STEP 1:
My description box in Moodle has a few words introducing myself.
It also includes a link to my very first
Google Blog.
STEP 2:
The company I have been assigned is Harvey Norman Holdings
Ltd. Below is three links to their last three Annual Reports:
30 June
4014:
30 June
2013:
30 June
2012:
Background information
on Harvey Norman:
Harvey Norman is a public company that grants franchises to
independent business operators, who retail products for the home and office.
The company offer products in the following categories: Furniture, Bedding & Manchester,
Electrical, Computers & Communications,
Home Improvements, Lighting and Carpet & Flooring (http://www.harveynormanholdings.com.au/companyprofile.htm).
In October 1982, a gentleman by the name of Gerry Harvey
partnered with his friend Ian Norman and opened up their very first Harvey
Norman store in Sydney, Australia. In just five years, they expanded and opened
up another 15 more stores across NSW. The next 30 years was no different, the company
continually expanded and as of December 2011 – there were 216 franchised
complexes throughout Australia, trading under three brand names: Harvey Norman,
Domayne and Joyce Mayne (http://www.harveynormanholdings.com.au/pdf_files/Company_Profile_2012.pdf).
Whilst Harvey Norman was growing rapidly throughout
Australia, in 1997 the company also expanded overseas for the first time in New
Zealand. Harvey Norman retail operations situated overseas are operated differently
to that here in Australia. The complexes are wholly-owned or controlled stores
trading predominantly under the Harvey Norman brand name (http://www.harveynormanholdings.com.au/pdf_files/Company_Profile_2012.pdf).
You can now find Harvey Norman in Ireland, Singapore and Slovenia.
The share price for Harvey Norman is currently $4.38 (dated
03/04/2015). Since their highest record in November 2007 - sitting at $7.049,
their shares went down to a little $1.78 but
has been making their way back up since (http://www.harveynormanholdings.com.au/shareprice/).
The largest shareholder is still Mr Harvey, sitting at 29.51% (http://www.harveynormanholdings.com.au/pdf_files/2014-Annual-Report_021014.pdf).
KCQ’s after viewing Harvey
Norman 2014 Annual Report:
The 2014 Annual Report has 148 pages in total. Being the
very first Annual Report I have ever viewed, I became worried that it was going
to be full of numbers and graphs that I was going to be able to understand.
Once I began skimming through the pages, I gained an understanding behind an
Annual Report and could relax – as it wasn’t all numbers and graphs! Looking at
the table of contents, I wasn’t too sure where to begin. There are four
different reports, three different statements, reviews, declarations and more. This
is when I had to email my Course Coordinator and ask “where do I start”?
Thankfully, I was directed towards the ‘Chairman and CEO’s Report’ which I
found simple and interesting to read.
Harvey
Norman has had a solid financial result for the 2014 financial year. Their net
profit increased by a massive 60.2%, resulting to 26.6% higher than the
previous year. Their franchising operations segment recorded a 26.7% increase.
Their property segment increased by an estimated $65 million. Their
company-operated retail segment increased $16 million. Their net cash flows from
operating activities also increased by 41.7% http://www.harveynormanholdings.com.au/pdf_files/2014-Annual-Report_021014.pdf.
Financially, Harvey Norman had a very successful 2014.
Something
which I found interesting was the big mention of their Omni Channel in the ‘Chairman
and CEO’s Report’. Technology has been advancing for some years. In fact,
August 2014 was the 20th anniversary for the first secure online
purchase (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11024908/20th-anniversary-of-first-online-sale-how-we-shop-on-the-web.html).
Harvey Norman stated “In recent years we
have transformed Harvey Norman from a traditional retailer... to a truly Omni
Channel service offering”. The fact that this is only a recent change for the
company, I believe, has put them behind their competitors. There are now
business’ which operate solely online, as it has become a preferred shopping
style for customers. Harvey Norman should have evolved this side to their
company a long time ago to stay ahead of their competitors.
Looking further into the report, something I didn’t understand
was the “Statement of Comprehensive Income for the Year”. I found that I didn’t have a clear
understanding of what the statement was about and why it was included. I also didn’t
understand the ‘Statement of Changes in Equity”. The statement itself is simple,
but I couldn’t easily read/understand the table provided.
There was
one unfortunate event for Harvey Norman mentioned in the 2014 report, and that
was the loss of the companies Co-founder Ian Norman. He was described to be “a
true gentleman and an Australian Pioneer” (http://www.harveynormanholdings.com.au/pdf_files/2014-Annual-Report_021014.pdf).
I found it touching that the company has
included this in the annual report.
Link to an online article:
Here is an
article titled “Full Year Ended 30th June 2014 for Harvey Norman”.
It gives you a great overview of the year ended for the company, and finishes
with a great quote by Mr Norman.
Top three student blogs:
I obviously
did not have enough time to go through each students blogs, so I have come
accress the following three, and discuss what I like about them.
1.
inmyworldbytashmuller.wordpress.com
Wow, what a
fantastic blog. It is informative and very pleasing to look at. Tash has used
great visual aids which caught my attention from the very beginning. It was a
pleasure learning about Tax Haven.
2.
Rebecca11059.blogspot.com.au
I saw that a
few people were using this blog as one of their top three, so I had to check it
out. Rebecca has used a very simple layout for her blog, but done the complete
opposite when it comes to her information on the company Oz Brewing. It is
extremely informative and ticks all the boxes on what you should know about your
company for this assessment. I learnt a lot about her company.
3.
Jodiesuniblog.blogspot.com.au
This is a
great blog! It is my favourite layout. I love the simplicity and colour pallet.
The choice of using pictures/quotes is fantastic. She has added a lot of
character to her blog.
STEP
3:
I have input my companies’ financial statements into the Excel
spreadsheet provided. It has been uploaded with this assignment as requested.
STEP 4:
Chapter 1:
Chapter 1
was a lot for me to take in. I have never thought twice about what accounting entails,
so it was quite an overload of information for me. I enjoy the way the
beginning of the chapter was written. I felt as though the author was simply
talking to me, instead of trying to teach me. I am slowly learning just how
complex business can be and accounting really is the backbone. It “is about
understanding the realities of a business”... Now that took me a while to
understand, but after reading further into the chapter, it made more sense.
After
learning about ‘keeping records’ and ‘double-entry’,
Charlie Munger’s quote made a lot more sense to me. Accounting really is the
language of practical business life. It allows us to view the financial ups and
downs in a business. So there is even an equation we can use to figure out a company’s
equity... I think this is nice and simple, Equity=Assets-Liabilities. But
something which i still have no idea about is Assets=Equity+Liabilities. I don’t
understand why and/or when we would use this equation?
This chapter
was a long and to be honest, brain draining. Although, I have learnt a LOT. I now
understand that accounting involves recording what is really going on within a
firm and that including aspects of a firm’s economic and business realities are
crucial.
Chapter 3:
Chapter 3, where
do I begin? Fifteen pages later, I have found time to make a cuppa, feed the dog
and get changed into my pyjamas. I found it really hard to stay focused throughout
this chapter. I liked the beginning , just like I did for chapter 1. I felt as
though I was being told a story, rather than being taught anything about
accounting. But once I hit half way, I was slowly fading away. So much reading!
I suppose that’s external studies for you.
Annual
Reports intrigue me. For some odd reason, I like the fact that they are
marketing documents. It gives the company the chance to sell itself, but also
supply the important information at the same time. Why wouldn’t the company
want to make itself look good when it can?
I still don’t
understand why the company picks just one day of the year on the Balance
Sheet... I think I read through this section 2 ½ times, then gave up. I also don’t
understand why there aren’t rules on how a firm is to set out their financial
statements. And to add to that, I am surprised about the fact that it is common
for individual businesses to use different names in their financial
statements... There needs to be more consistency within in a complex division
of business, such as accounting.
Dividends
are really a big deal. I had never heard or used this word before in my life.
If I want to get into business, especially property – I need to retain the
information I have just read in this chapter. The discounted dividend model helped
me understand the importance them.
Once
finishing this chapter, I definitely felt more knowledgeable and understood the
tasks of ASS#1 a little better. Especially when figuring out how to input
numbers into the Excel spread sheet. Instead of just following some
instructions, I understood why I was doing – what I was doing.
STEP 5:
I received just one email from the students in my group, and
that was from Sindi Babi. We both made time to exchange brief feedback to one
another, as this step was left quote last minte.
Feedback to
Sindi Babi, from me:
To Sindi
Babi,
I think you have done a fantastic job on your ASS#1
so far.
By reading through your reflections in Step 4, I
can see you have learnt a lot in this class already.
Your layout is nice and simple, and it was a
pleasure to read.
Great job!
Sophie Tieman.
Feedback
from Sindi Babi, too me:
Hi Sophie,
Thank you for your feedback :)
I read your assignment and i liked what you have
done so far. The information is summarized properly and it's quite interesting
reading about Harvey Norman. It is indeed a large company. even checked each of
your top 3 blogs. It's very fair that they're included in your top 3 because
they are fantastic. Keep on working with step 4 and I think you will do very
well in this assignment.
Cheers, Sindi
What I thought about Sindi’s feedback:
When I sent my Ass#1 to Sindi, it was
a very rough draft. I spent another few hours on my ASS#1 before submitting
what I had sent to her. So going off the rough draft I sent, Sindi’s feedback
was okay. I made me feel a little better about my work and encouraged me to
finish and finalise it before the due date/time.
