FIN4951 Financial and Economic Analysis Assessment 2026: Investment Analyst or Financial Adviser Report and Boardroom Discussion

FIN4951 Financial and Economic Analysis: Assessment Instructions 2026

FIN4951 is assessed through two linked individual components. Students take a professional role, prepare an advisory report on one listed company for a named decision-maker, and then defend that report in a boardroom discussion with a panel.

1. Individual Advisory Report (50%)

Prepare an advisory report on one listed company for a clearly identified decision-maker, addressing one material financial, investment or strategic decision. Choose ONE route:

• Route 1, Investment Analyst / Equity Analyst: advise a Fund Manager or Investment Committee whether the company’s shares should be bought, held or sold, using financial ratio analysis, share-price and return analysis, standard deviation, correlation, beta, CAPM and other module techniques.
• Route 2, Financial Adviser / Corporate Finance Adviser: advise the Board of Directors or CFO whether to expand, enter a new market, launch a major project, acquire or divest an operation, or make another significant investment, using investment appraisal, financial statement analysis, financing analysis and sensitivity or scenario analysis.

Requirements for both routes

1. State your professional role, the decision-maker, the listed company and the specific decision.
2. Analyse financial performance over two years using profitability, efficiency, liquidity, gearing and investment ratios.
3. Analyse the relevant economic and industry factors and their implications for performance and the decision.
4. Compare performance with a relevant competitor and/or industry benchmark.
5. Apply the techniques for your route, presenting, interpreting and critically evaluating the results.
6. State and justify key assumptions and evaluate risks and uncertainties.
7. Give a clear, evidence-based recommendation.
8. Identify the principal risk, the critical assumption and the circumstances that would make you revise it.
9. Present a professionally structured, properly referenced report.

Route 1 marking (50 marks)

• Company and industry analysis (5)
• Qualitative analysis of the annual report: Chair/CEO statement, Directors’ Report, Auditor’s Report and other commentary (5)
• Financial performance analysis: two-year ratios, graphs and tables, competitor or benchmark comparison (10)
• Economic analysis: growth, inflation, interest and exchange rates, policy and international conditions (5)
• Stock performance and market risk: two-year share-price charts, standard deviation, correlation with a market or industry index, beta and CAPM (15)
• Investment recommendation (BUY or SELL) and critical evaluation (5)
• Structure, evidence and referencing (5)

Route 2 marking (50 marks)

• Company and industry analysis (5)
• Qualitative analysis: strategic alignment, market opportunities, operational capability and key risks (5)
• Financial performance analysis over two years with benchmark comparison (10)
• Economic analysis (5)
• Investment appraisal, financing and risk: payback, NPV and IRR with justified assumptions, financing options (internal, debt, equity) and sensitivity or scenario analysis (15)
• Recommendation to the Board/CFO and critical evaluation (5)
• Structure, evidence and referencing (5)

2. Boardroom Discussion (50%)

An individual 5 to 10-minute discussion based on your report, in the same professional role and with the same decision-maker. Be ready to explain your financial and economic analysis and calculations, justify assumptions, evidence and benchmarks, defend your recommendation against challenges and alternative scenarios, explain how changing assumptions or conditions would affect it, compare alternative courses of action, and discuss the key risks and limitations of your analysis.