What business risks does P&G face that may threaten its ability to satisfy stockholder expectations? What are some examples of control activities that the company could use to reduce these risks? (Hint: Focus on page 28 of the annual report.)
What were P&Gs quarterly net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2005? What were Federated Department Stores quarterly net sales for 2004? (Hint: see page 79 of its 10-K.) How does P&Gs quarterly sales trend compare to Federated Department Stores quarterly sales trend? Which of the two quarterly sales trends is likely to cause greater cash budgeting concerns? Why?
Describe the scope of P&Gs business in three respectsphysical facilities, products, and customers. More specifically, how many manufacturing facilities does P&G operate globally? What are P&Gs three Global Business Units (GBUs)? Which of P&Gs 17 billion dollar brands are included in each of these GBUs? How many brands does P&G offer in total and in how many countries do they sell these brands? How many countries does P&Gs Market Development Organization operate in?
Describe five uncertainties that complicate P&Gs efforts to accurately forecast its sales and expenses.
P&Gs annual report briefly discuss the acquisition of Gillette (see pages 10-11). It acknowledges that Gillette has some different cultural norms in terms of how it defines accountability and communicates internally. Although not discussed in the annual report, how could differences in two organizations budgeting practices be responsible for these types of divergent cultural