FINANCIAL ANALYST:
DETAILS MATTER
LESSON PLAN OVERVIEW
Career: Financial Analysts make business recommendations for an organization based on analyses they carry out on factors like market trends, the financial status of a company (or companies) and the predicted outcomes of a certain type of deal. Financial analysts must understand investing strategies such as using the stock market to aid their employer grow their capital. Financial analysts must also be intimately familiar with the concept of compound interest
Lesson: This lesson plan highlights some of the skills a Financial Analyst uses on a daily basis.
Grade Level: High School
Learning Objectives:
〉 Students will investigate the importance of maintaining good credit and how to read a credit report.
〉 Students will roll play a company financial analyst critiquing a colleague’s business plan for a new division within the company.
〉 Students will gain an insight into the financial analyst profession, including common job tasks, salary, career pathway, and credentials required to perform the job.
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TEACHER GUIDE
Lesson Instructions: This lesson plan will help you demonstrate to students’ common skills and procedures used by Financial Analysts. Begin the lesson by reading the Class Message below to your students, then have them watch the recommended Video Introduction. Afterwards, facilitate discussion with the Class Questions listed.
After the discussion, students will work on the included activities. Each activity has a printable worksheet with student instructions and areas to record their work. Have students read their worksheets before beginning each activity.
You should also familiarize yourself with the student worksheets to help demonstrate any procedures and help facilitate the ending activity discussion .
Class Message: Today we are going to explore the career of Financial Analyst. Does anyone know what the word finance means? How about analyst? (Teacher defines both words (Finance = having to do with money, Analyst=someone who analyses, looks at data). We will discuss common tasks in the day to day life of a Financial Analyst. We will learn about the importance of keeping a high credit score by making good decisions as well as learning about writing and presenting a business plan to help grow your company’s capitol
Let’s watch this brief video to better understand the role of a Financial Analyst and how their work impacts the business they work for.
Class Discussion Questions:
〉 What is credit? - Credit is the ability of a customer to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made in the future. Allow students to answer questions and provide responses
〉 What do you know an individual’s credit report would tell you? - Allow students to answer questions and provide responses.
〉 What makes one person have good credit and another person have bad credit?Possible answers include how they spend their money and if they forget to pay their debts. Allow students to answer questions and provide responses.
〉 Would you like a job helping using your math skills to helping clients make good financial decisions? - Possible responses yes, no, maybe? Encourage yes and maybe to look deeper into this career. Allow students to answer questions and provide responses
〉 Have you ever had a great idea for a business or product but once you had the idea didn’t know what to do to begin? - Allow students to answer questions and provide responses.
Activities Overview: This lesson plan includes two student activities. Activity #1 teaches how to read and review one’s credit report. Activity #2 challenges students review a business plan and present their review to the company president prior to requesting a business loan. Read and familiarize yourself with the student worksheet for each activity.
Activity #1: Good Credit / Bad Credit
Activity Instructions:
〉 Review good/bad credit
〉 Review steps to recover good credit
〉 Take online credit quiz
〉 Review Equifax credit report
〉 Write report to 2 separate clients on how to improve their credit.
Activity Results:
〉 What steps can you take to maintain good credit? - Allow students to answer questions and provide responses. It is possible they don’t understand credit reporting
〉 Why do some people have bad credit? - Allow students to answer questions and provide responses. It is possible they don’t understand credit reporting.
〉 What do you look for in your own credit report to determine if you have good credit? Possible answers include, late payments, long standing credit history, house, or car loans.
〉 Why do you want to have good credit? - Possibly answer includes, it impacts your ability to get a loan, buy a house or car, start a business and also it costs more in the long run to have bad credit.
Activity #2: My Business Plan
This activity demonstrates how Financial Analysts often helps create a company’s business plan
Activity Instructions:
〉 Hand out the student worksheet Activity #2. My Business Plan
〉 Elevator Pitch Creation
〉 Present Plan to your boss.
Activity Discussion:
〉 What is the purpose of a business plan? - Allow students to answer questions and provide responses. Possible answer includes it helps focus your ideas and recognize how ready you are to start a business
〉 How does a business plan help individuals or organizations make informed decisions? - Allow students to answer questions and provide responses.
〉 Do you have any ideas you want to turn into a business that could benefit from a business plan? (Encourage students to talk about times they had a better solutions for an everyday problem.) - Allow students to answer questions and provide responses.
CAREER INSIGHT
Career Highlight: This lesson plan highlights some of the skills a financial analyst uses on a daily basis to advise companies and individuals on making financial decisions. See the Employers in My Area section to contact businesses and organizations in your area about classroom demonstrations, on-site visits, or other additional career exposure opportunities.
Featured Career: Financial Analyst
Career Descriptions: Financial analysts provide guidance to businesses and individuals making investment decisions. They assess the performance of stocks, bonds, and other types of investments.
Financial analysts typically do the following:
〉 Recommend individual investments and collections of investments, which are known as portfolios
〉 Evaluate current and historical financial data
〉 Study economic and business trends
〉 Examine a company’s financial statements to determine its value
〉 Meet with company officials to gain better insight into the company’s prospects
〉 Assess the strength of the management team
〉 Prepare written reports
Other Names for this Career: Securities Analyst, Trust Officer, Equity Research Analyst, Financial Analyst, Portfolio Manager, Investment Analyst, Real Estate Analyst, Credit Products Officer, Planning Analyst, Analyst
EDUCATOR RUBRIC ACTIVITY #1: GOOD CREDIT / BAD CREDIT
ITEM Does Not Meet Expectations Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations
Writing with Focus and Organization
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing contains no, or an irrelevant introduction. It demonstrates an unclear organizational structure, and its ideas are hard to follow most of the time and fails to clarify relationships among ideas and concepts.
Language The writing illustrates little to no use of precise language, domain-specific vocabulary and literary techniques, illustrates little to no syntactic variety, and utilizes no or few transitional words and phrases. The writer does not establish or maintain a formal style and an objective tone
Development In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing inadequately or inaccurately explains the evidence provided, demonstrating little understanding of the topic, task, and stimuli.
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing contains a relevant introduction, utilizes adequate organizational strategies to create a mostly unified whole and to aid in comprehension and clarifies most relationships among ideas and concepts.
The writing illustrates consistent command of syntactic variety for meaning, utilizes appropriate and varied transitional words and phrases and establishes and maintains a formal style and an objective tone.
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing utilizes relevant and sufficient evidence from the stimuli to adequately develop the topic.
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing contains an effective and relevant introduction, utilizes effective organizational strategies to create a unified whole and to aid in comprehension, and effectively clarifies relationships among ideas and concepts to create cohesion. Contains an effective and relevant concluding statement.
The writing illustrates consistent and sophisticated command of precise language, domain specific vocabulary, illustrates sophisticated command of syntactic variety for meaning and reader interest effectively establishing and maintaining a formal style and an objective tone.
In response to the task and the stimuli, the writing thoroughly and accurately explains and elaborates on the evidence provided, demonstrating a clear, insightful understanding of the topic, task, and stimuli.
ITEM Does Not Meet Expectations
Business Plan Student did not complete all the sections of the business plan or completed all sections but lacked supporting detail not allowing an independent reviewer to grasp the plan.
Elevator Pitch
Elevator Pitch was not persuasive and lacked a clear message.
Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations
Completed all sections of the business plan and provided sufficient detail for independent reviewer to grasp the plan.
Elevator pitch was persuasive and contained a clear message.
Completed all sections of the business plan and provided superb detail where required for independent reviewer to grasp the plan.
Presentation Final presentation of the business plan was poorly prepared, lacking evidence of planning. The business presentation was not convincing for perspective partners.
Teamwork Did not work well with team.
Final presentation of the business plan was well prepared, containing clear evidence of advanced planning. The business presentation was convincing for perspective partners.
Worked well in the team.
Elevator pitch was persuasive and contained a clear message but had an emotional effect on the audience.
Final presentation of the business plan was unique and creative. The presentation was well prepared, containing clear evidence of advanced planning. The business presentation was convincing for perspective partners.
Worked well in the team and exhibited leadership skills.
ACTIVITY #1: GOOD CREDIT / BAD CREDIT
Introduction: Financial Analysts work with individual and families to help them make establish good credit and increase their credit scores. A credit score is a three-digit number derived from a mathematical interpretation of the information in a person’s personal credit history. Money lenders report specific information based on a person’s creditrelated activity, which includes things like mortgage payments, credit card balances and credit inquiries. The credit files are maintained by the three national credit reporting companies (CRCs): Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
〉 Lenders use credit scores to help determine whether to approve loan applications and at what terms and interest rates.
〉 Landlords, banks, car dealerships and more may use credit scores to better understand if a person is likely to pay bills on time.
〉 Each person’s credit history is completely unique, so the impact of the decisions a person makes when handling credit is unique to that person.
〉 Low credit scores makes it harder and more expensive to borrow money.
〉 High credit scores makes it easier and cheaper to borrow money.
Activity Description:
Step 1: Analyze the range of credit scores (You can learn more about credit scores here: http://tn-caps.com/r/92LF1)
Step 2: Review the following steps to improving your credit score below.
Improving one’s credit score can be achieved over time by regularly practicing these sound financial management techniques:
〉 Pay bills on time
〉 Apply for credit only when it’s needed; do not open new accounts frequently or open multiple accounts within a short time span
〉 Keep outstanding balances low
〉 Pay any delinquent accounts as soon as possible and then keep them current
〉 Everyone has the right to obtain their credit reports for free through the website annualcreditreport.com.
Step 3: Take the credit score quiz at www.creditscorequiz.org
Step 4: Review a sample Equifax credit report here: (http://tn-caps.com/r/92LF2)
Step 5: You have two clients who came to your office today looking to improve their credit. Each has a unique set of circumstances. Look at the two scenarios below and provide each with advice on how to improve their credit. Write your answer as a formal one-page letter providing them advice on how to establish and maintain good credit.
Client #1 Bad Credit
Client has bad credit. Their credit score is 435. They want to buy their first home but no bank will loan them the money. Client has 5 credit cards, three of which are maxed out. Client has a car loan which was defaulted and their car was repossessed.
Activity Discussion:
Client #2 No Credit
Client has no credit history so they have no credit score. Client is just about to get their first job about of college and has never opened a credit card or taken a loan. Client has only a checking and savings account.
〉 What steps can you take to maintain good credit?
〉 Why do some people have bad credit?
〉 What do you look for in your own credit report to determine if you have good credit?
〉 Why do you want to have good credit?
Introduction: Financial analysts are responsible for tracking a company's financial performance against a plan, analyzing business performance and market conditions to create forecasts, and helping senior management make tactical and strategic decisions by providing periodic reports. In today’s lesson you, the financial analyst will be presenting a business plan to your boss. A business plan is used to attract investment capital, secure loans, and assist in attracting strategic business partners. The development of a comprehensive business plan shows whether or not a business has the potential to make a profit. You have had an idea for a new product/service and have asked your boss for a meeting to share your plan.
Activity Description: This activity helps students learn and understand steps to creating and pitching a business plan. Many financial analysts work with other colleagues to develop a companies new business plans
Activity Procedure: Develop your Business Plan: Assume you are working for one of your favorite companies in the world. You just had a brilliant idea for a new product or service. Fill out the following steps so you can be prepared to present your new product/service to your boss. Put the following answers together in a formal proposal. Want to review a few business plans before you start? Check out these 20 sample business plans and find one or two to review. (http://tn-caps.com/r/92LF3)
Creating a Business Plan:
Design a business plan following the parts and steps below in a separate notebook. Business Plan
〉 Idea: New Product or Service is…
〉 Audience: The target customer can be described as someone who is…
〉 Marketing: The target customer will learn about the new product or service from…
〉 Cost: The cost of making one unit of the product or service will be?
〉 Profit: The profit margin or amount of profit per unit should be?
〉 Investment Request: To help launch the new product/service we are looking for a loan of _______ in order to do the following_______...
〉 Variable Costs: Materials, labor, marketing, etc.
Creating an Elevator Pitch
A 30 second elevator pitch is communicates who you are, what you're looking for and how you can benefit a company or organization, typically lasting about 30 seconds, the time it takes people to ride from the top to the bottom of a building in an elevator. Rehearse your 30 second elevator speech prior to your meeting.
Making a Presentation to Your Boss
Now that you have your business plan and your elevator pitch, be prepared to make your pitch to someone pretending to be your boss in front of the class.
Activity Discussion:
〉 What is the purpose of a business plan?
〉 How does a business plan help individuals or organizations make informed decisions?
〉 What ideas do you have that you could turn into a business that could benefit from a business plan?
