ACFI7015 Research Project

MSc Accounting & Finance, MSc Finance,

MSc Strategic Professional Accounting & Finance

Assignment 3: Semester 2 2022-2023

Assignment title : A case study of Halfords (using their Consolidated Accounts)

Learning Outcomes assessed

1. Select and justify appropriate established research techniques in finance to

analyse specific organisational and theoretic problems
2. Use a range of learning resources competently and appropriately
3. Demonstrate an ability to work independently and self critically
4. Conduct research in a systematically rigorous yet critically reflective manner
5. Recognise the potential limitations to research investigation and application
6. Evaluate finance theories in their organisational contexts
7. Evaluate the relationship between financial decisions and the operation of an
organisation as a whole and its stakeholders

Objectives

The assignment accounts for 60% of the marks for this module.

This assignment asks you to prepare an analysis of Halfords Group plc ( using their
consolidated accounts) , including a Shareholder Value Analysis

The assignment encourages

 critical reading of peer-reviewed academic articles and other sources;

 develop and demonstrate an understanding of the topic area and the case
company
 apply theoretical understanding to the case study.

The case study

Halfords is Group PLC is the UK's largest retailer of motoring and cycling products and
services. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Their purpose is to inspire and support a
lifetime of cycling and motoring.

Information on the company’s operations is available from the company website:

https://www.halfords.com/

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Information on the company’s finances is available from the company website, by
following the link to Investor Information

https://www.halfordscompany.com/investors/

Share price data, charts and other technical information are available on
uk.finance.yahoo.com.

Please see a brief case study of Halfords and their human capital aspirations, written
in 2016. https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/strategy/analytics/valuing-talent/case-
studies#20031

Required:

1. Assess Halford’s competitive position, using Porter’s 5 Forces, including

evidence from the 2022 Annual Report.
(15 marks)

2. Prepare a management report on the market valuation of Halfords as at 1 st April

2022 (latest annual report). To support your discussion:

 Develop values for the principal value drivers identified by Rappaport (1986)
in his Shareholder Value Analysis model using reasonable assumptions and
in the light of available information. Please justify your choice. (10 marks)

 Develop a Shareholder Value Analysis (SVA) model for Halfords using Excel
and applying the value drivers you have developed. (10 marks)

 Conduct a sensitivity or scenario analysis to show the effect of changes in key

assumptions in the model and discuss these. (10 marks)

 Discuss the difficulties in applying SVA in practice. (5 marks)

 Draw conclusions and make recommendations on the market value of

Halfords in light of the calculations undertaken. (10 marks)

 Use the Weighted Average Cost of Capital for the company given on page
187 in the 2022 Annual report.

3. Discuss the reporting and measurement of human capital in the Halfords Annual
Report, using the literature you selected in Assignment 2. Are the aspirations of
the Matt Davies, CEO of Halfords in 2013 for valuing talent evident within the
2022 Annual Report? (10 marks)

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 Marks will be given for use of literature, criticality, presentation and referencing
(30 marks)

Submission date and instructions

Your work must be uploaded to the dropboxes in Moodle by 1pm on Friday 29 th

September 2023. You will find one dropbox for your word document (which will be
submitted through Turnitin) and one dropbox for your Excel file.
It is essential that both file submissions have your student number in the
submission title so that we can match up your Excel file and your discussion.
Failure to do so will mean that we cannot mark your work anonymously.

Assignment length
The maximum length of this assignment is 5,000 words excluding references,
appendices, table of contents and title page. The Excel file does not contribute
towards the word count.

Presentation format

It must be word-processed in 11 point Arial font and double-spaced

All pages must be numbered
Margins must be as follows: Top: 1 inch, Bottom: 1 inch (2.5 cm), Left: 1.25 inches,
Right: 1.25 inches (3.2 cm)

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Marking criteria

❑ Use of literature:
A very good piece of work should show comprehensive and detailed knowledge of the subject
area and where appropriate relevant literature that integrates theory with practice.
The extent and quality of your sources will be assessed. You are expected to demonstrate that
you have undertaken an independent literature search so your list of references should include
more than the sources to which you have been directed by the suggested reading. You are
strongly recommended to use a wide range of sources (both academic and practical) to provide
sufficient depth to your discussion and provide sufficient evidence to support arguments. You
are also expected to be able to distinguish authoritative sources: these are journal articles
which have academic authority. [10 marks]

❑ Critical approach to sources:

A very good piece of work must show the student can effectively critically review evidence, draw
conclusions and suggest ideas to enhance organisational processes and/or theory whilst
recognising contextual limitations.
Your ability to reflect on the literature you have read and on your own analyses undertaken will
be assessed. You should be able to identify similarities and differences between authors’
arguments and methods and to use such comparisons to support your arguments. You should
be able to demonstrate your own thinking where the questions set require this by presenting
an argument and supporting it by reference to evidence that you have collected. You should
draw conclusions that are logically connected to your argument. [10 marks]

❑ Problem solving, application of theory to issues and practice:

A very good piece of work will show the student has developed his/her own ideas based on a
wide range of evidence that has been thoroughly analysed, applied and discussed. The work
should be entirely focused on the assignment question and objectives.
Your ability to demonstrate understanding of issues raised in the literature, including
methodological issues, will be assessed, primarily in your approach to answering the questions
set. The accuracy of your calculations and your ability to collect and analyse real-world data will
also be assessed here. Your discussion of the issues posed in the question should reflect your
understanding: you should be able to present an argument, outlining alternative views (derived
from your reading) and presenting evidence that supports these and arriving at a conclusion
which you have justified from the literature and from your own analysis. Your answer to the
question should be clearly focused: read the question carefully and refer back to it frequently
while writing your answer to ensure that you are not wandering off the point and including
irrelevant material. [70 marks]

❑ Presentation:

The assignment must be presented professionally, communicate key messages and arguments
with convincing substantiation and contain accurate referencing in appropriate format.

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 This includes consideration of general presentation issues such as the inclusions of a sensible
introduction, page layout, use of paragraphs, accurate spelling, fluency of language and
compliance with presentation instructions. The presentation of citations in the text and
accurate referencing must also be in the correct format. If you cite sources in the text and do
not include them in the list of references, the assumption will be made that you have not in fact
consulted these sources but have copied material from another text which included them. This
is plagiarism and attracts severe penalties. It is therefore essential that you check your text very
carefully to ensure that all citations are listed as references. [10 marks].

Please see the module handbook for information regarding use of Turnitin and
feedback.