Matching Items (14)
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- All Subjects: Accounting
- Creators: WPC Graduate Programs
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
- Resource Type: Text
Description
The purpose of this thesis was to create a valuation of Spotify (Ticker: SPOT) and estimate a share price for the company. Spotify is one of the largest music streaming services in the world, currently operating in 79 markets globally with a subscriber base of over 100 million people. Spotify initially offered April 3, 2018 at $132 per share and sees a huge amount of financial assets on their balance sheet due to continued investment. As a newly established high-growth company, Spotify has enjoyed a 30% average revenue growth year over year from 2014 to 2019. Although Spotify’s reach is quite large, the company is dwarfed by competitors such as Apple, Google, and Amazon in the extremely competitive music streaming industry. Within this paper, we first analyze the competitive landscape that makes up the music streaming industry. Once a baseline understanding of the music streaming industry has been reached, we turn the focus more directly onto Spotify through examining Spotify’s position within the market as well as the company’s current strategic goals and objectives. We then forecasted Spotify’s financial statements forward and created a residual income model (RIM) based on Spotify’s financial statements. As was previously stated, the purpose of this model was to arrive at a share price for Spotify that we believe accurately reflects its value and compare that with its current market trading price. After successfully accomplishing this goal, we conducted a comprehensive final analysis and offered Spotify recommendations based on the model as well and its output.
ContributorsRice, Ian (Co-author) / Nagele, Benjamin (Co-author) / Samuels, Janet (Thesis director) / Orpurt, Steven (Committee member) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The concept of data analytics has become a primary focus for companies of all types, and from within all industries. Leveraging data to enhance the decision making power of management is now vital for companies to remain competitive. Beginning as a movement pioneered by tech-startups and teams of university researchers, data analytics is reshaping every industry that it touches, and the field of accounting has been no exception.
Corporate buzzword terms like “big data” and “data analytics” are vague in meaning, and are thrown around by media sources often enough to obfuscate their actual meanings. These concepts are then associated with company-wide initiatives beyond the reach of the individual, in a nebulous world where people know that analytics happens, but don’t understand what it is.
The power of data analytics is not reserved for company-wide initiatives, or only employed by Silicon Valley tech start-ups. Its impacts are visible down at the team or department level, and can be conducted by the individual employees. The field of data analytics is evolving, and within it exists a rapid transition in which the individual employee is becoming a source for insight and value creation through the adoption of analytics based approaches.
The purpose of this thesis is to showcase an example of this claim, and demonstrate how an analytics based approach was applied to an existing accounting process to create new insights and information. To do this, I will discuss my development of an Excel based Dashboard Analytics tool, which I completed during my internship with Bechtel Corporation throughout the summer of 2018, and I will use this analytics tool to demonstrate the improvements that small-scale analytics had on a pre-existing process. During this discussion, I will address conceptual aspects of database design that related to my project, and will show how I applied this classroom learning to a working environment. The paper will begin with an overview of the desired goals of the group in which I was based, and will then analyze how the needs of the group led to the creation and implementation of this new analytics-based reporting tool. I will conclude with a discussion of the potential future use of this tool, and how the inclusion of these analytical approaches will continue to shape the working environment.
Corporate buzzword terms like “big data” and “data analytics” are vague in meaning, and are thrown around by media sources often enough to obfuscate their actual meanings. These concepts are then associated with company-wide initiatives beyond the reach of the individual, in a nebulous world where people know that analytics happens, but don’t understand what it is.
The power of data analytics is not reserved for company-wide initiatives, or only employed by Silicon Valley tech start-ups. Its impacts are visible down at the team or department level, and can be conducted by the individual employees. The field of data analytics is evolving, and within it exists a rapid transition in which the individual employee is becoming a source for insight and value creation through the adoption of analytics based approaches.
The purpose of this thesis is to showcase an example of this claim, and demonstrate how an analytics based approach was applied to an existing accounting process to create new insights and information. To do this, I will discuss my development of an Excel based Dashboard Analytics tool, which I completed during my internship with Bechtel Corporation throughout the summer of 2018, and I will use this analytics tool to demonstrate the improvements that small-scale analytics had on a pre-existing process. During this discussion, I will address conceptual aspects of database design that related to my project, and will show how I applied this classroom learning to a working environment. The paper will begin with an overview of the desired goals of the group in which I was based, and will then analyze how the needs of the group led to the creation and implementation of this new analytics-based reporting tool. I will conclude with a discussion of the potential future use of this tool, and how the inclusion of these analytical approaches will continue to shape the working environment.
ContributorsCunningham, Jared (Author) / Dawson, Gregory (Thesis director) / Prince, Linda (Committee member) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Materiality describes the level to which the misreporting of information could influence decisionmakers who use that information. Since materiality is a highly abstract concept, it requires metrics to support its application to financial statements and other documents. Nonprofit and for-profit firms have different missions, suggesting that material information for decisionmakers looking at nonprofits' reports may differ from material information for decisionmakers looking at for-profit firms' reports.
This paper examines how materiality applies to nonprofit information disclosure. It begins by introducing the concept of materiality. It then explores how accounting literature, rule-making bodies, and the courts define and apply materiality. Nonprofit firms' structure, required financial statements, and comparisons to for-profit firms are next addressed. Issues with assessing nonprofit success and materiality in relation to various aspects of a nonprofit's mission are also introduced.
This paper finds that the metrics which support materiality should be different for nonprofit vs. for-profit firms. Nonprofit materiality measures should center around the mission statement, which differs from nonprofit to nonprofit. These nonprofit materiality measures assess the primary mission of providing goods and services, which has the greatest interest to potential donors. Examples of these materiality measures, along with the challenges and insights gained from them, are discussed. This paper concludes by overviewing nonprofit materiality measures and noting how they can improve nonprofit information disclosure. Suggestions for further research into improving materiality for nonprofit information disclosure are also given.
This paper examines how materiality applies to nonprofit information disclosure. It begins by introducing the concept of materiality. It then explores how accounting literature, rule-making bodies, and the courts define and apply materiality. Nonprofit firms' structure, required financial statements, and comparisons to for-profit firms are next addressed. Issues with assessing nonprofit success and materiality in relation to various aspects of a nonprofit's mission are also introduced.
This paper finds that the metrics which support materiality should be different for nonprofit vs. for-profit firms. Nonprofit materiality measures should center around the mission statement, which differs from nonprofit to nonprofit. These nonprofit materiality measures assess the primary mission of providing goods and services, which has the greatest interest to potential donors. Examples of these materiality measures, along with the challenges and insights gained from them, are discussed. This paper concludes by overviewing nonprofit materiality measures and noting how they can improve nonprofit information disclosure. Suggestions for further research into improving materiality for nonprofit information disclosure are also given.
ContributorsBails, Robin Hong (Author) / Shields, David (Thesis director) / Alhusaini, Badryah (Committee member) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
The goal of the ACC / CSE thesis project is to create a product that can help simplify and minimize complicated decisions when carrying out financial reporting transactions. Instead of relying on the expertise of external consultants, the product strives to provide users with an educational and practical experience that enables accountants to carry out financial reporting in accordance with IFRS and GAAP standards that are used around the world.
ContributorsStolper, Madeline (Author) / Lui, Heddie (Co-author) / Call, Andrew (Thesis director) / Hunt, Neil (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor)
Created2022-05