Measuring the competitiveness of a business
We’ve seen that competitiveness is about advantages that enable a business to outperform its competitors. But, can competitiveness be measured and, if so, how?
read more...»Should you buy Facebook shares?
Most of you will be familiar with the crucial concept of appraising business investments. This means taking a cold, hard look at a business proposal (in this case buying Facebook shares) and seeing what kind of return you are likely to get on that investment.
With Facebook shares only days away from public sale, analysts are busy trying to piece together the information that’s necessary to advise people one way or another. This seems like a great opportunity to get you thinking. What do you need to know before deciding whether to invest? Here are a few links to get you started…
Revision Presentation - Improving Cash Flow
What are the causes of cash flow problems and how can a business manage its cash flow more effectively? This updated revision presentation looks at those questions, covering topics such as the basics of working capital management, bank finance, factoring, sale and leaseback and sale of assets.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Measuring and Increasing Profit
This revision presentation provides an introduction to the measurement and interpretation of profit, focusing on the net profit margin and return on capital. It also looks at the crucial difference between profit and cash flow.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Using Budgets
This updated revision presentation looks at the essentials of using budgets. It considers the role played by budgeting and explains the nature and use of variance analysis…
read more...»Revision Presentation - the Startup Cash Flow Forecast
Every startup should consider the likely future cash flows of the enterprise in the first few weeks and months of trading. This revision presentation takes students through the basics of the cash flow forecast.
read more...»Revision Quiz - Sources of Finance for a Startup
Students can test their understanding of sources of finance for a startup with this updated revision quiz. There are 30 questions on startup finance in the database and each time you take the quiz you get 10 questions selected at random. To play a new version of the quiz, simply refresh your browser.
Launch Revision Quiz - Sources of Finance for a Startup
Revision Quiz - Cash Flow Forecasting for a Startup
This updated revision quiz contains questions which looks at the use of cash flow forecasts by business start-ups. Each time you take the quiz, 10 questions are drawn from the quiz database on cash flow forecasting.
Launch revision quiz on startup cash flow forecasting
Making Finance Fun 2012 - CPD Course (London and Manchester)
This new CPD course from the tutor2u team looks at how we can make the teaching and learning of finance fun!, We’re running the course for the first time on 20 June 2012 in central London and the following day in Manchester…
read more...»What’s going wrong at Superdry?
Bad news for Superdry, one of the most popular young fashion chains in the UK, which has suffered a huge knock. The firm’s owner, SuperGroup, saw its share price plunge 40% on Friday after a shock profit warning. And it’s not just investors who are losing faith. Fashionistas say the Superdry brand, which burst on to the scene in 2004 with its vintage Americana look topped off by Japanese script, is looking tired. This story combines accounting, finance, fashion, marketing and stock control.
read more...»Costs, Cashflow and Closure - the Last French Beret Maker
France boasts some of the most famous fashion houses in the world, but there are few items of clothing more synonymous with the country than the beret. However, the nation’s last surviving factory that produces the item is now facing closure due to financial problems. With cheaper production costs, the iconic hat may in the future be made in Asia. A great example of the impact of emerging markets on the competitiveness of firms in developed economies. Some nice comments too in the video about the type of cash flow problems experienced by small manufacturers.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Business & Interest Rates
This revision presentation explains the role of interest rates and how they affect both the cost of business finance and the wider impact on business demand.
read more...»ResearchBuster: Retrenchment
Most businesses aim to grow - but not all succeed - and many are forced to reduce the scale and scope of their business activities as a deliberate act of strategy. This is known as “retrenchment” and A2 students should have an understanding of some examples of retrenchment in action. Which firms / brands were involved? What happened? And why? Here are some suggestions that students could add to their notes:
read more...»An embarrassment of riches: what does Apple plan to do with its cash mountain?
I know that students are being to understand concepts like cash flow forecasting and balance sheets when they begin to appreciate that a firm can have too much cash. In the scale of business difficulties, it’s perhaps quite a minor problem – even a nice one to face! It’s a question that Apple have being thinking through, and have made an announcement about this week.
read more...»Lesson video : Franchising for beginners
A wonderful topical video clip here from the BBC which introduces pupils to the pros and cons of setting up a Franchise. Four minutes long, the video is perfect as a lesson starter for just about every business course that requires students to develop their understanding of business startups.
read more...»Trouble at Travelodge: ratio analysis helps explain why
The development of the budget hotel sector has been very interesting to follow, and the latest chapter sees Travelodge looking for financial assistance as it steadily sinks under a mountain of debt and rising costs. Here are some fairly simple numbers to show you how ratio analysis can be used to measure the size of the problem.
read more...»Integration, integration, integration
HP is an example of a firm which is struggling to integrate acquisitions, and the perils of diversification.
Strategic choice: What should Apple do for its investors?
This graphic says it all. Just look at the astonishing growth in quarterly profits achieved by Apple in recent years, culminating in a staggering result for the final quarter of 2011 which surpassed even the most optimistic forecasts of investment analysts. A key point for students to consider from this growth in profits is that Apple has followed a policy of retaining profits rather than returning them to shareholders as dividends (or share buy backs).
In Apple’s case, profits have turned into huge cash balances - now almost $100billion. To put this into perspective, in the last three months of 2011, Apple’s cash balances were increasing by $1 billion per week!
So, what should Apple do with the cash?
read more...»Starter Activity: The Budget Basket
A while ago, I blogged about a really good activity for helping to teach budgets. It was called the wedding planner and can be found here. However, this is another similiar activity that can also be used to help teach the concept of budgets.
read more...»The Business of Football - Everton explain where the money goes
This is superb - a really useful resource to help explain the concept of an income statement and cash flow too.
read more...»Revision Presentation - Income Statement Basics
This revision presentation outlines the basic structure of the income statement and also explains the meaning of “profit quality”
read more...»Revision Presentation - Cost Minimisation
This brief revision presentation outlines the purpose and practice of cost minimisation as a financial strategy.
read more...»Crisps and exchange rates
There is quite a lot of good business studies in this short article which provides an update on the financial performance of Tyrrells Crisps - the premium crisps firm that was originally founded by entrepreneurial Herefordshire farmer Will Chase.
read more...»BUSS3 Quiz on Financial Strategies and Accounts
Here is a ten question “type the answer” quiz covering ten key concepts in BUSS3 financial strategies and accounts created using Zondle.
read more...»Great product, bad management?
At first glance, Olympus is a market leader in the endoscope market, miniature cameras used in micro surgery and engineering inspections.
Warehouse woes - Superdry’s operations hit the finances
At the recent BUSS3 workshops we considered how a seemingly insignificant change in operations could have a potentially significant effect on the financial performance of a retail business if that change went wrong. We used the example of retailer Superdry to help make the point. And now the full cost suffered by Superdry as a result of their warehouse problems has been disclosed in the latest financial results from its parent company Supergroup.
read more...»Time for this Dragon to Cut Costs to Keep his Health Clubs Fighting Fit
The downturn in consumer confidence and spending is hitting just about every business in the retail and leisure sector - and even a Dragon like Duncan Bannatyne is not immune.
read more...»Pandanomics - Can Edinburgh Zoo Get a Return on its Cuddly Investment?
It was business class all the way for Tian Tian and Yang Guang on board the suitably-sponsored FedEx Panda Express (as this exclusive snap suggests!). However, will the Pandas prove to be a worthwhile investment for Edinburgh Zoo?
read more...»Tottenham Hotspur to switch from public to private limited company
If you’re interested in different types of legal structure for business organisations – or football – you might be intrigued by the decision by football club Tottenham Hotspur to “de-list” its shares from the stock market and “go private”.
read more...»Olympus Epic Fail
The scale of the failings in corporate governance at Olympus is breathtaking. The company has misled, shareholders, banks, auditors, stock markets, Japan’s government, and staff about the true state of its finances over a 20 year period. It is Corporate Social Irresponsibility on the grandest of scales.
read more...»
