Recruitment and Selection - Assignment Example

Running header: Recruitment and selection Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission: Wesfarmers Limited 1. The company includes the following in its definition for cash in preparing its cash flow statement: a) Cash flow from operating activities which include receipts from customers, payments to suppliers and employees, interest received, borrowing costs, income tax paid and dividends and distributions received from associates. b) Cash flow from investing activities which includes net acquisition of insurance deposits, proceeds from sale of intangibles, property, plant and equipment, payments for intangibles, property plant and equipment, proceeds from sale of controlled entities, acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired and net investment in associates and joint ventures (Jade, 2012) c) Cash flow from financing activities which includes payment of borrowings, proceed from borrowings, equity dividends paid and proceeds from exercise of in substance options under the employee share plan. 2. Net operating cash flows for year 2012 were $3,641 million. a) The main cash inflows related to operating activities were receipts from customers of $62,620 million. They are related to the company’s main business in that the company mainly gets its revenue from selling to its customers and hence without this cash, the company will be unable to operate profitably. b) The main cash outflows related to operating activities were payment s to suppliers and employees of $57,865. They are related to the company’s business in that the suppliers provide the products with which the company manufactures the products it sells to its customers while employees keep the company going by operating its processes. Hence without the suppliers and the employees, the company will be unable to operate (Wesfarmers Company limited annual report, 2012). 3. The net result of cash flows related to investing activities for financial year 2012 was $2,169 million. a) The main cash outflows related to financing activities were payments for property, plant and equipment and intangibles. These were valued at $2,626 million. b) The main inflows related to investing activities were proceeds from sale of controlled entities valued at $402 million and proceeds from sale of property plant and equipment and intangibles valued at $275 million (Wesfarmers Company limited annual report, 2012). 4. The net result of cash flows related to financing activities for year 2012 was $1,242 million. a) The main inflows related to financing activities were proceeds from borrowings amounting to $1,443 million. b) The main outflows related to financing activities were the equity dividends paid valued at $1,789 million and repayment of borrowing amounting to $ 901 million (Wesfarmers Company limited annual report, 2012). 5. The company’s free cash flow for financial year 2012; FCF = Net operating cash flow –capital expenditure –dividend paid Net operating cash flow = $3,641 million Capital expenditure = payment for property, plant and equipment and intangibles of $2,626 million and acquisition of subsidiaries, net of cash acquired of $52 million and net investment in associates and joint ventures of $4 million ($2,626 +52 +4= $2682 million). Dividend paid =$1,789 million. Therefore; Net operating cash flow = $3,641- (2682+1789) = -$830 million The company has a negative free cash flow of $ -830 million. This means that the company does not have any money available for investment and would have to borrow from external sources other than from its own operations. As such, I believe that this is not a good result for the company given the opportunities the company wishes to pursue to enhance shareholders value (Wesfarmers Company limited annual report, 2012). 6. The net increase in cash for the financial year 2012 was $230 million. This was mainly caused by increased net inflows from operating activities from $2,917 million in 2011 to $3,641 million in 2012 as well as reduced deficits from financing activities which reduced from $( 1,784 million) in 2011 to $ (1,242 million) in 2012 (Wesfarmers Company limited annual report, 2012). 7. The following are the reasons I would prefer to examine the cash flow statement reports rather than the balance sheet or the income statement; a) The balance sheet and the income statement often include cash that has not been received although it has been earned unlike the cash flow statement that only include the actual cash receipts. b) The balance sheet and the income statement often deduct cash that will be paid in future since the expense has already been incurred. This is unlike the cash flow statement that only deducts the actual cash that has been used in making payments (expenses that have already been paid) c) The income statement and the balance sheet often include non cash items in the balances unlike the cash flow reports. Owing to the above reasons, the cash balances shown by the cash flow statements are the correct amounts of cash that the company has unlike those shown by the income statement and the balance sheet. Thus, the cash flow statements balances are preferable in the company’s financial planning and budgeting (Frank, 2009). As such, I prefer to examine cash flow reports rather than income statements and balance sheets because cash flow information removes the impact of arbitrary allocations that occur under accrual accounting. 8. i) The following are the external users of the company’s financial statements; a) Creditors- these include suppliers and banks that led to the company. Suppliers at times need financial information to determine whether they will offer credit facilities to David Jones. The banks by using the financial information will determine the company’s credit worthiness see whether the company will be able to meet its financial obligations with ease. This will help them determine whether or not to give loans to the company. b) Potential shareholders – They are interested in the statement so that they can decide whether they should invest in the company or they should not. If the company is making good profits, they will know that their investment will fetch good returns and hence buy shares. c) The government – The tax man and hence the government is interested in the taxes that David Jones pay. By examining the statements, the tax authorities will be able to determine whether the company actually complies with tax requirements and how much tax the company should pay. d) Customers – Customers want to know that the company will continue supplying them with products reliably (Frank, 2009). If the company is financially stable, then they are sure that it will continue in operations and hence will be able to continue supplying them. e) Regulatory authorities- they are interested in knowing whether the company complies with the laid down rules and regulations in its financial reporting so as to protect all interested stakeholders against imprudent accounting. ii) Internal stakeholders who may be interested in Wesfarmers Company Limited’s financial reports include; a) Share holders – The shareholders want to know whether the company is making good use of their monies and also whether the company is able to pay them dividends if it has made profits. They can also use the information to decide whether to make further investments. b) The company’s board of directors –Wesfarmers Limited board of directors would be interested in the financial statements since they would want to know whether the company is being effectively managed and hence decide on areas of improvement. They would also want to use the statement s in order to decide whether or not to declare a dividend for the shareholders. c) Top management Wesfarmers Company’s top management such as the chief executive office would be interested in the company’s financial statements so as to know how effective they are in managing the company (Frank, 2009). The report will also help them make various managerial decisions that relate to financing, operations and investment. In addition, they will use the information in advising the board on whether or not to declare a dividend. d) Wesfarmers company’s employees – the employees would be interested in determining the company’s financial soundness in a bid to make decisions on whether to continue working in the company or to seek for employment else where. This will also guide them in making decisions on whether to request for bonuses or salary increases. e) The finance director – The Company’s finance director would be interested in the statements so as to make financing decisions for the company. 9. Principle regarding the board- Principle 1 provides for establishment and disclosure of the respective roles and responsibilities of board and management. The board has fully complied with this requirement since its corporate responsibility statement has a section on page 57 titled role and responsibilities of the board and management. The section explains the board’s responsibility through a chart as well as the role of the executive and the managing director. ASX guidelines also require the company disclose the process for evaluating performance of senior executives. The requirement has been complied with on page 61 and 62 under the section performance evaluation. The section clearly outlines how the executives and the board’s performance as well as that of its committees are evaluated. Principle 2 requires the company to structure the board to add value. It recommends that the board’s majority should be independent directors. The requirement has been complied with on page 58 since of the company’s 10 directors, only two are executive directors. Furthermore, the requirement that the chair of the board has been complied with as explained under the section independence of the chairman on page 58. Furthermore, the board chairman is not the company’s CEO in line with SAX recommendations. The company has also established a nomination committee in charge of nominating new directors as stated on page 59 under the section appointment of new directors in line with ASX recommendations. The audit committee-Principle 4 provides for safeguarding of integrity in financial reporting. In line with this, the board should establish an audit committee structured in such a manner that it’s composed of only non executive directors, has at least 3 members and is chaired by an independent director which is not the board chairperson (Asxgroup.com, 2010). The company has complied with all these requirements as can be seen on the table on page 60. Remuneration committee- Principle 8 provides for the company to ensure the level of remuneration is sufficient and reasonable and should have a clear relationship to performance. As such, the board should establish a remuneration committee composed of majority independent directors. It should have at least 3 members and the chair should not be the chairman of the board. In addition, the company should have a clear distinction between the structure of non executive remuneration and that of executive directors and senior executives. These recommendations have been complied with as depicted on page 60. Conclusion – as has been explained above, the company’s corporate governance statement meets the guidelines identified by ASX with reference to board, Audit committee and remuneration committee structure. 10. The company includes sustainability reporting in its annual report with some examples of sustainability information in its annual report including; a) The importance of people b) Carbon emissions reduction and energy management c) Community partnerships and investments (Wesfarmers Company limited, Annual Report 2012) d) A reduced overall environmental footprint e) A strong economic contribution References: Jade, M2012, Essentials of financial management, International Journal of financial management and accounting, vol.58, no.2, pp. 199-205. Wesfarmers Company limited, Annual Report 2012, Retrieved on 28th August 2012, from; http://thomson.mobular.net/thomson/7/3319/4677/ Frank, B2009, Introduction to accounting, London, Rutledge. Asxgroup.com, 2010, ASX corporate governance statement, Retrieved on 28th August 2013, from; http://www.asxgroup.com.au/media/PDFs/cgprinciplesrecommendationswith 2010ammendments.pdf Part B: Peer assessment Your work is very well done. However, in question 1, don’t just state but you need to elaborate further. Similarly, elaborate further on users of financial information. Part C: 1. Self Evaluation I completed my questions in a timely manner that allowed my group members to provide feed back. I also provided constructive feedback on their work on time to allow them look at it and act accordingly. I finished my work on 27th August and I provided feedback for my group members work on 30th August 2013. I was supportive to the group in all aspects and I also behaved in a professional manner. 2. Group member 1. The member was very corporative and he finished his work on a timely manner that allowed me to provide feedback. He also provided timely constructive feedback on my work. He was very supportive to the group as a whole and he behaved in a professional manner that I would expect from someone working industry. He gave feedback on 30th August 2013. 2. The member was very corporative and he finished his work on a timely manner that allowed me to provide feedback. He also provided timely constructive feedback on my work. He was very supportive to the group as a whole and he behaved in a professional manner that I would expect from someone working industry. He gave feedback on 30th August 2013. 3. The member was very corporative and he finished his work on a timely manner that allowed me to provide feedback. He also provided timely constructive feedback on my work. He was very supportive to the group as a whole and he behaved in a professional manner that I would expect from someone working industry. He gave feedback on 30th August 2013. 3. Optional issues /Challenges- The feedback provided was very important in helping me see the importance of explaining everything in full details. I can apply this even in future by being more elaborate in my future work. Read More