Faith and Purpose Article Presentation

The Faith & Purpose assignment requires you to prepare a presentation analyzing a recent article from either the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) or Bloomberg Business Week (log-in instructions are given in this module).

Instructions: Find a current article (within the last 2 years) related to a Finance topic specific to a company that ALSO has ethical issues which can be broadly defined. Potential topics are articles that discuss bonds, stocks, stock buybacks, company valuation, purchases of a company/product line/division, sale of a company/product line/division, interest rates, the yield curve, debt, working capital, business or market risk, the Federal Reserve, etc.

Create a PowerPoint/Google Slides presentation analyzing the article through a faith, purpose, and ethics lens. Record yourself giving the presentation in a professional manner.

Use the below guidance along with the grading rubric on Brightspace to ensure you earn the maximum points on this assignment. Each presentation must include:

1. Article Summary: Summarize the main points of the article.
2. Connection course concepts: Discuss specific finance principle(s)/concepts involved that you are learning in this course and/or have learned in prior finance/accounting classes. Does anything impact revenue, expense (which type), assets, liabilities, equity, etc? How are they impacted: increase or decrease; (current vs. long term; overstated vs. understated? Which financial statement(s) are impacted and how? What other accounting/finance concepts are relevant: accruals, management estimates, contingent liabilities, etc? General statements are not sufficient.
3. Discussion of stakeholders: What stakeholders are affected by this AND How are they affected? Were they helped or hurt? Some might be helped while others might be hurt with the same decision. Potential stakeholders are investors, suppliers, vendors, employees, lenders, the local community, the local environment, the government, etc. Discuss specific impacts including: financial (eg loss of revenue, reduction in net income), operational (open/close plant/ product line, layoff/hire employees, change vendors, etc) Think broadly, not just the obvious stakeholders directly mentioned in the article. Be specific: general statements are not sufficient.
4. Discussion of Ethics: This element is mandatory – if you do not discuss an ethical component, the entire grade is 0%. Jesuss Second Commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself, which includes your neighbors finances, air quality, water quality, food access, equal/fair treatment, respect, dignity, etc. What are the ethical issues involved in the issue discussed in this article? For example, should the primary goal of a company be to create value for Investors? Does a company have a social responsibility to the society and the public as a whole? If a company got into trouble, do you agree with the consequences issued to the company/executive? Do you think the consequences were sufficient to fix the issue in the future? Why or Why not? What else would you recommend be done to ensure the company changes their behavior to avoid this issue in the future? How could management have handled this situation better? Discusses relevant ethical principles such as: be fair, respect others, do no harm, make things better, care.
5. Professional presentation: Record yourself presenting your slides as if you were giving a professional presentation. You can record over Zoom, using your phone, or another way, but both you and your slides should be visible in the recording. The presentation delivery should be clear, cohesive, and well-structured.

Prepare your findings in a PowerPoint/Google Slides presentation, addressing the above points. Include any charts or graphs that are relevant in discussing class concepts.

You must submit 3 items for this assignment:

1. Your analysis of the article in a PowerPoint/Google Slides presentation, with the elements described above.
2. The article you used (or a working link to the article).
3. The recording of your presentation.

See the attached assignment rubric for a breakdown of points for each assignment element