Analytical Skills Foundation

Question : Discuss about the Analytical Skill Foundation ? Answer : Introduction The given report indicates the importance of proper and effective presentation of charts and graphs for the respective organization. The first part of the report reflects the criteria for evaluation for presentation of respective charts and graphs. Several parameters have been evaluated based on which the graphs and tables will be analysed effectively. In addition to this, the organization Woolworths has been selected. The report will highlight and review the tabular and graphical representation of graphs and tables of the annual report published the organization Woolworths. Evaluation Criteria The criteria for evaluation of tables and graphs are done based on the needs of the given stakeholders. There are different types of parameters with the help of which all the given tables or charts can be evaluated in an effective manner. mbiguous/Unambiguous data- It is important for the organizations to present their data in an effective and clear manner so that their data is easy to interpret (McMurray and Powell 2016). Many times, it has been seen that if the financial data is not interpreted in an effective manner, then, the users of the respective financial statements, usually misinterpret the respective data. Effective Measurement of the Variables- The tables and graphs of the financial statements needs to have suitable variables. In addition to this, the variables are also required to be measured as per the accounting process followed by the organization in their respective financial reports (Bollobs 2013) Fonts and Presentation Style- The fonts and presentation style needs to be as per with the requirements of the stakeholders. Apart from this, it can be inferred that it should also be at par with the activities of the company. If, fonts and presentation style is not up to the mark, the stakeholders of the organization may not be relate the company with themselves. To the point- The graphical and tabular representation needs to be to the point, so that the real message can be understood by the users of the financial statements. Apart from this, it can be inferred that if the graphs and tables are complex in nature, then the entire interpretation will be wrong (Morell 2015) Relevance- The data presented needs to be relevant in nature. Different companies have different aims and objectives. Therefore, it is of great essence for the organization to attain their respective aims and objectives while presenting their tables and graphs in their respective annual reports. It is also important for the organization to implement all their respective units and variables in their charts and tables. Encoding of the Respective Data-It is of great essence for the firm to encode their data in an effective manner. The data must be encoded in such a manner that it meets the criteria for publishing the annual report of the respective organization. Proper Labelling of the Data- It can be inferred that all the tabular and graphical data needs to be labelled properly for the suitability of the stakeholders of the report. Concise Factors-It is of great essence for the organization to present all their given data in a concise manner. This will reduce complexity and also nullify the chances of the data being misinterpreted by the respective users. Accuracy by Geometrical Means- It is extremely important for the firm to maintain geometrical accuracy in the given data. This is mainly because, such kind of accuracy easily catches the eyes of the users of the financial statements. Scaling- It is important that different types of data must be used with the help of scaling. Without proper scaling of data, the entire data set will look useless. Colourful Presentation- The first thing that catches the eyes of any user of financial statement, is their respective colourful presentation. It can be inferred that if the presentation is extremely colourful, then, they will gather interest to go through the financial statements (Swedberg 2016) Customization according to Requirements- It is of great essence for the firm to customize their data in accordance to the requirements of the stakeholders. If the stakeholders are not satisfied with the report, then, the entire tabular and graphical presentation will be useless. Comparison of Contrast Data- It is of great essence for all the organization to compare and contrast previous years data with the present ones. Such kind of presentation also looks good in the eyes of all the users of the respective financial statements. Financial and Non-Financial Analysis Assistance- All the organizations need to present their graphical data so that it assists the external financial or business analysts. Not only this, this will also increase the value of the respective presentation largely. Act as a Data Interaction Platform for the users- The respective tabular and graphical presentation should act as a data interaction platform for all its users. This will further help the users to make adequate analysis based on their findings from the respective annual report of the organization (Liu and Treagust 2013) Forecasting- All the tabular and graphical data needs to forecast the future activities of the firm. In that case, it will be extremely easier for the users to interpret the respective financial and non-financial results. Verification of Geometry The graphical representations should have proper angles, scales and geometrical figures to enable the appropriateness of the financial data Assessment of Analytical Tools in Graphs The suitability will be enabled based on the amassed data that creates a proper replication of graphs, charts, pictures and stock chats for the notable trends Reference Usage The exact reference of graphs through interpretation of effective arrangement upholds the usefulness for the current as well as varied types of pictorial and graphical usage. Design The background of the pages in the published financial data holds importance based on the colour, attractiveness and the relevance of all the pictorial representations that portray the image of the lucidity of the format. Annual Report Analysis of Woolworths, Australia The annual report of Woolworths depicts sense of sophistication in its design. Although, it possesses a design that turns out to be different from other but creates a powerful impact on reading and retention making it two positives for the brand name (ArtVersion Creative Agency 2016). Moreover, the declaration of the pictures implies the scale of operations of the corporation. On the other hand, people are of the view that an annual report is a 12-24 pages booklet on a paper that is not attractive and reading. However, the same cannot be said for the Woolworths annual report because the background and the glossy contents of a contents attracts the stakeholders attention through art on the specific page. Figure 1: Woolworths Annual Reports Contents Page Source: (woolworthsholdings.co.za 2015) Conversely, a financial report also contains must haves of the companys story and learning experiences that predicts the coming year for the shareholders and employees. The graph below of sales on the foods section and clothing and general merchandise depicts the clarity and the changes in the two years while highlighting in bold the turnover of the last years. The same has been depicted by the graph and tables below. Figure 2: Woolworths Annual Reports Food and Clothing Depiction through Graphs Source: (woolworthsholdings.co.za 2015) The proper units of specifications also mentions the numerical representation of the data the company has been achieving in that year, in this case it is the annual report of 2015. The subtitle below the tables explains the sub diversions of the economic information in an effective way. Although, the colours of the table is greyer in texture but the bar graph in different textures of grey try to elaborate on the financial summary (Habib 2014). The picture on the opposite of the table represents the shares and percentage of shares that Woolworth had offered to the shareholders. Figure 3: Woolworths Annual Reports Shareholders Disclosure Pages Relevance Source: (woolworthsholdings.co.za 2015) The annual reports are storytelling device that are used for corporate communications which is only possible with proper reference, effective measurements, graphs and fonts that highlight the communication aimed for the interested parties. One such example can be the beginning page of investor report of Woolworths. Figure 4: Achievements Depiction of Woolworths in 2015 Figure 5: Usage of Bowl as a Significance of Approval for Reports Woolworths Figure 6: WHL group (Framework) of Woolworths in 2015 Figure 7: Geographical Footprint (Donut Chart) of Woolworths in 2015 Source: (woolworthsholdings.co.za 2015) In depiction of the figures above, the relevance of different charts elaborate on the forecasting, colour representation and customization of data using figures (Yigitbasioglu and Velcu 2012). Therefore bar charts with growing trend depicts the Woolworth condition in the market with growing trend. Conversely, the last year showed in different colour highlight the upward nature in the business. The figure 4 also highlights the use of small triangles as a basis of growing shares in the market. On the other hand, figure 5, depicts a bowl as a significance of asking permission for the reports to be depicted as the source of nature of the corporations obedient behaviour towards the government and the stakeholders. The figure 6, depicts the literature with bold black fonts in a box depicting its literature in the WHL group. The figure 7 also helps to depict that the company has established its operations through proper scaling and axis used in a form of world map and further depicting its relevance through donut charts (Falschlunger et al. 2014). Figure 8: Business Model (Planetary system) of Woolworths Source: (woolworthsholdings.co.za 2015) On the other hand, the figure 8 can be misleading as the planetary system does not helps in understanding the hierarchy level of the companys order of groups. Hence, the importance of nature cannot be gauged and all can be treated equally or with fluctuating significance. The dull colour in the background also does not seems to be appropriate. Figure 9: BCG model of Products in Woolworths Figure 10: Donut Diagrams of Colour Reference of Woolworths Figure 11: Depiction of Cards as a made of Awareness to Stakeholders in Woolworths Figure 12: Performance Chart of Woolworths Source: (woolworthsholdings.co.za 2015) The figure 9, 10, 11 and 12 are the modes of catching the eye of employees and stakeholders using modes like different products, scale chart, coloured WHL cards and donut charts of the survey conducted from the raw data of Woolworths customers. This can constitute to be a better way of forecasting to the point data and differentiating between the ambiguous data using encoding graphs for financial summary (Davison 2013). Conclusion To conclude, it can be said that the presentation of annual report based on different criterias can provide to be beneficial in attracting audience and stakeholders attention for the reading and retention. The different graphs and pictorial representation establish the analytical skills that can be used for further investigation. References ArtVersion Creative Agency. (2016).Annual Report Design. [online] Available at: https://www.artversion.com/graphic-design-services/print-design/annual-report-design/ [Accessed 8 Dec. 2016]. Bollobs, B., 2013. Modern graph theory (Vol. 184). Springer Science Business Media Davison, J., 2013. Visual perspectives.The Routledge Companion to Accounting Communication. Oxford: Routledge, pp.58-75. Falschlunger, L., Eisl, C., Losbichler, H. and Greil, A., 2014. Impression Managementan Empirical Investigation of The Use of Graphs in Annual Reports in Europe.Proceedings in Finance and Risk Perspectives 14, p.262. Habib, K.R., 2014.Designing Digital Art and Communication Tools Inspired by Traditional Craft(Doctoral dissertation). Liu, Y. and Treagust, D.F., 2013. Content Analysis of Diagrams in Secondary School Science Textbooks. InCritical Analysis of Science Textbooks(pp. 287-300). Springer Netherlands. Lpez-Ornelas, E. and Hernndez, S.H.S., 2016, July. Using Infographics to Represent Meaning on Social Media. InInternational Conference on Social Computing and Social Media(pp. 25-33). Springer International Publishing. McMurray, D. and Powell, T., 2016. 21. Tables, Charts, Graphs. Morell, T., 2015. International conference paper presentations: A multimodal analysis to determine effectiveness.English for Specific Purposes,37, pp.137-150. Roberts, K.L., Norman, R.R., Duke, N.K., Morsink, P., Martin, N.M. and Knight, J.A., 2013. Diagrams, timelines, and tablesoh, my! Fostering graphical literacy.The Reading Teacher,67(1), pp.12-24. Swedberg, R., 2016. Can You Visualize Theory? On the Use of Visual Thinking in Theory woolworthsholdings.co.za. (2015).2015 Annual Financial Statements. [online] Available at: https://www.woolworthsholdings.co.za/investor/annual_reports/ar2015/whl_2015_afs1.pdf [Accessed 8 Dec. 2016]. woolworthsholdings.co.za. (2015).2015 Integrated Report. [online] Available at: https://www.woolworthsholdings.co.za/investor/annual_reports/ar2015/whl_2015_integrated_report.pdf [Accessed 8 Dec. 2016]. Yigitbasioglu, O.M. and Velcu, O., 2012. A review of dashboards in performance management: Implications for design and research.International Journal of Accounting Information Systems,13(1), pp.41-59.