Graded Homework

Topic: Analyze and evaluate the use of various strategies to
manage financial risk or the application of enterprise risk management in an
organizational context.

As a financial manager, discuss how to integrate the
issue(s) into decision-making process. For example, would you use financial
criteria exclusively? If so, which ones? If you would use non-financial
criteria, which ones and how would you reconcile them with desired financial
outcomes. Few managerial decisions have only a single solution. Also, there may
be opportunity costs and risks that should be weighed.

Clearly state the issues that you are addressing and
describe the organization(s) that are affected.

Where data are available, include a financial analysis that
leads to your conclusion.

Where data are not available, describe in detail the type of
analysis you would perform and the data needed to reach a conclusion.

Elect and defend the approach that seems most appropriate at
this time. If you believe that there are evolving issues, state clearly what
future actions you would recommend.

Be between 10 – 15 pages, plus appendices, exhibits, and
references.

Include a one-page Executive Summary immediately following
the title page that includes a statement of the major issue(s) and your
specific recommendations. The content of an Executive Summary is similar to an
abstract.

Properly cite reference sources (APA format): these may
include course material, information from magazines, journals, and online
sources. All reference sources must have a publication date no earlier than
2004.

Recommended Resources:

Yahoo: http://finance.yahoo.com;

Reuters (Yahoo will refer you here): http://www.reuters.com;

Edgar (SEC source of 10-K and other required financial
reports; this is my saved “Favorite”):
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-edgar; (EDGAR stands for Electronic Data
Gathering and Retrieval)

Hoovers (general company information):
http://www.hoovers.com;

Bloomberg (a good source of interest rate data):
http://bloomberg.com/markets/rates/index.html;

Wall Street Journal free site:
http://online.wsj.com/public/page/0,,2_0323,00.html;

Moody’s (bond ratings): http://www.moodys.com;

Standard and Poors (bond ratings):
http://www2.standardandpoors.com;

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com/;

Bondpage (bond information): http://www.bondpage.com;

Federal Reserve (interest rates):
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h15/update/;

Vanguard bond site: http://flagship2.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/FundsBondsMarketSummaryTable;
and

Bond Marketing Association (trade group) site:
http://www.investingbonds.com