Landing Pages . How many people have viewed your blog recently? How well are your landing pages performing?

Now you can benefit from the experience of our Google Analytics and HubSpot Marketing experts, who have put together a plug-and-play Databox template that contains all the essential metrics for monitoring your leads. It’s simple to implement and start using as a standalone dashboard or in marketing reports, and best of all, it’s free!

You can easily set it up in just a few clicks – no coding required.

To set up the dashboard, follow these 3 simple steps:

Step 1: Get the template 

Step 2: Connect your HubSpot and Google Analytics 4 accounts with Databox. 

Step 3: Watch your dashboard populate in seconds.

Assess the Company’s Mission

It’s almost impossible to write a business analysis report without access to the company’s mission statement. Even if you don’t plan on using the mission statement as part of your business analysis summary, it can help you understand the company’s culture and goals. Mission statements are typically short and easy to read, but they may not include every area of focus that you want to include in your report.

Thus, it is important to use other sources when possible. For example, if you are writing a business analysis report for a small start-up company that is just beginning to market its product or service, review the company website or talk directly with management to learn what they believe will be most crucial in growing the company from the ground up.

Stakeholder Analysis

Who is your audience? Create the reader’s persona and tailor all information to their perspective. Create a stakeholder map that identifies all the groups, departments, functions, and individuals involved in this project (and any other projects related to this one). Your stakeholder map should include a description of each group’s role.

Review Financial Performance

Review the financing of the business and determine whether there are any potential threats to the company’s ability to meet its future financial obligations. This includes reviewing debt payments and ownership equity compared with other types of financing such as accounts receivable, cash reserves, and working capital. Determine whether there have been any changes in the funding over time, such as an increase in long-term debt or a decrease in owners’ equity.

Apart from reviewing your debt payments and ownership equity with other types of financing, wouldn’t it be great if you could compare your financial performance to companies that are exactly like yours? With Databox, this can be done in less than 3 minutes.

For example, by  joining this benchmark group , you can better understand your gross profit margin performance and see how metrics like income, gross profit, net income, net operating increase, etc compare against businesses like yours.

One piece of data that you would be able to discover is the average gross profit a month for B2B, B2C, SaaS and eCommerce. Knowing that you perform better than the median may help you evaluate your current business strategy and identify the neccessary steps towards improving it.

Instantly and Anonymously Benchmark Your Company’s Performance Against Others Just Like You

If you ever asked yourself:

• How does our marketing stack up against our competitors?
• Are our salespeople as productive as reps from similar companies?
• Are our profit margins as high as our peers?

Databox Benchmark Groups can finally help you answer these questions and discover how your company measures up against similar companies based on your KPIs.

When you join Benchmark Groups, you will:

• Get instant, up-to-date data on how your company stacks up against similar companies based on the metrics most important to you. Explore benchmarks for dozens of metrics, built on anonymized data from thousands of companies and get a full 360° view of your company’s KPIs across sales, marketing, finance, and more.
• Understand where your business excels and where you may be falling behind so you can shift to what will make the biggest impact. Leverage industry insights to set more effective, competitive business strategies. Explore where exactly you have room for growth within your business based on objective market data.
• Keep your clients happy by using data to back up your expertise. Show your clients where you’re helping them overperform against similar companies. Use the data to show prospects where they really are… and the potential of where they could be.
• Get a valuable asset for improving yearly and quarterly planning . Get valuable insights into areas that need more work. Gain more context for strategic planning.

The best part?

• Benchmark Groups are free to access.
• The data is 100% anonymized. No other company will be able to see your performance, and you won’t be able to see the performance of individual companies either.

When it comes to showing you how your performance compares to others, here is what it might look like for the metric Average Session Duration:

And here is an example of an open group you could join:

And this is just a fraction of what you’ll get. With Databox Benchmarks, you will need only one spot to see how all of your teams stack up — marketing, sales, customer service, product development, finance, and more. 

• Choose criteria so that the Benchmark is calculated using only companies like yours
• Narrow the benchmark sample using criteria that describe your company
• Display benchmarks right on your Databox dashboards

Sounds like something you want to try out? Join a Databox Benchmark Group today!

Examine the “Four P’s”

“Four P’s” — product , price , place, and promotion . Here’s how they work:

• Product — What is the product? How does it compare with those of competitors? Is it in a position to gain market share?
• Price — What is the price of the product? Is it what customers perceive as a good value?
• Place — Where will the product be sold? Will existing distribution channels suffice or should new channels be considered?
• Promotion — Are there marketing communications efforts already in place or needed to support the product launch or existing products?

Evaluate the Company Structure

A business analysis report examines the structure of a company, including its management, staff, departments, divisions, and supply chain. It also evaluates how well-managed the company is and how efficient its supply chain is. In order to develop a strong strategy, you need to be able to analyze your business structure.

When writing a business analysis report, it’s important to make sure you structure your work properly. You want to impress your readers with a clear and logical layout, so they will be able to see the strengths of your recommendations for improving certain areas of the business. A badly written report can completely ruin an impression, so follow these steps to ensure you get it right the first time.

A typical business analysis report is formatted as a cover page , an executive summary , information sections, and a summary .

• A cover page contains the title and author of the report, the date, a contact person, and reference numbers.
• The information section is backed up by data from the work you’ve done to support your findings, including charts and tables. Also, includes all the information that will help you make decisions about your project. Experience has shown that the use of reputable study materials, such as  StuDocu  and others, might serve you as a great assistant in your findings and project tasks.
• A summary is a short overview of the main points that you’ve made in the report. It should be written so someone who hasn’t read your entire document can understand exactly what you’re saying. Use it to highlight your main recommendations for how to change your project or organization in order to achieve its goals.
• The last section of a business analysis report is a short list of references that include any websites or documents that you used in your research. Be sure to note if you created or modified any of these documents — it’s important to give credit where credit is due.

The Process of Investigation

Explain the problem – Clearly identify the issue and determine who is affected by it. You should include a detailed description of the problem you are analyzing, as well as an in-depth analysis of its components and effects. If you’re analyzing a small issue on a local scale, make sure that your report reflects this scale. That way, if someone else reads your work who had no idea about its context or scope, they would still be able to understand it.

Explain research methods – There are two ways to do this. Firstly, you can list the methods you’ve used in the report to determine your actions’ success and failure. Secondly, you should add one or two new methods to try instead. Always tell readers how you came up with your answer or what data you used for your report. If you simply tell them that the company needs to improve customer service training then they won’t know what kind of data led you to that conclusion. Also, if there were several ways of addressing a problem, discuss each one and why it might not work or why it may not be appropriate for the company at this time.

Analyze data – Analyzing data is an integral part of any business decision, whether it’s related to the costs of manufacturing a product or predicting consumer behavior. Business analysis reports typically focus on one aspect of an organization and break down that aspect into several parts — all of which must be analyzed in order to come to a conclusion about the original topic.

The Outcome of Each Investigation Stage

The recommendations and actions will usually follow from the business objectives not being met. For example, if one of your goals was to decrease costs then your recommendations would include optimization strategies for cost reduction . If you have more than one suggestion you should make a list of the pros and cons of each one. You can make several recommendations in one report if they are related. In addition, make sure that every recommendation has supporting arguments to back them up.

Report Summary

Every business analysis report should start with a summary. It’s the first thing people see and it needs to capture their attention and interest. The report summary can be created in two ways, depending on the nature of the report:

• If the report is a brief one, that simply gives a summary of the findings, then it can be created as part of the executive summary.
• But if it’s a long report, it could be too wordy to summarise. In this case, you can create a more detailed overview that covers all the main aspects of the project from both an internal and external point of view.

Everything comes down to this section. A presentation is designed to inform, persuade and influence decision-makers to take the next action steps.

Sometimes a slide or two can make them change their mind or open new horizons. These days, digital dashboards are becoming increasingly popular when it comes to presenting data in business reports. Dashboards combine different visualizations into one place, allowing users to get an overview of the information they need at a glance rather than searching through a bunch of documents or spreadsheets trying.

Databox offers dynamic and accessible digital dashboards that will help you to convert raw data into a meaningful story. And the best part is that you can do it with a ‘blink of an eye’ even if you don’t have any coding or designs skills. There is also an option of individual report customization so that you can tailor any dashboard to your own needs.

Pre-made dashboard templates can be extremely useful when creating your own business analysis report. While examples serve as inspiration, templates allow you to create reports quickly and easily without having to spend time (and money) developing the underlying data models.

Databox dashboard templates come with some of the most common pre-built metrics and KPIs different types of businesses track across different departments. In order to create powerful business insights within minutes, all you need to do is download any of our free templates and connect your data source — the metrics will populate automatically.

Business Report Examples and Templates

Databox business dashboard examples are simple and powerful tools for tracking your business KPIs and performance. These dashboards can be used by executive teams and managers as well as by senior management, marketing, sales, customer support, IT, accounting, and other departments. If you are new to this kind of reporting, you may not know how to set up a dashboard or what metrics should be displayed on it. This is where a premade template for business dashboards comes in handy.

For example, this Google Ads Report Template is designed to give you a simple way to keep track of your campaigns’ performance over time, and it’s a great resource for anyone who uses Google’s advertising platform, regardless of whether they’re an SMB, an SME or an enterprise.

KPI Report Examples and Templates

KPIs are the foundation of any business analysis, and they can come in a multitude of forms. While we’ve defined KPIs as metrics or measurements that allow you to assess the effectiveness of a given process, department, or team, there are a number of ways to evaluate your KPIs. Through the use of color-coding, user-friendly graphs and charts, and an intuitive layout, your KPIs should be easy for anyone to understand. A good way to do this is by having a dedicated business analyst on your team who can take on the task of gathering data, analyzing it, and presenting it in a way that will drive actionable insights. However, if you don’t have a dedicated analyst or don’t want to spend money on one, you can still create KPI reporting dashboards using free KPI Databox templates and examples .

For example, this Sales Overview template is a great resource for managers who want to get an overview of their sales team’s performance and KPIs. It’s perfect for getting started with business analysis, as it is relatively easy to understand and put together.

Performance Report Examples and Templates

All businesses, regardless of size or industry, need to know how well they are performing in order to make the best decisions for their company and improve overall ROI. A performance dashboard is a strategic tool used to track key metrics across different departments and provide insight into the health of a business. Databox has a collection of 50+ Performance Dashboard Examples and Templates which are available for free download.

For example, if your business is investing a lot into customer support, we recommend tracking your customer service performance with this Helpscout Mailbox Dashboard which will give you insights into conversations, your team’s productivity, customer happiness score, and more.

Executive Report Examples and Templates

An executive dashboard is a visual representation of the current state of a business. The main purpose of an executive dashboard is to enable business leaders to quickly identify opportunities, identify areas for improvement, pinpoint issues, and make data-informed decisions for driving sales growth, new product launches, and overall business growth. When an executive dashboard is fully developed, as one of these 50+ Databox Free Executive Examples and Templates , it offers a single view of the most important metrics for a business at a glance.

For example, you probably have more than one set of financial data tracked using an executive dashboard software : invoices, revenue reports (for accounting), income statements, to mention a few. If you want to view all this data in one convenient place, or even create a custom report that gives you a better picture of your business’s financial health, this Stripe Dashboard Template is a perfect solution for you.

Metrics Report Examples and Templates

Choosing the right metrics for your business dashboard can be crucial to helping you meet your business objectives, evaluate your performance, and get insights into how your business is operating. Metrics dashboards are used by senior management to measure the performance of their company on a day-to-day basis. They are also used by mid-level managers to determine how their teams are performing against individual goals and objectives. Databox provides 50+ Free Metrics Dashboard Examples and Templates that you can use to create your company’s own dashboards. Each is unique and will depend on your business needs.

For example, if you are looking for ways to track the performance of your DevOps team, and get the latest updates on projects quickly – from commits, and repository status, to top contributors to your software development projects, this GitHub Overview Dashboard is for you.

Small Business Report Examples and Templates

A lot of small business owners don’t realize how important it is to have a proper dashboard in place until they actually use one. A dashboard can help you track and compare different metrics, benchmark your performance against industry averages, evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing and sales strategies, track financials, and much more. So if you’re looking for a tool to help you measure and manage your small business’ performance, try some of these 50+ Free Small Business Dashboard Examples and Templates .

For example, this Quickbooks Dashboard template can help you get a clear understanding of your business’s financial performance, ultimately allowing you to make better-informed decisions that will drive growth and profitability.

Agency Report Examples and Templates

Agency dashboards are not a new concept. They have been around for years and are used by companies all over the world. Agency dashboards can be powerful tools for improving your marketing performance, increasing client loyalty, and landing new clients. There is no single correct way to create an agency dashboard. Everyone has their own goals and objectives, which will ultimately determine which data points you choose to include or track using a client dashboard software , but with these Databox 100+ Free Agency Dashboard Examples and Templates you have plenty of options to start with.

For example, you can use this Harvest Clients Time Report to easily see how much time your employees spend working on projects for a particular client, including billable hours and billable amount split by projects.

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Company & Industry Research Guide

6 steps for a company analysis.

• Industry Research
• Company Research
• Competitive Analysis
• Research Assignments
• Academic Writing & Citing

1.   Begin with a macro (big picture) environmental scan.  Drill down to a micro (specific industry/company) scan.  Look at the financial statements of a company from at least the past 5 years.  To find this information, use:

2.   Find competitors.  Compare and contrast.  Use the NAICS or SIC code to find competitors.  Use:   IBISWorld

3.   Use:

to identify the size of the market for your company and how it compares to the rest of the industry.  Market share information can also be found in business articles that appear in magazines or newspapers.  You may have to use:

to find this information.

4.   Look at:

for objective, third-party, updated analyses of current statuses, as well as 3-5 years projections of the company you're interested in.

5.   SWOT Analysis (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats).  You may find this information using:

You may be able to draw conclusions about the company/industry by following the steps above.

6.  The steps above are a recursive process that you will repeat many times.  You may find an article and/or an update about your company an hour before your assignment is due.

Adapted from Business Writing 3016

This page is from  Business Writing 3016  maintained by Alfred Mowdood and Lorelei Rutledge. 

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• Last Updated: Aug 21, 2024 12:33 PM
• URL: https://campusguides.lib.utah.edu/CNI

Guide to Financial Statement Analysis

1. income statement analysis, 2. balance sheet and leverage ratios, 3. cash flow statement analysis, 4. rates of return and profitability analysis, more financial statement analysis, analysis of financial statements.

Guide to analyzing financial statements for financial analysts

One of the main tasks of an analyst is to perform an extensive analysis of  financial statements . In this free guide, we will break down the most important types and techniques of financial statement analysis.

This guide is designed to be useful for both beginners and advanced finance professionals, with the main topics covering: (1) the income statement, (2) the balance sheet, (3) the cash flow statement, and (4) rates of return.

Most analysts start their financial statement analysis with the  income statement . Intuitively, this is usually the first thing we think about with a business… we often ask questions such as, “How much revenue does it have?” “Is it profitable?” and “What are the margins like?”

In order to answer these questions, and much more, we will dive into the income statement to get started.

There are two main types of analysis we will perform: vertical analysis and horizontal analysis.

• Vertical Analysis

With this method of analysis, we will look up and down the income statement (hence, “vertical” analysis ) to see how every line item compares to revenue as a percentage.

For example, in the income statement shown below, we have the total dollar amounts and the percentages, which make up the vertical analysis.

As you see in the above example, we do a thorough analysis of the income statement by seeing each line item as a proportion of  revenue .

The key metrics we look at are:

• Cost of Goods Sold  (COGS) as a percent of revenue
• Gross profit  as a percent of revenue
• Depreciation  as a percent of revenue
• Selling General & Administrative ( SG&A ) as a percent of revenue
• Interest  as a percent of revenue
• Earnings Before Tax (EBT) as a percent of revenue
• Tax as a percent of revenue
• Net earnings  as a percent of revenue

To learn how to perform this analysis step-by-step, please check out our  Financial   Analysis Fundamentals Course .

Key Highlights

• One of the main tasks of a financial analyst is to perform an extensive analysis of a company’s financial statements. This usually begins with the income statement but also includes the balance sheet and cash flow statement.
• The main goal of financial analysis is to measure a company’s financial performance over time and against its peers.
• This analysis can then be used to forecast a company’s financial statements into the future.

Horizontal Analysis

Now it’s time to look at a different way to evaluate the income statement. With horizontal analysis, we look at the  year-over-year  (YoY) change in each line item.

In order to perform this exercise, you need to take the value in Period N and divide it by the value in Period N-1 and then subtract 1 from that number to get the percent change.

For the below example, revenue in Year 3 was $55,749, and in Year 2, it was $53,494. The YoY change in revenue is equal to $55,749 / $53,494 minus one, which equals 4.2%.

To see exactly how to perform this horizontal analysis of financial statements, please enroll in our Financial Analysis Fundamentals Course now!

Let’s move on to the  balance sheet . In this section of financial statement analysis, we will evaluate the operational efficiency of the business. We will take several items on the income statement and compare them to accounts on the balance sheet.

The balance sheet metrics can be divided into several categories, including liquidity, leverage, and operational efficiency.

The main liquidity ratios for a business are:

• Quick ratio
• Current ratio
• Net working capital

The main leverage ratios are:

• Debt to equity
• Debt to capital
• Debt to EBITDA
• Interest coverage
• Fixed charge coverage ratio

The main operating efficiency ratios are:

• Inventory turnover
• Accounts receivable days
• Accounts payable days
• Total asset turnover
• Net asset turnover

Using the above financial ratios, we can determine how efficiently a company is generating revenue and how quickly it’s selling inventory.

Using the financial ratios derived from the balance sheet and comparing them historically versus industry averages or competitors will help you assess the solvency and leverage of a business.

In our course on Analysis   of Financial Statements , we explore all the above metrics and ratios in great detail.

With the income statement and balance sheet under our belt, let’s look at the  cash flow statement  and all the insights it tells us about the business.

The cash flow statement will help us understand the inflows and outflows of cash over the time period we’re looking at.

Cash flow statement overview

The cash flow statement, or statement of cash flow, consists of three components:

• Cash from operations
• Cash used in investing
• Cash from financing

Each of these three sections tells us a unique and important part of the company’s sources and uses of cash over a specific time period.

Many investors consider the cash flow statement the most important indicator of a company’s performance.

Today, investors quickly flip to this section to see if the company is actually making money or not and what its funding requirements are.

It’s important to understand how different ratios can be used to properly assess the operation of an organization from a cash management standpoint.

Below is an example of the cash flow statement and its three main components.  Linking the 3 statements  together in Excel is the building block of financial modeling. To learn more, please see our  online courses  to learn the process step by step.

In this part of our analysis of financial statements, we unlock the drivers of financial performance. By using a “pyramid” of ratios, we are able to demonstrate how you can determine the profitability, efficiency, and leverage drivers for any business.

This is the most advanced section of our financial analysis course, and we recommend that you watch a demonstration of how professionals perform this analysis.

The course includes a hands-on case study and  Excel templates  that can be used to calculate individual ratios and a pyramid of ratios from any set of financial statements.

The key insights to be derived from the pyramid of ratios include:

• Return on equity ratio  (ROE)
• Profitability, efficiency and leverage ratios
• Primary, secondary and tertiary ratios
• Dupont analysis

By constructing the pyramid of ratios, you will gain an extremely solid understanding of the business and its financial statements.

Enroll in our financial analysis course to get started now!

We hope this guide on the analysis of financial statements has been a valuable resource for you. If you’d like to keep learning with free CFI resources, we highly recommend these additional guides to improve your financial statement analysis:

• How to Link the 3 Financial Statements
• Aggregation
• Bottom-Up Forecasting
• Interactive Career Map
• See all accounting resources
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