Accounting and Financial Analysis Report Fox and CBS Corporation

Question: Evaluating the SWOT analysis from the annual reports of 21st century Fox and CBS Corporation. Answer: Abstract The report was presented by evaluating the SWOT analysis from the annual reports of 21st century Fox and CBS Corporation. The financial measurement of the companies in terms of return on Assets were expressed here. The reports from the auditors were explained here if any of the concerned issues were demonstrated by the concerned auditors. SWOT analysis of 21st Century Fox SWOT analysis of 21st Century is as follows: Strength Weakness Number one cable news network Strong management team Weak $ against the EURO had generated high revenue at the time of FIFA World cup Globally present Strengthening of US $ against the local currency had reduced the revenue in overseas business Financially weak Opportunity Threat Strengthening the intellectual property rights Strong law against the piracy and to protect the intellectual property Change of privacy laws in Asia and South America Risk of weak domestic and global economy Table 1: SWOT of 21st Century Source: (https://www.21cf.com/Investor_Relations/, 2015) From the above table, we could see the SWOT analysis of 21st Century FOX where the main strength of the company is associated with its product and business diversification. Further, the stable management team had provided the company to gain momentum in its business (Cadle et al., 2014). However, the weaknesses of the company was seen in financial segment and the threat of the business was associated with the economic slowdown in the global as well as domestic perspective. 21st Century had the option of strengthening the intellectual property rights for maximising the intangible assets. The regulatory changes in the Asian and Latin American countries are the threat to the business of the company as uncertainties are associated with the changes in the laws (Cherif, 2014). The data protection law in the foreign countries could make the cost of operation high as those countries do not have much potential of high purchasing power from their viewers. SWOT analysis of CBS Corporation SWOT analysis of CBS Corporation is as follows: Strength Weakness Thursday Night football and Super Bowl 50 are the strongest program in the network Operating income margin from the operation Have niche market due to the target of 18-34 years old Strengthening of US $ against the local currency had reduced the revenue from the overseas business Financially loss was $21 million due to foreign currency translation towards adverse direction Global presence was limited Opportunity Threat Expanding in foreign market Live shows streaming through internet and networking programing Financially weak due to low net profit Risk of weak domestic and global economy Threat from the internet to the broadcasters of the programmes in television Table 2: SWOT of CBS Source: (Investors.cbscorporation.com, 2015) CBS had the opportunity of making expansion of its business in the foreign soil. The company had taken initiative of steaming the live shows through internet on companys official platform. However, the threat from other internet streamlines were still present for the company. The weak economy was another threat to the business. High income and operating margin from some of the selective programmes were the main strength for CBS while it had some niche product to draw attention of the adult of 18-34 aged. The main weaknesses were consisted with the limited global presence of doing the business. The recent financial loss due to foreign currency translation was the major weakness to the business of CBS Corporation. The company had limited foreign exposure of its business, which had made the business environment risky due to its low geographic segmentation. Accounting standards used 21st Century Fox had applied the US GAAP and FASB standards in preparing the final accounts. Standards of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board was maintained in this report. CBS Corporation had applied the US GAAP and non-GAAP measurement for showing the segmented results on basis of operational point of view and maintaining the FASB guidelines. The accounting standard was followed as provided with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Date of the most recent fiscal year-end Until date, the recent fiscal year end annual report of 2014 was available in the official website of 21st Century Fox and CBS Corporation. The company had published the unaudited results up to 2014, December. Determine the relative proportion of short-term and long-term assets The relative proportion of short-term assets to long-term assets is 0.532 for the case of 21st Century FOX. The proportion of current to non-current assets of CBS is 0.302. 21st century (In million $) CBS (In million $) current assets 17376 5589 non-current assets 32675 18483 proportion 0.532 0.302 Table 3: Current assets to non-current assets Determine the proportion of liabilities and equity 21st Century FOX had the proportion of liabilities to equity of 1.75. CBS had the proportion of 2.45 liabilities to assets. 21st century (In million $) CBS (In million $) liabilities 31865 17102 equity 18186 6970 proportion 1.75 2.45 Table 4: Liabilities to assets Return on assets of 2014 ROAFOX = 0.1584 ROACBS = 0.016 21st century CBS ROA 0.158 0.016 Table 5: ROA measurement Disaggregation of ROA into two components The return on asset ratio can be segregated into two parts = net profit margin * asset turnover ratio From the point of view of that net profit margin = .287 and asset turnover ratio = 0.553 for 21st Century Fox Net profit margin of CBS Corporation is 0.112 while asset turnover ratio is 0.144. 21st century CBS Net Profit Margin 0.287 0.112 Asset turnover 0.580 0.144 Aggregate ROA 0.166 0.016 Table 6: Disaggregation of ROA Auditors and reports from them The auditors report was presented from the auditing firm Ernst young for 21st Century Fox where the concerned was raised about the limitation of the internal control over providing the accounting information. The auditing firm had expressed its concern over the misstatements and incorrect future projection of such particulars due to change in the economy. However, the conducted audit could not find any real concerned matter from the statement provided to them (Leung, 2011). The present report in the official website of CBS Corporation was unaudited. Difference with the audit report of Berkshire Hathaway There was no difference between auditors report of 21st Century and Berkshire Hathaway literally except the auditing firms were different for the two companies. References Cherif, E. (2014). Real estate services structure evolution with internet and SWOT analysis.IJECRM,8(4), 200. https://dx.doi.org/10.1504/ijecrm.2014.067510 https://www.21cf.com/Investor_Relations/,. (2015).Investors relation. Retrieved 23 January 2016, from https://tcfeuspstrgektron.blob.core.windows.net/uploadedfiles/pages/investor_relations/21cf%202015ar%20web.pdf Investors.cbscorporation.com,. (2015).CBS Corporation | Investor Relations | News Release. Retrieved 23 January 2016, from https://investors.cbscorporation.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99462p=irol-newsArticle_printID=2016405 Leung, D. (2011).Inside Accounting. Farnham, Surrey, England: Gower. Maneenetr, T. (2014). SWOT Analysis of a Ladyboy Cabaret Show Market in Phuket province, Thailand.MJSS. https://dx.doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p653 ReferencesCadle, J., Eva, M., Hindle, K., Paul, D., Rollason, C., Turner, P. et al. (2014).Business Analysis. Swindon: BCS Learning Development Limited.