Company Background:

Apex Printing, Inc.

Apex Printing, Inc. is a private, domestic United States printer of periodicals, newspaper inserts, and advertising materials that accompany distributions of Sunday and weekday circulations of large metropolitan newspapers. The company, headed by chief executive officer (CEO) John Matthews, generates $450 million in revenues from three product lines (periodicals, inserts, and advertising) and has long-term contracts with several large U.S. retailers to produce weekly sales flyer inserts as well as metropolitan newspapers to produce Sunday magazine inserts and coupons. Its printing presses are characterized by offset print technology and are capable of high-capacity output; in addition, the company recently migrated to water-soluble inks, which considerably reduces manufacturing emissions.

The company’s executive team, employees, and above all, its vice president (VP) of Production, Luke Stewart, are committed to environmentally-sustainable manufacturing practices. Presently, the only substrate Apex uses is paper, specifically newsprint of various weights. Trim and waste are recycled in accordance with the company’s sustainability commitment. Manufacturing divisions are geographically aligned with customers’ locations to minimize logistics costs and response time to customer requirements; however, a centralized corporate entity administers functions such as human resources, information technology, and financial reporting. The VP of sales and administration, James Simeon, oversees administration and quality compliance among the various divisions. There are presently five manufacturing divisions: Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest.

Currently, Apex is only marginally profitable, and as such, the chief financial officer (CFO), Mary Francis, has indicated that external financing will be required to support a company expansion into a new segment of the printing sector: food packaging. This endeavor will require new investments in equipment as well as substrate inventory; promotional costs will also increase. In addition, Timothy Russell, the new Audit Committee Chair, has pointed out that the company’s compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) will also cause administrative costs to increase. Following the requirements is paramount to successfully file a registration statement and to issue equity to shareholders in an initial public offering (IPO).

As the newly hired VP of finance, you report to the CFO. In this capacity, your responsibilities include preparation of financial statements, comparative analysis and benchmarking to sector performance, and the assessment of new business investment opportunities to grow Apex’s expansion endeavors in a challenging market.

Scenario:

Mary Francis comes into your office later that morning.

“Good news! I think we’ve got strong potential investors!” Mary announces.
“That’s great!” you reply.
“And now, they are asking for financial information” Mary states.
“Ok, I could provide a 50-page analysis for them!” you say.
“That’s exactly what they don’t want. I’m beginning to notice that some of the investors don’t have a strong finance background, and the last thing we want to do is scare them off with too many financial figures” Mary explains. I would like for you to complete a presentation. However, I want you to keep it simple and clear. Using all 3 Financial Statements, please provide an analysis on Apex’s assets, liabilities, cash, and profit. As well, choose 2 additional components on each of the sheets, and provide your initial impression on the company financial situation. Do you think you could handle this?”
“Of course! I’ll get started on this right away.”

Mary also indicates that she would like between 10-15 slides with 150-200 words in the notes page.

Check attached for 3 Financial Statements.