Order Number |
342167762 |
Type of Project |
ESSAY |
Writer Level |
PHD VERIFIED |
Format |
APA |
Academic Sources |
10 |
Page Count |
3-12 PAGES |
In your paper, Explain the nature of an option security and the uses of futures markets securities to shape investment portfolios. Explain how individuals and businesses can use options and futures markets instruments to create speculating opportunities and reduce their investment risk exposure. Outline and explain a put and call purchase strategy that will allow you to use $10,000 to control 100 shares of the common stock in your portfolio. Describe some of the essential similarities and differences between options and futures.
Developing pro forma financial statements and cash flow forecasts depends heavily upon sales forecasts. Imagine you are a financial analyst working for a major stockbroker, and you are trying to develop a one-year sales forecast for a major national department store. List five pieces of information you want to obtain to aid you in your forecast, and explain why they will aid you in your forecast.
Now that you have made your best prediction of next year’s sales, you will want to estimate next year’s cost of goods sold. Pick two pieces of information you definitely want to obtain in order to help you with this task, and explain why they will be helpful.
Just do response each posted # 1 to 3 only down below.
Posted 1
Good morning class,
When making sales forecasts, it’s important to have detailed information about a company. For starters, an analyst would want to know how a firm performed in previous years, as a company’s past performance is indicative of future performance. He should also like to have data about similar companies: by having this he is better able to judge his company’s performance. Additionally, he needs macroeconomic data to contextualize his company’s past performance and anticipate the economic conditions for the future year. Information on marketing, and its correlation with sales, would also be useful. Lastly, the analysts should like to have additional information on how the supply and demand for his company’s product(s) is expected to change in the coming year.
Two useful pieces of information for estimating COGS would be (1) previous COGS and (2) how much inventory (in terms of quantity) the company plans to purchase. Both data points are necessary for forecasting future costs.
Posted 2
When predicting the future sales forecast it is important to consider these five things in order to most accurately depict what is to come. One item would be the economy of which your company is participating in and the the health of the market. The conditions will show the amount of money being traded by consumers in the market and if the market will be sustained or in decline. The next item would be the sales returns in allowances that shows the company’s ability to maintain a sale. The next would direct cost as this shows the amount of cost related to the sales to determine part of the gross margin that helps in determining financial standing. Another would be demand sustainability as if the company can maintain the demand of the product or if they are over producing causing a stagnate inventory this could also be looked at through the inventory turnover. Lastly look in the selling price per unit to depict the potential money to be made of each sale and the price compared to the market. To determine the potential COGS, you first have to look into historical data that will have a percentage to base the potential of future cost. Another factor would be to look an inventory and fluctuation of the cost of the raw materials that make up the material. As the industry and the economy change the cost will fluctuate.
Posted 3
Ff I was a financial analyst, in order to better forecast the sales of
next year, I would want to obtain data on competitors within the
industry, economic conditions, historical data, the company’s budget,
and different trends in sales. Obtaining data regarding competitors will
help in comparing one company to the other; possibly using one as a
benchmark. Monitoring economic conditions will allow a company to see
any increases or decreases in supply and demand as well as other
circumstances such as interest rates and more. Historical data is
probably the first source in forecasting. This is concrete data that is
readily available and describes the past. Knowing the company’s budget
and what they can spend determines what they are capable of (to an
extent) in the future. Lastly, looking at trends in sales can put a
company in a better position to project future sales. They can look at
the percentage increases or decreases that have happened in the past.
In order to predict next year’s cost of goods sold, the pieces of information that I would want are manufacturing costs as well as salary and wages. Some employees may get raises so knowing this information can help in estimating cost of goods sold. Additionally, being familiar with manufacturing costs or how much the manufacturer is going to raise or lower prices is a good determinant in accurate forecasting. Knowing this type of information will better suite management in forecasting the future.