The objective of writing this project is in partial fulfilment of being awarded the Bachelor of
Science degree in Applied Accounting of the Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom.
The main reason for choosing the project topic, “An Evaluation of the Business and
Financial performance of J Sainsbury plc for the year ended 24 March 2006 – 22 March
2008”, was to assess and improve my professional ability to conduct a business and financial analysis of a publicly listed company. Secondly, I have deep interest in specialising as a financial analyst and wanted to use my research project as a springboard to this career goal. Saunders, et al. (2007) opined that embarking on research enables the development of knowledge in a particular field. Thirdly, I plan to develop a reusable financial analysis model that can be used to analyse the financial performance of similar companies in the retailing sector (in which J. Sainsbury plc operates).
1.2 Reasons for choosing J. Sainsbury plc as case study
There are four reasons for choosing J. Sainsbury plc:
Firstly, I decided to analyse the financial statements of this United Kingdom based company, and not a Nigerian company, because its financial statements comply with
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union (J
Sainsbury plc, 2008). My accounting studies have centred on the preparation and presentation of financial statements in compliance with IFRSs. Compliance with IFRS requires an explicit and unreserved statement of such compliance in the notes
(IASB,
2003). Secondly, it was relatively easier to gain access to the annual reports and financial statements of J Sainsbury plc online compared to those of Nigerian companies that have
not