Provide relevant background information on each company, current forces affecting its operations, and its expectations for future years.

Words: 313
Pages: 2
Subject: Accounting

Quality Group Project- We are an automotive company looking to acquire two smaller innovative

Step 1: Select Comparable Companies that Satisfy Inclusion Criteria

Describe the methodology used to select the target acquisitions. You may want to consider utilizing the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) to identify companies within your industry. Of course, there are a variety of Internet sites that can assist you in locating firms within your chosen industry, such as Google Finance and Yahoo Finance.

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Step 2: Conduct Qualitative Research on the Companies

Provide relevant background information on each company, current forces affecting its operations, and its expectations for future years. The management discussion and analysis (MD&A) section of the company’s annual report will be a useful source for this type of information. In addition to the companies’ annual report, the teams may look at pulling current articles about the companies from the databases available through the University Library. There are a number of credible sources where this type of information can be obtained through the Internet.

Caution: It is dangerous to rely solely on the opinions and perceptions expressed by agents of a firm, since they may have a tendency to present an overly optimistic picture of the current state and future of their companies. After all, they have shareholders that pay close attention to their words and actions. It would be prudent to verify information through non-agents of the companies, such as financial and investment analysts who closely track the industry as well as media outlets that closely monitor and report on companies within the U. S. economy. It is understood that the opinions expressed by these sources are subject to bias regardless of how objective they attempt to be. The objective is to validate the information you obtain through more than a single source. This is a practice that all management officials should make a habit.