Internal and external users apply various analytical tools, such as horizontal analysis, vertical analysis, and ratio analysis, to evaluate the performance and financial condition of a company

Internal and external users apply various analytical tools, such as horizontal analysis, vertical analysis, and ratio analysis, to evaluate the performance and financial condition of a company. Imagine that you are looking at investing in a company, but you feel you need to learn a little more about the company to see how it has performed in the past. You want to know if the investment is a safe one.

In this situation, which of the three analytical tools mentioned above would you use to evaluate the company’s performance and financial condition? Why would you choose that analytical tool? What would you be able to learn about the company based on that tool?

5-7 sentences

Based on what you have studied in this course, what do you believe will be your greatest challenge in relation to financial risk management? Describe a time when you had to make a financial decision that had a component of risk. Were you able to apply the decision-making framework of applying intelligence and considering your goals? Explain your answer.

You have been hired as a consultant to help Ford Motor Company return to its glory days, when either Henry Ford or Alan Mulally ran the company. In doing so, you must produce a short report to Jim Hackett, Ford’s CEO, that conveys your observations of Ford’s current situation (situational analysis), and a proposal of strategic actions Ford should take to be the model automotive company of the 21st century. Thus, you task is to answer the following questions based solely on the information provided in the case: