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Newcastle Business School
GSBS6385: Financial Management and Decision Making in Healthcare
Trimester 1, 2023
Case Study
Weighting 50 Marks (worth 50 %)
TASK OBJECTIVES
• Apply theory in practice.
• Analyse data using a spreadsheet.
• Prepare a written report.
• Gather and use financial information.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
• The assignment must be attempted and completed individually
• Any assignment submitted late will penalised at a rate of 10% per day.
• To provide the supporting data for your report you will be required to use Microsoft Excel. (Your
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet needs to be prepared in a way that a colleague could open your
spreadsheet and justify your calculations).
• Your Excel Spreadsheet needs to be embedded into the Appendix of your report, by inserting a
Microsoft Excel Object. (How to do this will be illustrated in class).
• Maximum word limit is 2000 -2500 words. (Word limit excludes references and the table of
contents).
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SUBMISSION GUIDELINE
• Due Date and Submission:
o Written Assignment (2000 – 2500 word report)11:59pm, Thursday 13 April 2023 online via
Turnitin on Canvas.
INTRODUCTION AND GUIDELINES
The aim of the case study is to add value to a healthcare organisation by applying relevant financial
management principles and concepts in the formulation and execution of its strategy.
In this case study you will select a publicly listed healthcare organisation to analyse. Each student will analyse a
different healthcare organisation, with selections approved by the course co-ordinator via email on a first-come
first-served basis.
You must receive confirmation from the course co-ordinator regarding your selection before commencing the
case study. A list of publicly listed healthcare providers can be found on the following website:
https://www.listcorp.com/asx/sectors/health-care
The background of the case study is COVID-19 has now been with us for over two years and firms should be
now moving closer towards business as usual. However, economic uncertainty is high due to the continued
impacts of inflation making the investment decision more difficult. In this case study you will evaluate the past
position and performance of the organisation, discuss both how COVID-19 has affected the organisation (and
its operations post COVID-19) and provide financing/investment recommendations on the basis of your
analysis.
You will be required to communicate the formulation, analysis and evaluation as a report with the intended
audience the board of directors where it is assumed you work for the organisation in a Finance role.
REQUIREMENTS OF WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT (REPORT 50%)
1. Describe the main activities of the healthcare organisation, indicate the sub-industry it operates in and
discuss the organisation’s overall strategy. Describe the main overall opportunities and risks
(competitors, the economic environment etc) the company faces in the medium to long term. (10 marks)
2. Collect and then analyse the prior five years of financial statements to determine the impact of COVID-
19 on the healthcare organisation. As a minimum this should include trend analysis of relevant Balance
Sheet and Profit and Loss Statement items as well as ratio analysis across the areas of financial
performance, liquidity and capital structure. Calculate operating leverage for the firm for the previous 5
years. (18 marks)
3. Critically appraise the results, discussing each piece of analysis in turn. Note: Your answer is not to be
general. For example it is insufficient to state XYZ ratio increased by 5% over the previous five years.
The analysis needs to be critical, and connected to your research in part 1. so that possible explanations
are provided for performance. (8 marks)
4. Evaluate the overall healthcare organisation with respect to their strategy moving forward, the
investment and financing decision. In the event you identify a deficiency in the firm, provide possible
recommendations and solutions. E.g. If the amount of debt has increased significantly in the firm, how
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may the healthcare organisation seek to resolve this and broadly what are the consequences from
resolving/not resolving the issue. Discuss the main limitations to your analysis. (10 marks)
Your report should be structured and include the following:
-Executive Summary
– Introduction
– Body of the Report
– Conclusion and Recommendation
– References
– Appendices
(Do not include the calculations in the body of the report, they should be included in the appendix by cutting
and pasting each part of the analysis (in Microsoft Excel) into the Microsoft Word document.)
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Written Assignment Marking Criteria:

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