Overview

For this assignment, we will review Target's annual report. Public companies must prepare a report annually on their operations and financial information. This "annual report" shares photos with shareholders, reviews the year's operations, makes some forecasts, and provides financial information for the past year. The same information, less the images, is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is called a 10K report.

Scenario

In this assignment, you are an intern at a bank and need a basic understanding of financial information to carry out your internship duties. To show you understand basic financial statements, your supervising manager has asked you to write a short report explaining specific items given below.

More Information

FYI: Target uses these terms for the financial statements: Consolidated Statements of Operations (income statement), Consolidated Statements of Financial Position (balance sheet), and Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

Instructions

1. Download Target's 2021 annual report. Do this in one of two ways:

• Go to the Target.com website: Annual Reports and Archive (target.com). Make sure you use the 2021 report.
• Or use the Mergent Online library database: https://guides.rasmussen.edu/mergent.

2. Using Target's annual report, record your findings in a written report.

• Use complete sentences in a report format.
• Double-space your report.
• The report should be 5 paragraphs. Include a brief introduction, report the requested information from the three paragraphs below, and write a summary paragraph.
• Include in-text citations and an APA format reference page. There should be at least one reference given for the 2021 annual report. FAQ citing an annual report from Mergent Online FAQ citing an annual report from a website.

Paragraph one: The statements start on about page 38. Use the 2021 numbers. Using a table, record the total revenue, operating income, and net earnings for 2021. Using sentences, explain what these numbers mean and the difference between these terms. Are the numbers in thousands or millions of dollars? How many zeros would you add if you were to write out the numbers? Give one example by writing out the total revenue, including the required number of zeros.

Paragraph two: What are the amounts for total assets, total liabilities (add total current liabilities plus the total noncurrent liabilities), and the total shareholder's investment? Present the information on a table. Using sentences, define these terms and what they mean: assets, liabilities, and shareholder's investment. Does this balance sheet balance? At what amount does it balance?

Paragraph three: Below the financial statements is a summary of accounting policies. In which country does Target generate most of its revenues? How does Target use estimates? When did fiscal year 2021 end for Target? Give one specific example of how an external stakeholder can use the information you have reported in your paragraphs. Your example could be a specific line item or total statement information.