Groups are then to select one of the 10 sectors by which ASX-listed companies are classified:

1. Materials

2. Industrials

3. Consumer Discretionary

4. Health Care

5. Consumer Staples

6. Energy

7. Information Technology

8. Communication Services

9. Real Estate

10. Utilities

Context

Your group are part of a team of consultants for a financial consulting firm based in Australia. Your group receive an email from your manager. 

Hi [Your Names],

We have a new client from America who is a major player in the [Your Sector]. They are interested in investing in Australia and have requested us to perform a range of analyses. For your team, I would like you all to calculate the Altman’s Z for each of the company from the sector listed on the ASX for only the year 2021. You can find the dataset here. I’m not sure how best to present the analysis but I’d like to use Tableau to present the data in a Choropleth Map of Australia. For each State, you should show the average Z-Score of companies in that state. I want the colour scheme to be green to red. Green representing low risk of bankruptcy and red representing high risk of bankruptcy. I also want the data labels to show the names of the states and the average Z-score. I will use the map to identify those states with the greatest risk of bankruptcy. I believe that these are the states that the company should target as it must be cheaper to set up in these states.

Please send me the excel file(s) and also a report that:

i.) provides an overview of the sector in Australia with reference to how it has fared during and after COVID;

ii.) presents your analysis of the data visualization map on Tableau based on my methodology described above;

iii.) evaluates my methodology;

iv.) discusses the limitations of Altman’s Z as a predictor of bankruptcy;

v.) discusses any other issues that could be relevant in our analysis.

This is all a very rough idea so there could be flaws in my methodology. I’m not entirely sure if we should focus on bankrupt states or financially strong states. Your analysis might even lead me to conclude that maybe our client shouldn’t invest in Australia at all. So I’m really looking forward to what your analysis will inspire and it will help me improve my methodology so that we can provide more accurate and relevant advice to our American client.

Lastly, if there any other issues that you identify or even a better way of helping client in their decision to establish a presence in Australia, then please also provide a short note on that in the report.

Grateful if you could send me all the files by the 19th of August as my presentation to the client is at the end of August.

Should you have any questions or queries please feel free to contact me.

Kind Regards,

Geoff Bayzos

Dataset