Asset Kickers, LLP – Auditor’s Report on Alcoa, Inc. – 14 April 2013
Alcoa
Prospective Client
Risk Assessment
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Asset Kickers, LLP – Auditor’s Report on Alcoa, Inc. – 14 April 2013
Memorandum
To: Mark Dirsmith, Director of Auditing
From: Asset Kickers, LLP
Subject: Alcoa, Inc.’s Prospective Client Risk Assessment
Date: April 12, 2013
Alcoa, Inc. is an aluminum production company based in Pittsburgh, PA. They are the largest
producer of aluminum in the United States and operate in 6 continents around the world. Alcoa is
the only aluminum corporation included in the S&P 500 Materials Index, and they have been an
industry leader since its inception in 1888 as the Aluminum Company of America.
In 2011, Alcoa’s outstanding financial performance cannot be stressed enough. Alcoa’s
financials, including their revenue, net income and gross profit, have been increasing since 2009.
Income from continuing operations in 2011 was $614 million. Their revenue was up 19% from
2010 to $25 billion.
Asset Kickers, LLP has completed a prospective risk assessment on Alcoa, Inc. in order to
decide whether or not to accept them as an audit client. The attached documents contain all
necessary and relevant information needed to make this decision. In order to create the
prospective client risk assessment, we have thoroughly examined Alcoa, Inc.’s, and their major
competitors’ financial statements, 2011 Annual Report, and SEC 10-K Filing. Using the
financial information from these documents, we have constructed a Z-Score analysis and
strategic profit model. In addition to these models, we have used a 5-year analysis of Alcoa’s
financial ratios and an industry ratio comparison to help us make our decision.
We are proposing the acceptance of Alcoa, Inc. as an audit client after careful consideration and
evaluation of their financial position. They have been steadily increasing their sales, net income,
and gross profit; in addition, they have been significantly investing in research and development
showing their continuation of innovation amongst their products. Since Alcoa is in the maturity
stage of their financial lifecycle, we consider them to be a low risk client. Furthermore, based on
previous audit reports done for the company, their internal controls are effective. Based on these
positive reflections of Alcoa we believe they would be an excellent client.
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Asset Kickers, LLP – Auditor’s Report on Alcoa, Inc. – 14 April 2013
Contents
Memorandum……………………………………………………………………...………...2
Company Overview………………………………………………………………………...6
Industry…………………………………………………………………………………...6
Primary Products……………………………………………………………………...…7
Common Raw Materials…………………………………………………………………9
Size of the Company…………………………………………………………………....15
Locations…………………………………………………………………………….…..15
Other Closely Related Companies……………………………………………………..16
Annual Report…………………………………………………………………………..17
Industry Overview……………………………………………………………………...…19
Key Economic Factors………………………………………………………………….19
Life Cycle…………………………………………………………………….………….21
Factors for Success……………………………………………………………………...22
Notable Accounting Considerations………………………………………………..….25
Legal and Regulatory Concerns…………………………………………………….…26
Social Matters…………………………………………………………………………...28
Primary Competitors………………………………………………………………..….29
Ease of entry into the Industry………………………………………………………...31
Michael Porter’s “Five Forces Model”…………………………………………..……32
Government Structure………………………………………………………………….35
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Financial Health………………………………………………………………..
Ratio Analysis………………………….
Profitability Ratios…………………………
Efficiency Ratios…………………………
Cash Flow Ratios……………………………….
Investment Ratios……………………………..
Industry Comparison………………………………
Liquidity Ratios……………………………………..
Financial Leverage…………………………………..
Profitability…………………………………
Company’s Health…………………………………………
Z-Score Analysis………………………………………………..
Strategic Profit Model………………………………………
Which Way the Company is Moving………………………………….
Sources and Value of Capital……………………………………..
Capital Market Place Response…………………………………
Quality of Earnings………………………………………………….
Stock Compared to the Industry………………………………….
Auditor…………………………………………………………..
Financial Statement Perception……………………………………………….
Specific Consideration…………………………………………………..
Transaction Types…………………………………………….
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High-risk Areas…………………………………………………….
Low-risk Areas………………………………………………………
Integrity Issues…………………………………………………………….
Client Selection Decision………………………………………..
Allocated Audit Effort…………………………………………….
Problems with External Control…………………………………..
Internal Audit…………………………………………………….
Form of Report……………………………………………………….
Implications of SOX (Sec 404)…………………………………………
Initial Assessment…………………………………………………………..
Z-Score Analysis………………………………………………………….
Appendix…………………………………………………………………..
Budget……………………………………………………………
Leadership……………………………………………………
Coordination……………………………………………………
Norms………………………………………………………………
Conflict………………………………………………………….
Team Coordination……………………………………………..
Instructions…………………………………………………………
Other Qualitative Information…………………………………….
“The Oral”………………………………………………………….
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Company Overview
Industry
Alcoa is classified under the industry of Basic Materials and the subsector of Aluminum. Basic
Materials – Aluminum has a market capitalization of $884 billion industry, which makes up only
0.39% of Basic Materials. The aluminum subsector has the lowest profit margin of the industry of
only 2.2%, significantly lower than the industry average of 9.85% (Alcoa 10-K). The following
companies are the leaders in the subsector according to production worldwide:
1. United Co. RUSAL (Russia)
2. Rio Tinto (UK-Australia)
3. Alcoa (USA)
4. Aluminum Corporation of China
5. Norsk Hydro ASA (Norway)
This makes Alcoa the largest American aluminum producing corporation. Alcoa has a market
share of 14.7% (S&P). The industry is seeing the largest growth in both consumption and
production in China, where Alcoa has little exposure. The United States has remained relatively
constant in terms of production and consumption over the past ten years, where Alcoa earns 49%
of its revenue (Alcoa 10-K).
The following charts show the worldwide production of aluminum by country (Chart 1), followed
by the worldwide consumption of aluminum by country (Chart 2). Doing manual comparisons,
one can see where the largest markets for aluminum are in relation to those countries producing
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aluminum. Most of Alcoa’s revenue comes domestically, although most of its aluminum/alumina
is produced abroad.
(Aluminum Statistics)
Primary Products
Aluminum and alumina products account for 80% of Alcoa’s revenue. Aluminum is the third most
abundant element in the Earth’s crust, and is the most abundant metal. Aluminum has many
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properties that are very desirable for human use. Aluminum is very lightweight, stainless, nontoxic,
and malleable. Although it is not the strongest of metals, many aluminum alloys are produced
which are drastically stronger but keep the same desirable properties of pure aluminum. Alcoa’s
aluminum/alumina product lines are divided into (1) Flat rolled products and (2) Engineered
products. Flat rolled products are considered “upstream” since they are essentially raw
aluminum/alumina products that are either pressed or rolled into different shapes for use. The
following are the primary flat rolled products that Alcoa manufactures and sells:
1. Rigid container sheet for consumers (including aluminum cans)
2. Aerospace
3. Automotive
4. Commercial transportation
5. Construction building material
Alcoa sold its interest in consumer aluminum foil in 2009 (Alcoa 10-K).
Engineered products are considered “downstream” because they are more complex than
basic aluminum/alumina products. In most cases, Alcoa’s engineered products are for aerospace
and vehicle engineering and construction. Here are the primary engineered products that Alcoa
engineers and sells:
1. Super alloy investment casings
2. Forgings and fasteners
3. Wheels
4. Structural systems
5. Architectural extrusions
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6. Hard alloy extrusion
Alcoa generates 20% of its revenues from non-aluminum/alumina products. Once again, these
products are mostly accessories for industrial and aerospace engineering. These products include:
1. Precision castings
2. Aerospace fasteners
3. Industrial fasteners
Common Raw Materials
Amongst the raw materials listed above, there are many common items used in the process of
producing aluminum. The materials that are the most important and have a significant effect on
Alcoa’s operations and profit margin are bauxite, electricity, and natural gas.
Bauxite
Bauxite is a type of rock that has a high concentration of aluminum ore. Bauxite is the primary
source of aluminum for all alumina/aluminum producers in the world. Alcoa has bauxite interests
in Australia, Brazil, Guinea (which controls 50% of the world’s reserves with 8.4 billion metric
tons), Jamaica, and Suriname. According to the firm’s management, they have enough proven
reserves under their control to meet forecasted demand requirements for the foreseeable future
(Alcoa 10-K).
Over 85% of Alcoa’s current bauxite consumption is from company controlled mining operations
in the countries listed above. The firm and its subsidiaries successfully mined 50.5 million metric
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tons of bauxite in 2011 alone. The other 15% is obtained from third parties, such as through the
collection of scrap metal or through aluminum recycling efforts.
(World Bauxite Reserves)
After it is mined, bauxite is converted to pure aluminum ore (alumina) through the Bayer Process.
This is a chemical process where unwanted minerals are “washed” from the bauxite, leaving
alumina. The raw materials used in the process of extracting alumina as listed above are used in
the Bayer Process as extraction agents. An unwanted, potentially dangerous byproduct called red
mud is produced through the Bayer process. Red mud is essentially the leftover dirt from Bauxite
that has a very basic pH of 10-13, and it can be fatal to all life that it comes into contact with. Two
to three times more red mud is produced through the Bayer process than alumina, and it cannot be
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farmed on or used for construction purposes. Alcoa must be wary of its red mud storage as it
potentially presents a major environmental liability (Alcoa 10-K).
The following graphic details the Bayer Process of converting raw bauxite into alumina. Notice
the red mud byproduct at the bottom.
(Bayer Process)
The next graphic shows a red mud lake in Jamaica (a major producer of alumina). The lake is
dangerous for all forms of life, and continuing the production of red mud could have harsh
consequences for the firm in the form of litigation, legislation, or lawsuits.
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(Red Mud Lake)
Alcoa has alumina refining operations in Australia, Brazil, Jamaica, Spain, Suriname, and the
United States. Although most of the bauxite used is mined in Guinea, it must be shipped to a more
developed nation because the industrial processes and resources that are needed to produce
alumina aren’t available or feasible in a third-world country.
Once alumina is extracted, it is either used for alumina-only products, or most of the time, it is
then converted to aluminum in what is called the Hall-Heroult Process, or better known as
smelting. The next graphic documents the Hall-Heroult Process in more detail, showing the
different raw materials and industrial equipment needed to convert the alumina to aluminum.
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(Hall-Heroult Process)
Alcoa’s smelting operations exist in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain, and
the United States, which are all first world countries with the exception of Brazil. Smelting is even
more difficult to achieve at an industrial capacity than alumina, which requires more machinery,
skilled laborers, and stable power to achieve. After all the industrial processes are said and done,
it takes about 4-6 metric tons of bauxite to yield 1 metric ton of raw aluminum (Alcoa 10-K).
Electricity
Electricity is undoubtedly one of the most important materials in the process of converting raw
bauxite into aluminum or other related products. Electricity accounts for 25% of alumina refining
costs and for 26% of smelting costs. 22% of Alcoa’s electricity for industrial use is generated on
site at plants, and the other 78% is purchased through long-term arrangements, typically with local
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power authorities. For example, at some smelters in Brazil, the firm has built its own hydroelectric
plants nearby to satisfy its own consumption needs, with any excess power being sold to third
parties (Alcoa 10-K).
Natural Gas
In order to offset some of the financial burden the firm must endure from the high costs of
electricity, natural gas is often shipped in via pipeline to some plants to help power operations.
However, this is not a constant process considering that any volatility in natural gas prices can
adversely affect the firm’s reliance on one commodity over the other. Additionally, it must be
economically feasible to have a pipeline be built to a particular plant with sufficient capacity.
Because of the expensive processes that make up the production of aluminum from mining, to
transportation, refining, smelting, further engineering, and final movement, Alcoa’s gross margin
for the year ended 2011 is 17.95%. Furthermore, the firm’s profit margin is at only 2.45%, just 45
basis points higher than the industry average. Alcoa is exposed to a risky level of liability in
industrial processes due to the somewhat dangerous processes that are conducted, and because of
the production of the useless and dangerous mass byproduct of red mud. Due to the steep costs of
producing aluminum from raw bauxite and the subsequent liability it is exposed to, the firm has
an incentive to purchase recycled aluminum that is chemically cleaned and reengineered to
perfectly new products. It is estimated that two-thirds (2/3) of all aluminum ever produced is still
used in some capacity today (Alcoa 10-K).
The next graphic is a breakdown of the inputs into aluminum as well as the aluminum market.
Note that this is not Alcoa’s specific structure for procurement and sales, but it represents the
aluminum industry as a whole.
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(Flowchart of Aluminum Production)
Size of the Company
Alcoa is the world’s 3rd largest producer of aluminum. Its 2011 revenue was measured at $25.0
billion, clearing $1.06 billion in operating income. Their assets total $40.1 Billion and they have
61,000 people in their employ. Alcoa is also a worldwide company, having interest in 25 smelters
in 8 countries and conducting business in 30 countries. A majority of their sales actually come
from outside of the U.S., by a scant 51 to 49 percent margin (Alcoa Website).
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Locations
Alcoa was founded in and is primarily associated with the city of Pittsburgh. Alcoa moved their
headquarters to Lever House in New York City in 2006, taking most of the top executives to the
new locale, although they still operate out of their corporate center in Pittsburgh. The office in
Pittsburgh has around 2000 employees versus only 60 stationed in New York (Boselovic).
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As we have discussed earlier, Alcoa is also a very globally diversified company. Alcoa operates
in more than 200 locations in 30 countries. They also have interests in 25 primary aluminum
smelters in 8 countries (Alcoa Website).
(Chart Derived From Alcoa Website)
Location Categories
Alumina
Primary Metals
Flat-Rolled Products
Packaging and Consumer
Engineered Solutions
Extruded and End Products
Technical Center
Corporate
The map above shows the type of operations that Alcoa has globally. As you can see, they have
large clusters of operations in the US, Eastern Europe and parts of China and Brazil. This
international diversity is an important part of Alcoa’s business plan and is a big reason that they
are an industry leader. They are a well differentiated company, in terms of production and sales,
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and that differentiation helps them greatly in keeping their company growing at a fast pace
worldwide.
Other Closely Related Companies
Alcoa’s subsidiaries include Halco Mining, Kawneer and Howmet Castings. They co-own Halco
Mining with Alcan and have outright ownership of Kawneer and Howmet. Halco Mining is an
aluminum mining company based in Guinea. Halco is the primary owner of the Compagnie des
Bauxites de Guinee, also known as CBG, the largest aluminum smelter and mining company in
Guinea. Kawneer is a commercial producer of aluminum systems and products, catering largely to
the architecture industry. Their products are used on a variety of multi-purpose residential
buildings such as stadiums, sports facilities, office buildings, schools, colleges and universities,
and healthcare facilities. Kawneer is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, and much like Alcoa is
a global corporation, with operations in 13 different countries. The company is part of Alcoa's
global Building and Construction Systems (BCS) business unit. Howmet Casting is primarily
involved in the investment casting of super alloys, aluminum, and titanium. These castings are
used primarily for jet plane and gas engine components. Howmet is based in Cleveland, Ohio and
is largely a domestically based company, with most of their operations based in North America
with a few exceptions in France, the UK, Hungary and Japan. Alcoa Howmet also offers laboratory
testing and casting-related services, from finishing operations to contract management. On July
16, 2012, Alcoa announced that it had bought full ownership and control of Evermore Recycling
and folded it into Alcoa's Global Packaging group. Evermore is one of the world’s leading
recyclers, buying more recycled cans per year than any other company.
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According to Alcoa’s annual 10K report, Alcoa buys products from and sells products to various
related companies, consisting of entities in which Alcoa retains a 50% or less equity interest, at
negotiated arms-length prices between the two parties. These transactions were not material to the
financial position or results of operations of Alcoa for all periods presented. To us, as auditors, this
means that there is little risk in Alcoa committing fraudulent related party transactions.
Annual Report
“Alcoa won’t wait” is the headlining mentality of Alcoa’s Annual Report, followed by the phrase,
“Taking Decisive Action in a Turbulent World.” Their overall approach to their business reflects
the globalization in their company, as well as their drive in setting and quickly achieving goals.
They did not allow external forces that they could not control distract them from what they do best,
which is making high quality products. Alcoa’s sales reached a record high of $25 billion in 2011,
nearly $3 billion over the previous year.
The annual report reflects the success of the company through their outstanding financial growth
and their plan to continue this growth. The report is broken into 7 sections: the front cover,
financial highlights, a letter from the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, nonGAAP measures, the Form 10k, shareholder information, and the back cover. The financial
information reflects growth in sales, number of employees, assets, and earnings per share. Klaus
Kleinfeld, the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Alcoa, projects the strong
liquidity and financial position, regional growth, customer value through innovation, the
Company’s enduring values, and their look ahead into the future. His powerful closing statement
is: “We can’t wait—we won’t wait—to find new and better ways to deliver value, consistently and
responsibly, in good times and tough times, for our shareholders, our customers, our communities,
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and our employees.” The non-GAAP financial measures reflect the changes from GAAP with
respect to adjusted income, adjusted Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization
(EBITA), free cash flow, net debt, and EBITA of the product segments separately. The Form 10K
is divided into four parts. Part one includes aspects of the business, risk factors, unresolved staff
comments, properties, legal proceedings, and mine safety disclosures. Part two includes market
of registrant’s common equity, related stockholder matters and issuer purchases of equity
securities, selected financial data, management’s decision and analysis of financial condition and
results of operations, quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk, the audit report
done by PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, changes in and disagreements with accountants on
accounting and financial disclosure, controls and procedures, and other information. Part three
includes directors, executive officers and corporate governance, executive compensation, security
ownership of certain beneficial owners and management and related stockholder matters, certain
relationships and related transactions, and director independence, and principal accounting fees
and service. The last part is the exhibits and financial statement schedules, followed the signatures
section. The shareholder’s information gives the shareholder’s information about their annual
meeting, where to stay updated on Alcoa’s news and company information, dividends, and how to
contact the Company.
The annual report reflects Alcoa’s main cost drivers, which include selling and general
administrative, research and development, and depreciation, depletion, and amortization of assets
expenses.
Alcoa’s research and development sector is of high importance to the Company. It is listed as a
main cost driver in the Statement of Consolidated Operations with 2011 costs of $184 million.
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This is a cost that continues to increase exponentially, year by year. The reflection of the positive
effects of these costs is shown in their increased sales.
Industry Overview
Key Economic Factors
Largest Markets
Transportation
13.1%
23.7%
11.9%
26.5%
Packaging
Building and
Construction
Electrical
(Data from “Industry Overview”)
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Leader in preservation of natural resources
Preserving natural resources is very important in this market
with the recent focus on sustainability. The aluminum supply
in North America comes from domestic sources, imports, and
recycling. Over two-thirds of all aluminum ever produced is
still used somewhere due to recycling (“Aluminum is Sustainable”).
In recent news, Alcoa has been making a huge impact in recycling. The Alcoa Foundation
partnered with the Times Square Alliance and New York City to launch the largest recycling
program in Times Square. These new bins will use solar energy to compact garbage and hold five
times more capacity than older models. This will reduce traffic in the area as well since they will
be emptied less often. Alcoa provided the $250,000 grant that is making this possible. The city
believes that this will spread the message of recycling since it is such a highly populated area with
people from around the world, and will also help the US and New York get ahead on recycling
rates (“Alcoa Foundation and Partners”).
Impacts every community in the country
Aluminum is a very unique industry in the way that it touches so many different aspects of business
and life. Some uses of aluminum include consumer goods consumption, heavy industry, physical
plants, and recycling. Most people deal with this in at least some way (“Industry Overview).
Transportation Industry Impact
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Among developed countries, transportation is the one of the largest end markets for aluminum.
Therefore, changes in demand for automobiles can impact the aluminum industry significantly. In
times of recession, people have less disposable income for consumers and less demand for cars.
An automobile is comprised of 300 pounds of aluminum on average, so the reduction in production
results in decreased sales for Alcoa (“Industry Overview).
Government Policy
The industry has voluntarily taken action towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and has been
supporting policies and programs working towards these initiatives since 1990. Early action to
solve these problems is key. Energy-saving aluminum product applications are a big focus of the
industry too with public and private partnerships that research this topic.
The Voluntary Aluminum Industrial Partnership (VAIP) is another somewhat recent way to try to
attempt to increase efficiency in the industry and reduce emissions. This is a private and public
combined partnership within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They work towards
identifying factors causing perfluorocarbon (PFC) emissions and watching the efficiency efforts
in aluminum smelting and protecting the environment for the future. This group has cut PFC
emissions by 77% in 14 years (“Government Policy”).
Life Cycle
Alcoa is currently a mature company. At this point, aluminum is a well-known product and adapted
to the market. Their stock price has remained relatively constant over the last year and a half,
which is common of a well-known and developed company. They have not experienced any rapid
growth or decline among their financial performance since 2009.
In comparison to their
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competitors, Alcoa has a strong presence and is ranked in the top three producers of aluminum,
reflecting their well-established reputation. Based on these facts, we would place them in the
maturity stage of their financial life cycle (“Product Life Cycle”).
(Graph adapted from “Product Life Cycle”)
Factors for Success
Trade
International trade is very important to the aluminum industry. The US is ranked 5th in the world
in annual primary aluminum producing capacity and in 2009 with 1.73 million metric tons of
primary aluminum were produced in the US. The Aluminum Association is a supporter of the
World Trade Organization and the free flow of aluminum products on a global scale. The
aluminum industry is global with multinational companies and locations around the world. Here
in the United States, aluminum is both imported and exported frequently.
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Alcoa is a worldwide company located in more than 200 locations across 30 countries. As a
member of the Aluminum Association as well, Alcoa works towards reaching a fair and open
world market for aluminum. Alcoa, along with other members, is working towards a plan to
eliminate tariffs within 10 years, and is supportive of the World Trade Organization (“Industry
Overview”).
Lifecycle Considerations
Sustainability during the smelting of alumina to aluminum is important in addition to the recycling
of end products. Perflurocarbon emissions in the US have been reduced over 70% since 1999
(“Reducing PFC Emissions”).
Alcoa is one of the Aluminum Association member companies that is leading the Voluntary
Aluminum Industry Partnership (VAIP) along with the Environmental Protection Agency. They
work to change emissions through management and technological changes (“Reducing PFC
Emissions”).
Product Life
The way a product is used can contribute to reducing emissions and energy consumption. For
example, aluminum is very lightweight and durable, which leads to fuel and emission savings in
the automotive and transportation business.
Alcoa is right up to standards with light weight, fuel saving aluminum for transportation. There is
a 5-7% fuel savings for every 10% reduction in vehicle weight. Aluminum gives an added benefit
to hybrid vehicles as well by improving fuel economy by 13.5% compared to steel. This much
lighter metal leads to large savings in fuel costs (“Industry Overview”).
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Energy Use
In the past century, energy consumption per ton of aluminum has fallen up to 70% worldwide. It
use to take 28,000 kWh to produce a metric ton and now it is down to 13,000 kWh with new
smelters. Recycled aluminum can be reprocessed with about 5% of the original energy needed in
ore production. Energy represents about a third of the total production cost of primary aluminum,
so cutting the amount used is great for both the environment and the cost of goods sold for
aluminum companies.
Alcoa leads a market-based plan to deliver the correct supply of low to no carbon emitting energy
sources. 50% of their purchased electricity and 2.3 of electricity used globally by smelters comes
from renewable sources. Incentive compensation is available for achieving carbon dioxide
emission reductions to a certain standard (“A Leader in Energy Efficiency”).
(Graph from “A Leader in Energy Efficiency”)
Technology
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Overall, the improvements in basic technology and smelters will help with many aspects of the
business including lifecycle considerations, energy use, and production costs. The Aluminum
Association has partnered with the Department of Energy to work towards technology projects
under the “Industries of the Future” Program. Technology Roadmap diagrams are being designed
as well to identify barriers and places to improve.
Alcoa works hard on their technology to create better products and therefore compete well. Factors
to look for include improved safety and reliability, processes to save time, lighter weight materials,
and reduced fuel and drilling costs. Some products require development to become fire, heat,
moisture and impact resistant. Alcoa must look at their customer base to determine where to focus
their efforts (“Industry Overview”).
Notable Accounting Considerations
As a publicly-traded company, the basis of Alcoa’s presentation of their financial statements is a
key accounting consideration. The Consolidated Financial Statements of Alcoa Inc. and its
subsidiaries are prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. The
Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Alcoa and companies in which Alcoa
has a controlling interest of 50% or greater. The company employs the equity method of
accounting for investments over which they have a significant influence (20% to 50%). Lastly,
investments that are less than 20% controlled by Alcoa use the cost method of accounting.
With regard to properties, plants, and equipment, inventories are recorded at cost. Depreciation of
assets is recorded by the straight-line method at rates based on the estimated useful lives of the
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assets, and is recorded in that manner until that asset no longer has any future benefit to the
company.
For companies in the aluminum production industry, some accounting policies are more relevant
than others. Specifically, companies in the aluminum industry engage in long-term supply contacts
with aluminum and alumina customers and receive advanced payments for these contracts. This
places a notable amount of importance on revenue recognition. Alcoa records their advanced
payments as deferred revenue, and the revenue is not recognized until the shipment has been made
and the title has been transferred to the customer.
Legal and Regulatory Concerns
Alcoa is liable to be exposed to significant legal proceedings, investigations, or changes in U.S.
federal, state, or foreign law, regulation, or policy. The company may experience a change in
effective tax rates or be subject to rising costs associated with changes in laws, regulations, or
policies. They are susceptible to a number of legal compliance risks. The main risks include
potential claims relating to product liability, health, and safety, environmental matters, intellectual
property rights, government contracts, taxes, and compliance with U.S. and foreign export laws,
anti-bribery laws, competition laws and sales and trading practices. Due to Alcoa’s worldwide
operations, they are subject to a broader scope of complex and increasingly strict health, safety,
and environmental laws and regulations. For example, in 2010, there was a break in a red mud
lake levee in Hungary. The resulting spill destroyed all life into the river it flowed into, and it
killed 10 citizens. An additional 90 were treated with chemical burns. As a result, the alumina
producer was nationalized by the Hungarian government, and tens of millions of dollars in cleanup
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costs were incurred (Red Mud Lake). Alcoa must be very weary of risks such as these. The costs
associated with compliance of these laws are significant and will continue to be this way.
Climate Change Legislation
As the laws and regulations surrounding energy consumption evolve, this will affect Alcoa’s legal
liability because of the significance of energy input in their operations. A number of governmental
bodies have introduced or are considering legislative and regulatory change in response to the
recognition that consumption of energy derived from fossil fuel is a contributor to global warming.
The changes in regulatory mechanisms for greenhouse gas-intensive and energy-intensive assets
may directly or indirectly impact Alcoa’s operations. The impacts of these potential regulatory
changes may differ in the several countries in which Alcoa operates, requiring extra awareness and
higher costs of complying.
Asbestos Proceedings
Alcoa and its subsidiaries are the defendants of several hundred active lawsuits due to previous
asbestos exposure in their factories. In the period of time between World War II and 1970, during
some of Alcoa’s busiest times, they made copious use of toxic asbestos inside their plants. This
significant use of asbestos occurred before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) guidelines governing work practices made employees safer in their work environments.
Factory workers operating furnaces, ovens, mills, and boilers that were lined with asbestos
insulation were most likely exposed to the asbestos on a daily basis. Additionally, Alcoa required
the workers to wear protective asbestos-containing clothing to protect them from burns, causing
additional exposure. This toxic exposure was unavoidable at the time if you were directly involved
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in production. When the truth and effects of asbestos came into the public eye in the 1970s, many
individuals tried to sue Alcoa for compensation for their injuries. More recently, families of former
Alcoa workers continue to file lawsuits seeking compensation for deaths caused by the asbestos
exposure decades ago.
With regard to the effects of these previous and active lawsuits, Alcoa has numerous insurance
policies that provide coverage for asbestos-based claims. The legal costs of defense and settlement
have not been and are not expected to be material to the result of operations, cash flows, and
financial position of the company.
Employee Retirement Income Security Act and Labor-Management Relations Act
Violations
A class action suit was filed by plaintiffs representing 13,000 retired former employees of Alcoa
and spouses and dependents of such retirees alleging violation of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act (ERISA) and the Labor-Management Relations Act by requiring plaintiffs, beginning
January 1, 2007, to pay health insurance premiums and increased co-payments and co-insurance
for certain medical procedures and prescription drugs (Alcoa 10-K). This suit was filed in
November 2006, in Curtis v. Alcoa Inc. The plaintiffs alleged these changes to their retirement
health care plans violated their rights and that Alcoa had violated ERISA standards by
misrepresenting to them that their health care benefits would never change. The plaintiffs sought
compensation for injunctive and declaratory relief, back payments, and attorneys’ fees. More
recently, on March 23, 2011, plaintiffs filed a motion an amendment of the judgment order to
prevent Alcoa from modifying the vested retirement plans or changing the premiums and
deductibles that plaintiff’s must pay, as well as a motion for awards of attorney’s fees and
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expenses. Alcoa filed pleadings opposing to both motions on April 11, 2011. The result of this
litigation could have a significant impact on the company’s health insurance costs.
Social Matters
Sustainability
Increased interest in sustainability will have a positive impact on the aluminum industry because
aluminum is sustainable. Twenty years ago, the term sustainability was seldom heard, but now
more often than not a company’s website will have a section devoted to sustainability. The chart
below shows how the usage of the word sustainability has increased from roughly .05 to .45 articles
per newspaper issue. This increase has resulted in an increased emphasis on recycling and social
responsibility.
Aluminum cans are already the most prevalent type of beverage container, but with the increased
trend of sustainability the demand for aluminum cans with continue to grow. The amount of
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energy required to recycle aluminum is merely 5% of the energy used to create the original
products, in contrast to plastic and glass recycling which require 30% and 70%, respectively.
Aluminum cans are recycled and back on the shelf as new cans in as few as 60 days, making
aluminum the most cost-effective and efficient material to recycle.
Primary Competitors
The aluminum industry is one that is dominated by a few major players, Alcoa being one of them.
In recent years, various aluminum producers have arose around the world, from places like Russia,
China, India and the Middle East. These worldwide companies have been able to gain global
strongholds and instead of resting on their domestic dominance, Alcoa has responded with
aggressive expansion. The organized and ambitious plan that Alcoa has been carrying out is one
thing that has been separating them from their competition.
One major company that has become threatening to Alcoa is Rio Tinto Alcan, formerly Alcan.
Alcoa placed a $27 billion hostile takeover bid of Alcan in 2007, which was turned down in favor
of a mutual agreement between Alcan and Rio Tinto, who later merged into Rio Tinto Alcan. Rio
Tinto Alcan is also a major global player, with either ownership or an interest in 22 smelters in 11
countries and regions. One reason that Rio Tinto Alcan is a threat to Alcoa is their position on the
aluminum production cost curve, utilizing their technological advances and relying on cheaper
energy sources to keep their costs down. In recent years, Alcan stocks have outperformed Alcoa’s
due mainly to their international diversity and ability to better absorb changes in the price of
aluminum (The Economist).
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Other major international players include RUSAL, a Moscow based aluminum Production
Company, consolidated in 2007, which holds interests in 10 separate countries and Aluminum
Corporation of China, a Beijing based Metals Company that has been a huge beneficiary of China’s
rapidly expanding economic growth.
Personnel Turnover
The Personal Turnover ratio measures how many employees an employer gains or losses during a
year. It is unrealistic to retain every employee, and new employees will bring new perspectives
and ideas. Turnover can be both voluntary and involuntary depending on the nature of the
employee leaving.
Voluntary turnovers are when the employee decides to leave on their
own. Management wants to overall make people want to stay and work at Alcoa. Managing a
company well is important to avoid involuntary turnover so fewer layoffs are necessary. A higher
turnover ratio means overall shorter term employments, while a smaller ratio mean the number of
employees each year stays more constant. A lower turnover is better since it means employees are
satisfied with their work and staying (Reh, John).
Alcoa experienced a really high personal turnover ratio in 2009 when many employees were let
go because of the recession. The past few years this ratio has been much more consistent.
Year
Number of Employees
Personnel Turnover
Rate
2009
59,000
38.36%
2010
59,000
0.00%
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2011
61,000
-3.33%
Ease of Entry into the Industry
The ease of entry of new competitors into the aluminum industry, or any industry for that matter,
is influenced by the market power and share of the existing leaders in the industry. A major barrier
to entry in the aluminum industry is the high cost of start-up and continuation. As a technology
leader in the aluminum industry, Alcoa engages in research and development programs that
include process and product development, and basic and applied research. Expenditures (as seen
below) for research and development have consistently increased for Alcoa throughout the past
three years, making entry into the aluminum market increasingly more costly and challenging.
R&D Costs (millions)
$185
$180
$175
R&D Costs (millions)
$170
$165
$160
2009
2010
2011
The research and development costs come with the costs of protecting intellectual property.
Alcoa’s rights to their products are protected by patents, which are very costly to perfect. At the
end of 2011, the company’s worldwide patent portfolio included 870 pending patent applications
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and 1,895 granted patents. Intellectual property in the aluminum industry does not stop at patents;
the company also has a number of trade secrets regarding their manufacturing processes and
domestic and international trademarks.
Alcoa’s 10-K report stresses the highly competitive conditions of the industry. Costs to compete
in the United States are one obstacle, but competitors also come from non-U.S. companies, adding
to the difficult entry into the industry. In addition to high entry costs and extreme competitiveness,
the segments in which Alcoa operates are highly influenced by brand names, brand recognition,
and brand loyalty. Becoming established among developed and specialized companies with
millions of loyal customers is not a simple task.
Michael Porter’s “Five Forces Model”
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Power of
Buyers
Threat of
new
entrants
Competitive
Rivalry
Power of
Suppliers
Threat of
substitutes
Rivalry
It’s difficult to differentiate a product like aluminum, so the differences focus on quality and price.
Developing new technology to do the process more efficiently may be a good place to set you
apart from the other industry competitors. Some of Alcoa’s biggest rivals in the industry include
United Co. Rusal, Rio Tinto Group, Aluminum Corp. of China and Norsk Hydro ASA.
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Threat of Substitutes
Steel is often cheaper, making it a substitute, but it also doesn’t have some of the advantages of
aluminum. In the power sector, copper is also becoming a substitute because of its higher
conductivity. Aluminum properties like lower cost, higher strength to weight ratio, and durability
still make it a good choice. Aluminum use should continue to increase in the long term. Alcoa can
have problems with this because aluminum is one product and it is so hard to set it apart, so
customers could easily start getting aluminum from another spot after a bad experience with Alcoa,
making every interaction important.
Bargaining Power of Customers
Since aluminum is a commodity, prices are determined by supply and demand so customers have
fairly high say in this. This force deals with how much customers can get businesses to provide
better service, lower prices, and higher quality products. Alcoa does have major competitors, such
as Rio Tinto and Rusal, so they have to be careful to keep products priced well or else they will
lose their business to others with more attractive prices. Since aluminum varies little from place
to place, staying competitive is important to keep customers and have them coming back.
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Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Often in the industry, companies own their own mines and smelters so have little need for
suppliers. If a company does need upstream producers though, they often have to deal with the
government and have little power with the purchase of power. Alcoa does still deal with some
suppliers. They set standards though that must be followed in regards to sustainability. Alcoa
owns many smelters around the world allowing them to depend less on others.
Threat of New Entrants
There is some chance of new entrants but medium barriers to entry exist. A huge capital
investment is needed to start a new plant. The development period also takes some time, and
government policies make it a difficult process. Alcoa is a very long standing developed company
so it has an advantage here.
(Information from “Aluminum: Through the Eyes of Michael Porter and Alcoa Website”)
Government Structure
The management of Alcoa has been lauded in recent years for a smart, focused, and aggressive
approach to their business. Given the ever-changing nature of aluminum prices and market
changes, they have managed to keep their company in good standing financially and in terms of
market share.
Alcoa is a value driven company, seemingly at every level of their operation, holding all directors,
officers and employees to conduct business in compliance with their Business Conduct Policies.
Compliance with these policies is surveyed on an annual basis. Alcoa endorses The Business
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Roundtable Principles of Corporate Governance dated April 2010, which is a comprehensive
statement of responsible corporate governance principles. According to the 2011 Covalence
Ethical Ranking, Alcoa is listed as #1 in the basic resources sector and the only basic resources
company among the top-ranked companies. This displays a strong ethical backbone that guides
the day to day and long term activities of the company (Alcoa Website).
Alcoa has had trouble in the past with their very large environmental impact; they were ranked by
The Political Economy Research Institute as 15th among corporations emitting airborne pollutants
in the United States. This ranking includes both quantity and toxicity of the pollutants. They also
have a track record of operating unlawfully in many different environmental aspects of their
business. At the turn of the century, management of Alcoa appeared to take a serious interest in
their environmental impact by joining the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for North America
and the World in 2001. They are currently ranked #1 out of all aluminum companies on that listing
(Dow Jones).
Financial Health
Alcoa Inc. 5-Year Financial Ratio Summary
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
Gross Profit Margin
17.92%
18.27%
8.34%
17.57%
22.12%
Operating Profit
Margin
4.26%
2.61%
-8.12%
2.94%
16.40%
Effective Tax Rate
23.99%
27.01%
38.32%
43.18%
33.80%
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Return on Assets
2.65%
1.00%
-2.83%
0.39%
7.55%
Return on Equity
5.86%
3.01%
-9.03%
1.06%
19.11%
Working Capital
Turnover
14.68
12.60
11.47
30.89
31.83
Current Ratio
1.28
1.32
1.30
1.12
1.13
Inventory Turnover
7.47
6.99
6.07
6.76
6.80
Revenue per
Employee
$
409,033
$
356,153
$
312,525
$
309,207
N/A
Operating Cash
Flow
0.10
0.10
0.06
0.05
0.15
Free Cash Flow
656
1,005
761
-409
N/A
Price/Book Value
1.29
1.07
0.6
1.96
1.89
Dividend Yield
1.43%
0.71%
1.53%
5.67%
1.94%
EPS
0.57
0.25
-1.23
-0.1
2.95
Ratio Analysis
The table above reflects Alcoa’s most important financial ratios to help determine the current
financial health of the company. Asset Kickers, LLP would like to point out that these ratios may
not be the same as the ones calculated by other financial databases, but we’ve calculated them
based on constant values found in the 10k Report of Alcoa. The industry ratios listed in the section
below have also been calculated in accordance with the financial statements provided by the 10k
Reports of Rio Tinto and RUSAL. It is apparent that Alcoa took a financial downturn in 2009 as
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a result of the economic recession. The aluminum industry tends to fluctuate with the state of the
economy due to the elasticity of their products. Regardless of the downturn, Alcoa was never in
any immediate danger of bankruptcy and since 2009 they have recovered and improved their ratios.
Overall, Alcoa has demonstrated its resiliency through its improved financials and is considered
to be a strong, consistent company.
Profitability Ratios
Through analyzing the profitability ratios, it is visible that Alcoa maintains consistent growth and
profits. The first thing that stands out when computing and evaluating the financial ratios is the
significant profitability decrease in 2009. The gross profit margin, operating profit margin, return
on assets, and return on equity all resulted in negative numbers. However, the return on assets and
return on equity has increased since the 2009 recessionary period. The effective tax rate has
decreased substantially in the last 4 years for Alcoa.
Efficiency Ratios
The analysis of the efficiency ratios demonstrates a strong working capital turnover that has
increased to almost 15 times in a year. Although this number is substantially less than the
prerecession level of 30 times, it has been strongly increasing since 2009. The inventory turnover
rate seems to be one of the only ratios that didn’t suffer drastically as a result of the recession; it
has remained consistently between 6 and 8 times.
The sales revenue per employee has
impressively increased from $309,207 M in 2008 to $409,033 M in 2011. In 2009, Alcoa’s amount
of employees decreased from 87,000 to 59,000 due to recessionary constraints. The fact that Alcoa
maintained their revenue per employee demonstrates their employment efficiency and their ability
to react to crisis.
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Cash Flow Ratios
Alcoa’s cash flow ratios reflect a great amount of stability in the company. Their operating cash
flow ratio has remained between .15 and .05 over the past five years. Alike most of the ratios,
2009 shows the effects of the economic downturn, but the ratio has been increasing since that
period. Although it is not as strong as it had been in 2007, there is hope that it will return to that
high or higher levels in the near future. Alcoa’s free cash flow, which is a measure of financial
performance calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures, represents the
company’s ability to generate profits after laying out money required to maintain and acquire
assets. Their free cash flow took a dive in 2008, most likely as a result of the recession, but quickly
recovered. However, similar to their operating cash flows, there is much room for improvement.
Investment Ratios
Based on their investment ratios, Alcoa appears to be a smart, long-term investment. Their price
to book value ratio is currently at 1.29, which has been consistently increasing since 2009. The
dividend yield ratio is slowing recovering from the recessionary period that brought the ratio down
to 0.71% in 2010; it is currently up to 1.43%. Their price to earnings ratio, as reflected below in
the industry comparison, is also a valid ratio to drag into the investment decision. This ratio of
47.39 is extremely impressive when compared to their competitors, Rio Tinto and RUSAL.
Industry Comparison-2011
Alcoa
Current Ratio
Rio Tinto
1.28
1.46
RUSAL
1.91
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Quick Ratio
0.54
0.69
0.27
Inventory Turnover
7.47
6.56
1.62
Receivables Turnover
15.78
8.23
11.76
Debt to Equity
1.66
1.28
1.40
Profit Margin
2.45%
9.62%
14.23%
Return on Assets
2.65%
4.87%
0.91%
Return on Equity
5.86%
11.09%
2.16%
Price/Earnings Ratio
47.39
-28.99
-15.08
Earnings per Share
$
0.57
$
3.01
$
0.02
Liquidity Ratios
The liquidity ratios are used to measure a firm’s ability to repay short-term debts. This is extremely
important to consider when evaluating the financial health of a company because it reflects the
likelihood that the company will not default on their obligations. It also demonstrates their ability
to continue as a going concern. Generally a higher ratio indicates a larger margin of safety over
short-term debts.
Current Ratio
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This ratio gives the viewer of the financials and indication of the company’s ability to pay
back its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets. A ratio under 1 suggests that the
company is unable to pay off their debts if they came due at that point. Although Alcoa’s
ratio is not under 1, their ability to repay short-term debts is worse than that of their
competitors, Rio Tinto and RUSAL. The possibility of Alcoa defaulting on their shortterm payments is higher than it is for their competitors; however, the ratio of 1.28 reflects
that they do have the ability to quickly repay their short-term debts.
Quick Ratio
The quick ratio differs from the current ratio in that it measures the company’s ability to
use its near cash, which is its current assets less inventory and accounts receivable, to repay
its current liabilities. A ratio less than 1 reflects that the company is unable to currently
pay back its current liabilities. Alcoa and its competitors all have a ratio of less than 1.
Alcoa is in the middle of Rio Tinto and RUSAL in terms of its ability to currently repay its
current liabilities with a ratio of .54. The current ratio and the quick ratio are equally as
important when evaluating the company’s ability to repay short-term debts. If you only
looked at the current ratio you would be misled to think that RUSAL has the best ability to
repay its short-term debts, when in reality they have the lowest quick ratio. This may seem
to be contradicting, but it simply reflects RUSAL’s lack of liquid assets (cash, cash
equivalents, and marketable securities).
Inventory Turnover
The inventory turnover ratio shows how many times a company’s inventory is sold and
replaced over a period of time, which in this case is a year. A low turnover rate is usually
a bad sign because products tend to depreciate as they sit in a warehouse. The average
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turnover rate varies greatly by industry. For example, companies selling perishable items
have a very high turnover. Alcoa has the highest turnover rate of its competitors of 7.47,
which shows that they move their inventory in and out of their warehouse faster than their
competitors.
Receivables Turnover
This ratio is a measurement of the company’s effectiveness in collecting debts. A low ratio
implies the company should re-assess its credit policies in order to ensure a more timely
collection of accounts receivable. A higher ratio implies that company either operates on
a cash basis or their credit policies are efficient in collecting from their customers. Alcoa,
again, demonstrates a higher ratio than its competitors, with an impressive 15.78
collections per year.
Financial Leverage
Debt to equity
This measure of a company’s financial leverage indicates what portion of equity and debt
the company is using to finance its assets. A higher ratio means that a company has been
aggressive in financing its growth with debt, which can result in unstable earnings as a
result of the additional interest expense that comes along with this method of financing.
The averages for the debt to equity ratio differ among industries. Alcoa has the highest debt
to equity ratio of its competitors; although it is higher than Rio Tinto and RUSAL, 1.66 is
still not considered to be a high ratio.
Profitability
Profit Margin
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The profit margin is not generally used to compare company-to-company, but for internal
reasons. It has little meaning when comparing companies, but you can judge a firm
profitability by and increase or decrease in their profit margin level. Alcoa’s profit margin
is considerably less than that of their competitors; however, this should not portray a poor
reflection of profitability on the company.
Return on Assets
Also known as the “return on investment,” the return on assets is an indicator of how
profitable a company is in terms of its total assets. This demonstrates the efficiency of the
company’s managements of using its assets to generate earnings. A higher percentage
indicates a better ability to convert investments into profits. Alcoa’s return on assets is
2.03%, which proves that their ability to use their investments to generate profit puts them
right in between Rio Tinto and RUSAL. RUSAL has an impressive 4.87% return on assets.
Return on Equity
Return on equity is a measure of the amount of net income returned as a percentage of
shareholder’s equity. This measures the company’s profitability by showing how much
profit has been generated with the money shareholders have invested. Return on equity
over a span of 5 to ten years can specifically give you a better idea of the historical growth
of the company. The higher the returns on equity, the higher the growth of the company
should be expected to be. RUSAL has the highest return on equity, putting Alcoa in
between its competitors yet again.
Earnings per Share
Earnings per share are the portion of a company’s net income allocated to each outstanding
share of common stock.
This measure is arguably the most important variable in
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determining a share’s price. Rio Tinto had the highest earnings per share of the three, with
$3.01. While RUSAL had the lowest of $0.02, putting Alcoa in the middle of the two with
$0.57. Alcoa had a weaker EPS than Rio Tinto, but this is not a poor reflection on the
company.
Intrinsic Stock Value
Alcoa’s stock can be valued at a market rate and an intrinsic rate. The intrinsic rate is based
on calculations that are made to reflect tangible and intangible factors of the company.
This calculated rate is an underlying perception of the true value of the stock at hand.
Alcoa’s intrinsic value, as calculated by Stock Analysis on Net, is $5.26. The current
market of stock per share is $8.39. Generally, having a higher market value than intrinsic
value is a negative sign to investors. This means that the stock is actually worth less than
it appears to be, when you look at other factors contributing to your return on the stock.
However, this is only an approximation and other aspects of the company should be
evaluated before an investor would make their decision of whether or not to invest.
Beta
Beta is a measure of a stock or portfolio describing the correlated volatility of an asset in
relation to the volatility of the benchmark that said asset is being compared to, which is
generally the market of that stock. Alcoa has a beta of 1.89, meaning that it is 89% more
volatile than the market. A beta that is greater than one will have a higher rate of return for
their investment, but with a higher return comes a higher rate of risk. Therefore, Alcoa’s
stock has a higher risk and return than the rest of the aluminum production market.
Company’s Health
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Alcoa is in very good financial health and not in any risk of bankruptcy or possible doubt of
going concern in the near future. There are a few important indicators of the strong financial
health. Although Alcoa was affected by the economic recession of 2009, they survived the tough
times and have been improving their profitability since that time. In terms of their position
among their competitors, they are not the weakest link in the Aluminum Production industry.
Their impressive earnings per share ratio of $0.57 says a lot about their place among their
competitors.
Z-score analysis
The Z-Score analysis is used by investors to keep an eye on their investments. It’s a way to stay
daily updates on the financial state of a company. The score does not predict financial health, but
rather gauges it at a current point. The z-score combines the use of financial ratios and a rating
scale. If the company’s score is above 3.00, then the company is believed to be economically
sound and not in danger of bankruptcy. The scale draws the line at insolvency if a score is
anywhere below 1.80. The calculated scores for Alcoa Inc. are listed below for the years 2009,
2010, and 2011.
Alcoa Inc.
Z-Score Analysis
For the year ended December 31, 2011
Working Capital
Total Assets
x 12 =
1700
40120
x 12 =
0.51
Retained Earnings
Total Assets
x 14 =
11629
40120
x 14 =
4.06
EBIT
x 3.3 =
1063
x 3.3 =
0.09
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Total Assets
40120
MV of Equity
BV of Liabilities
x .6 =
13844
22925
x 0.6 =
0.36
Sales
Total Assets
x 0.999 =
24951
40120
x 0.999 =
0.62
Z-Score = 5.64
Alcoa Inc.
Z-Score Analysis
For the year ended December 31, 2010
Working Capital
Total Assets
x 12 =
1668
39293
x 12 =
0.51
Retained Earnings
Total Assets
x 14 =
11149
39293
x 14 =
3.97
EBIT
Total Assets
x 3.3 =
548
39293
x 3.3 =
0.05
MV of Equity
BV of Liabilities
x .6 =
13611
22207
x 0.6 =
0.37
Sales
Total Assets
x 0.999 =
21013
39293
x 0.999 =
0.53
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Z-Score =5.43
Alcoa Inc.
Z-Score Analysis
For the year ended December 31, 2009
Working Capital
Total Assets
x 12 =
1608
38472
x 12 =
0.50
Retained Earnings
Total Assets
x 14 =
11020
38472
x 14 =
4.01
EBIT
Total Assets
x 3.3 =
-1498
38472
x 3.3 =
-0.13
MV of Equity
BV of Liabilities
x .6 =
12420
22912
x 0.6 =
0.33
Sales
Total Assets
x 0.999 =
18439
38472
x 0.999 =
0.48
Z-Score = 5.19
Alcoa had a z-score of 5.64 in 2011, 5.43 in 2010, and 5.19 in 2009. This reflects the financial
health of the company since their z-scores are all above the 3.00 level for all three years.
Furthermore, their z-scores have been constantly increasing over these three years, which lessens
their risk of bankruptcy even further.
In creating a z-score analysis for one of Alcoa’s prime competitors, Rio Tinto, Alcoa has been
found to currently have a higher z-score than Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto score was 5.29 in 2011, 6.38
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in 2010, and 4.81 in 2009. This shows a lack of consistency among Rio Tinto’s financials. The
following three tables reflect the calculations for the scores.
Rio Tinto
Z-Score Analysis
For the year ended December 31, 2011
Working Capital
Total Assets
x 12 =
6,932
119,545
x 12 =
0.70
Retained Earnings
Total Assets
x 14 =
27,784
119,545
x 14 =
3.25
EBIT
Total Assets
x 3.3 =
13,214
119,545
x 3.3 =
0.36
MV of Equity
BV of Liabilities
x .6 =
52,539
67,006
x 0.6 =
0.47
Sales
Total Assets
x 0.999 =
60,537
119,545
x 0.999 =
0.51
Z-Score = 5.29
Rio Tinto
Z-Score Analysis
For the year ended December 31, 2010
Working Capital
Total Assets
x 12 =
9,661
112,402
x 12 =
1.03
Retained Earnings
Total Assets
x 14 =
32,499
112,402
x 14 =
4.05
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EBIT
Total Assets
x 3.3 =
20,577
112,402
x 3.3 =
0.60
MV of Equity
BV of Liabilities
x .6 =
58,333
54,069
x 0.6 =
0.65
Sales
Total Assets
x 0.999 =
56,576
112402
x 0.999 =
0.50
Z-Score = 6.83
Rio Tinto
Z-Score Analysis
For the year ended December 31, 2009
Working Capital
Total Assets
x 12 =
5403
97,236
x 12 =
0.67
Retained Earnings
Total Assets
x 14 =
20,477
97,236
x 14 =
2.95
EBIT
Total Assets
x 3.3 =
7,860
97,236
x 3.3 =
0.27
MV of Equity
BV of Liabilities
x .6 =
43,831
53,405
x 0.6 =
0.49
Sales
Total Assets
x 0.999 =
41,825
97,236
x 0.999 =
0.43
Z-Score = 4.81
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Strategic Profit Model
The Strategic Profit Model is simply an expanded version of the DuPont Model. It gives you a
visual version of the breakdown of the company’s financial performance, ultimately calculating
the return on investment. The visual model, Strategic Profit Model is broken into three sections:
net margin, assets, turnover, and financial leverage. This visual model calculated a return on
investment of 6.18% while the DuPont model calculated a 5.86% return on equity. These ratios
prove Alcoa to be a profitable investment.
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DuPont Model
ROE =
Net Income
Sales
x
Sales
Total Assets
x
Total Assets
Average Shareholder's Equity
ROE =
805
24951
x
24951
40120
x
40120
13727.5
ROE =
5.86%
Which Way the Company is Moving
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Alcoa is currently in the maturity stage, but they still have room for potential growth. The
increased profitability since the 2009 recession proves that they can regain their prior levels of
profitability through growing the developing their products and processes. In order to avoid
moving into a recessionary stage, or a trough, Alcoa should build their image through innovation.
In the maturity stage, less advertising is required due to their already well-established brand image;
therefore, they should use advertising funds to promote research and development.
Sources and value of capital
Alcoa primarily funds their business through debt and equity. Their total debt for 2011
combined to be $22,925 M, which includes their long-term debt, short-term debt, and all other
non-current liabilities. While their equity for the year totaled to be $17,195 M (Alcoa 10-K).
This reflects that their main source of capital is debt, which is a financing route that many
businesses are skeptical to take. However, Alcoa has sufficient cash flows to repay these debts
so their method works out in their favor. In 2011, Alcoa’s debt-to-capital ratio was 35%,
demonstrating their ability to repay these debts. This ratio has decreased since 2008, which only
further proves their more efficient method of financing with debt. In the case of bankruptcy,
Alcoa would be liable to their debtors before their shareholders, which may result in little to no
repayment to these shareholders. On the other hand, financing capital expenditures through debt
helps Alcoa to retain more ownership of their company.
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Capital Market Place Response
Following the 2009 recession, the capital market place had a positive response to Alcoa, as their
stock price rapidly increased until the middle of 2011. Since that period of productivity the price
has not been consistent, reflecting the maturity stage of their company’s life cycle. In the future,
the stock prices are expected to increase as Alcoa CEO, Klaus Kleinfield speculates that the
demand for aluminum will double between 2010 and 2020 (Alcoa Annual Report, p. 6).
Quality of Earnings
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A company’s quality of earnings is attributable to either higher sales or lower costs. In analyzing
the free cash flows of Alcoa, it is apparent that they have a positive quality of earnings based on
the improved free cash flow generation. From 2008 to 2011, the number has increased from
($2,204 M) to $906 M; these numbers are a result of strong profits from increased sales rather
than accounting irregularities or inflation. In addition, the inventory turnover rate has increased
from 6.07 times in 2009 to 7.47 times in 2011. This is of interest to the quality of earnings
because having control over your inventory demonstrates less desired costs for future growth.
Stock compared to the industry
(Alcoa 10-K)
Alcoa’s stock has both underperformed the S&P 500 Index as well as the S&P 500 Materials Index.
The materials index tracks those corporations in the S&P 500 which specialize in basic materials,
such as chemicals, precious metals, timber products, construction materials, and industrial metals.
Of these, Alcoa is the only aluminum producer included. As made apparent from visual inspection
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of the above chart, Alcoa has a beta higher than both of the indices it’s paired with, checking in at
1.86. As noted in the risk factors, the aluminum industry is very cyclical. Essentially, the good
times are great, and the bad times are terrible.
Auditor
Alcoa, Inc.’s auditor is PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The following chart discusses Alcoa’s
past five audit reports and the opinions that were issued.
Year
Opinion Issued
Report Form
December 2010-2011
Unqualified
Combined Report on Financial Statements and
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
December 2009-2010
Unqualified
Combined Report on Financial Statements and
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
December 2008-2009
Unqualified
Combined Report on Financial Statements and
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
December 2007-2008
Unqualified
Combined Report on Financial Statements and
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
December 2006-2007
Unqualified
Combined Report on Financial Statements and
Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Alcoa has clearly been consistent with the fair statement of their financials, as well as the
effectiveness of their internal control.
Financial Statement Perception
Alcoa’s corporate bonds are rated BB+ by Morningstar (Alcoa Inc Debt). Their capital structure
is made of 59.7% Equity, 40.1% Debt, and only 0.2% Preferred shares (Alcoa Inc Debt). Although
Alcoa has paid all corporate debt off in time, its lower than stellar bond rating lends itself to the
cyclicity of the aluminum industry. A downturn in the economy can prove disastrous for the
industry and Alcoa. For example, Alcoa’s stock plummeted from approximately $43 a share before
the 2008 financial crisis to a low of around $5 a share after (Alcoa Inc. Debt).
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Alcoa has not failed an external auditor’s report in its history, and third parties have no reason to
believe that management lacks integrity. Amongst Alcoa’s financial statement users, the general
consensus is that Alcoa represents a strong industry leader that has set the standards for decades.
Their business model is relatively simple (in comparison to many other corporations that make up
the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500). The main concern for investors is the state
of the economy, worldwide, demand for aluminum, and aluminum prices, all being external
factors. As long as Alcoa can remain solvent during economic downturns and can keep its strong,
stable form of corporate governance, the firm will survive and flourish as an industry leader (Alcoa
10-K)
Auditor Concerns
Transaction Cycles
Financial Cycle
Alcoa's financial cycle is crucial for the firm to conduct operations since it relies off of its capital
financing through this cycle. Alcoa issues debt in the forms of corporate debentures, convertible
bonds, and commercial paper. Additionally, the firm raises capital through the sales of common
and preferred shares of equity. For the year ended 2011, Alcoa had $8.64B in outstanding, long
term debt. Most debt has been secured with fixed rates in from 5.25% to 6.75%, with notes due
from 2013 to 2037. Long-term debt has most recently been used to finance the construction of both
smelters and power plants in Brazil and Russia. Alcoa must be weary of the Net Present Value of
these projects which they are using 6% notes to fund. Additionally, the firm must be prepared to
use up to $997 million in cash reserves so that they may repay notes due during 2013. Cash
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provided from financing activities during 2011 totaled $62 million, mostly due to an increase in
long-term borrowing (Alcoa 10-K).
Expenditure Cycle
For the fiscal year 2011, $1.287 billion of Alcoa’s assets were used for capital expenditures
(CapEx). This is lower than what is usually spent on capital expenditures in the years previous due
to the continuing effects of the 2008 global economic downturn, the firm's desire to increase its
ratio of net cash inflows from working capital, and to increase its liquidity during a period of trying
times for the aluminum industry. The measures weren't enough as there was a 3% decline in cash
from operations from 2010 to 2011, though the firm's liquidity increased during this time. $184
million was spent on research and development (R&D) during 2011, a successive increase of
approximately 6% from both years prior (Alcoa 10-K).
Payroll Cycle
The payroll cycle is vital for Alcoa's going concern, being that the company employs large
numbers of workers to maintain its huge industrial capacity. Payroll for lower level laborers and
middle managers are included in the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) account, while compensation
figures for upper level managers is included in the Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A)
account. At the year ended 2011, Alcoa had employed about 61,000 employees in 31 countries
where there exists some level of operation. As a result of the 2008 Financial Crisis, the firm
implemented both a salaries and hiring freeze which was not lifted until December 31, 2010 (Alcoa
10-K).
Conservation/Revenue Cycle
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Since Alcoa makes almost all if it's revenue from the conversion of raw materials to commercial
and industrial products, the conversion cycle is the crux on which the firm operates and survives.
Alcoa mines raw bauxite from the Earth's crust, and proceeds to convert the bauxite to aluminum
in two separate industrial processes. Alcoa proceeds to sell aluminum to consumer, industrial, and
construction firms for their source of revenue. Alcoa is a vertically integrated corporation through
their business processes in the conversion to revenue cycles. Bauxite is mined by Alcoa, shipped
by Alcoa, converted to aluminum/alumina by Alcoa, and then further fabricated by Alcoa. Through
their operations, Alcoa was able to convert 43 million metric tons of mined, raw bauxite, into
$24.95 billion in revenue during the year ended 2011 (Alcoa 10-K).
Risk Areas
The following risks have been pulled from Alcoa’s 10K report. They have been deemed potentially
problematic for the firm’s success and continuing operations, and therefore they must be taken into
consideration seriously.
High-Risk Areas
The aluminum industry generally remains highly cyclical and is influenced by a number of
factors including global economic conditions. Worldwide aluminum demand fluctuates not only
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annually, but also in correlation with the business cycle. Alcoa can be harmed by recessionary
periods and can benefit greatly from expansionary periods.
Market-driven balancing of global aluminum supply and demand may be disrupted by nonmarket forces or other impediments to production closures. Alcoa’s operations span the globe
in many different countries, and the firm has to take on certain risks in many of the countries in
which it operates. These risks include legislative initiatives that can have detrimental effects on
Alcoa’s business, nation-specific economic conditions, or in some cases, conflicts that can alter
business in the area which Alcoa operates.
A reduction in demand (or a lack of increased demand) for aluminum by China, Europe or
a combined number of other countries may negatively impact Alcoa’s results. Approximately
50% of Alcoa’s revenue comes from non-domestic sales, namely Europe and China. The ongoing
European debt crisis has had a negative impact on aluminum demand, and China’s decreasing
growth rate over the past 3 years has also impacted sales in that market.
Alcoa could be materially adversely affected by declines in aluminum prices. Being that the firm
makes over 80% of its income off of aluminum, any changes in aluminum prices are going to
affect the firm’s profitability and going concern. If there is a sharp enough drop in aluminum prices
worldwide (AL) will have a very negative affect on profitability, or perhaps worse, such as the
ability to stay in business.
Low-Risk Areas
On the 10K, there are numerous inherent risk factors that are listed, such as high competition,
stability of financial markets, maintaining good credit, cyber-attacks, union disputes, completely
unforeseen events occurring, etc., that are not included in this list. These are inherent risks that any
firm in any industry can and will face, and are therefore not unique to Alcoa or its operations. They
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are not included in the list below, but like all other risks, must be taken seriously and with
preparedness.
Alcoa’s operations consume substantial amounts of energy; profitability may decline if
energy costs rise or if energy supplies are interrupted. As noted earlier in the report, energy
expenses make up a substantial portion of Alcoa’s operating expenses and Cost of Goods Sold
account. With a profit margin of only 6%, any increase in electricity or fossil fuel prices will
immediately impact profits in a negative fashion.
Alcoa’s profitability could be adversely affected by increases in the cost of raw materials or
by significant lag effects for decreases in commodity or LME-linked costs. Alcoa relies off of
raw materials, such as bauxite and electricity, to make its primary products. Increases in the prices
of raw materials will directly affect profitability. The LME, or London Metal Exchange, is the
primary exchange for aluminum trading in the world. If the LME isn’t effectively pricing and
speculating aluminum, the company’s profitability can be hurt.
Alcoa may not be able to realize expected benefits from the change to index pricing of
alumina. Alcoa has created its own independent index pricing of alumina based on LME prices
and speculation. This is to produce a more accurate pricing and forecasting model for aluminum
contract futures. However, if this initiative is not successful, Alcoa may be at the wrong end of
price setting, and a loss in income.
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Climate change, climate change legislation or regulations and greenhouse effects may
adversely impact Alcoa’s operations and markets. Alcoa has significant reliance on electricity
for its operations, and in many cases, electricity is produced from fossil fuels. These fossil fuels
produce large amounts of greenhouse gases as byproducts, which is the conclusion of some to be
the cause of global warming and the deterioration of the atmosphere. New regulations and
legislation could potentially impact Alcoa’s production and consumption of electricity, which
could harm its operations and aluminum production.
Management Integrity
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Alcoa has remained at the maturity phase of its life cycle for many years. At this point, the nature
of the business hasn’t changed drastically in a while, and there are not many expectations that the
business environment of the industry Alcoa is a part of will change much in the foreseeable future.
PricewaterhouseCoopers completed a full audit of Alcoa for the year ended 2011, and they
concluded that all financial statements were presented fairly and in accordance with GAAP for the
last 3 years (Alcoa 10-K).
In 2007, Alcoa attempted a hostile takeover of Alcan, which ultimately failed. Alcan was later
acquired by Rio Tinto that same year to become, at the time, the world’s largest aluminum
producer. The attempt of a hostile takeover can be cited as a lack of integrity by management.
However, as a third party, it is difficult to say that overall, management has integrity, or a lack
thereof, based on this one event. There are no other reasons to cite or to believe that Alcoa’s
management lacks integrity.
Auditor’s Report
For the year ended 2011, Alcoa contracted PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct a full scale
audit of the firm. PwC also reviewed the financials going back 3 years previous. In the external
auditor’s professional opinion, all financial statements were presented fairly and in accordance
with the United States’ Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Additionally, the auditors
found that Alcoa’s internal control is sufficient enough to provide reasonable assurance as to the
integrity of its financial reporting. The following statement is PricewaterhouseCoopers audit report
listed in Alcoa’s 10K:
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of Alcoa Inc.
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In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related statements of consolidated operations,
changes in consolidated equity, consolidated comprehensive (loss) income, and consolidated cash flows present
fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Alcoa Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) at
December 31, 2011 and 2010, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in
the period ended December 31, 2011 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control
over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated
Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The
Company’s management is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over
financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in
the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to
express opinions on these financial statements and on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based
on our integrated audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective
internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the financial
statements included examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating
the overall financial statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining
an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and
testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our
audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe
that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting
includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable
assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made
only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable
assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s
assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements.
Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may
deteriorate.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
February 16, 2011
Client Selection
Our firm takes its responsibility to the public and to our clients very seriously. As such, we choose
only to accept clients who live up to the highest professional and ethical standards. After thorough
review of the ethical and internal control policies of Alcoa, we have decided that it would be
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appropriate to take Alcoa on as a client. The acceptable audit risk of Alcoa is well below what we
have determined to be the acceptable threshold. The management at Alcoa appears committed to
strong, ethical business practices and having a committed management team is one of the most
important parts to starting a strong internal control.
Alcoa’s decision making, however, is not beyond criticism. In 1994, during Alcoa’s expansion
into Brazil, they had the Brazilian government use large quantities of Agent Orange to defoliate a
large part of the Amazon Rainforest. This was in order for Alcoa to build the Tucuruí dam, a source
of power for their mining operations. This defoliation took out a large part of the forest, as well as
homes of the indigenous tribes and others living in the forest. Additionally, in 1998, The United
States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Superfund Unilateral Order requiring
Alcoa to “excavate, treat and dispose of the contaminated wetlands sediments (on one of their
York properties)”.These incidences raised an ethical red flag to us. However, since the Agent
Orange incident and the EPA order, Alcoa has shown a strong commitment to social responsibility
and companywide ethics. We believe that this approach is more than just a quick rejoinder to a
pressure filled situation and instead reflects a long term plan to conduct their businesses in an
ethical manner (Cahill).
Alcoa’s financial position is also pretty well secured. Their stock has shown a little fluctuation
lately but nothing more than the regular market ups and downs. This helps demonstrate the strength
and stability of the company.
Alcoa is a value-based company with strong morals and a well enforced code of ethics. Their
internal controls are strong and look to prevent any future misdeeds, like the ones they had in the
1990s or otherwise. They are not currently involved in any legal proceeding or integrity violations.
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We will accept Alcoa as a client with a good amount of professional skepticism. We will continue
to monitor their policies and how well they are upheld. We will keep a watchful eye on the way
Alcoa does business and make sure their convictions are as strong as they have indicated.
Allocated Audit Effort
Alcoa is based in Pittsburgh and has over 2000 employees stationed there. Due to the resource
concentration Alcoa has in Pittsburgh; we believe that it would be the best place to headquarter
our audit efforts. However, since Alcoa houses most of its important top executives in New York
City, we certainly want a strong auditing presence there to probe Alcoa’s top minds. A good
understanding of the total operations of a company is key to a thorough audit; this means that we
will also need to do extensive research into the international arms of the operation as well. Now,
since Alcoa has operations in 30 countries, it would be unfeasible to visit all branches of
operation. We need to subdivide based on what is important. Alcoa’s main areas of international
concentration are in Eastern Europe, China and Brazil. We plan on sending a representative out
to each of those areas because it will give us a developed understanding of Alcoa’s international
business procedures. It is important to concentrate your audit efforts in the most effective areas,
as audit firms do not have unlimited resources. We believe that our plan spans a large enough
geographical area and covers a large portion of the inner workings of Alcoa and, as such, is an
effective allocation of our resources and auditors.
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Problems with External Control
Alcoa faces a lot of issues with external control. The industry that they are in is very volatile as it
is largely based on the discovery and retrieval of natural resources. Natural resources have a way
of running hot and cold, there can be long periods of slow discovery and there is a finite amount
of the resource in the earth. One major issue was that Alcoa's affiliate in Ghana, the Volta
Aluminum Company, was completely closed between May 2003 and early 2006, due to problems
with its electricity supply. They are a very global company and located on many different
continents so their plants can run into a lot of trouble with power supply. They employ many
different methods of powering, including electricity, hydropower, hydroelectric, and formerly coal
power. They have run into a lot of trouble with the supply of these powers, shutting down
production for short bursts as well as closing smaller plants (Alcoa Website).
Since they are a global company, they may also run into problems in dealing with other countries.
Changing policies, new governments and expanding regulations are all issues they need to consider
on a day to day basis. One instance of this was their movement in to Wagerup, Australia. Due to
the constraints of the Financial Crisis, they had to halt their Australian expansion plans and pause
their ownership of the Western Australia alumina refinery.
These external control factors have a large impact on the way Alcoa runs their business and need
to be taken into account as ongoing risk factors now and into the future.
Use of Internal Audit
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The Auditor’s Consideration of the Internal Audit Function in an Audit of Financial Statements”
or Auditing Standard 322, discusses the auditor’s role in relation to the internal auditor and how
to evaluate and test the work of an internal auditor. The flowchart below is a useful tool to decide
how reliable the company’s internal audit work is. By using this flowchart and reading the
financial statements, it can be seen that Alcoa’s internal audit department is dependable and we
can use their work for assistance in our audit. PricewaterhouseCoopers, the independent auditor,
gives reasonable assurance that Alcoa’s internal controls for 2011 are good as well. In the auditor’s
report for 2011, PwC also references the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO) and their Internal Control-Integrated Framework to state that the company
maintained in all material respects effective internal control (“Auditing Standards).
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(“Involving Internal Auditor”)
Use of Outside Specialists
When deciding how much to relay on outside specialists, Auditing Standard 336, “Using the Work
of Specialist” is valuable. A specialist has skills or knowledge other than accounting or auditing
that can be of use to the firm. With being a large, global firm, it is probably that we will have any
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specialists internal to our firm, so specialists will not be needed for the audit. Some areas that could
possibly use a specialist if we were not a firm full of such diverse people with specialized talents
include environmental issues, valuation, and actuarial calculations (Auditing Standards).
Planning and Supervision
Auditing Standard 311, “Planning and Supervision” comes from the first field work standard that
states “the work is to be adequately planned and assistants, if any, are to be properly supervised.”
This step is very important to the audit and ensuring that the generally accepted auditing standards
are followed. Planning begins with accessing the firm and obtaining knowledge of the business.
An engagement letter is also written by the auditor to make sure both parties are clear on all terms.
We then would come up with an overall strategy, and make sure that all steps are supervised
properly so we stick to GAAS and have a complete audit that we can reasonably assure is accurate
(Auditing Standards)..
Expected Auditor’s Report
After looking at the company and the reports issued for the current and past years, we believe that
an unqualified opinion can be issued for Alcoa in the 2011 fiscal year. An unqualified opinion
means that we are issuing our independent opinion of reasonable assurance that there are no
material misstatements in the financial statements under US Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles and also no scope limitations restricting our work (Mergent Online)..
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Financial
Statements
free of
Material
Misstatement
Effectice
Internal
Control
Unqualified
Audit Opinion
Sarbanes-Oxley Act Implications, Section 404
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in July 2002 by the United States Congress. Its purpose was
to restore investor confidence in after many bankruptcies internal control breakdowns that were
highly publicized. All companies that are publically registered must follow this act. The Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB was formed from this act and management is
also more responsible for asserting that internal controls and financial reporting is effective.
Section 404 really stands out in the act. This requires the independent auditor to give opinions on
the effectiveness or internal control over financial statements and to give an auditor’s opinion on
the fairness of financial statements. Section 404 has a top-down risk assessment that helps the
auditor look at the company thoroughly. The PCAOB Auditing Standard Number 5 also discusses
auditor steps to correctly assess internal control of public companies.
As stated in the auditor’s report, there were no changes in internal control over reporting during
the fourth quarter of the year that materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect
the company’s internal control. By seeing this, we can feel more confident that internal control is
continuing to be effective like we said it was in the past. Through research of the past three years,
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we can say with reasonable assurance that internal control is maintaining that accounts accurately
and fairly reflect the assets of the company, that transactions are in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, and there is a timely discovery of accounts unauthorized
acquisitions that could have a material effect on financial statements. Sarbanes-Oxley 404 also
allows us to state that because of inherent limitations, internal control might not prevent of detect
misstatements, and as controls change, the evaluation might not be accurate any longer.
(Information from “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”)
Initial Assessment
Appendix A
Financial Statements
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Appendix B
Budget
We originally decided to meet for about three hours a week every Wednesday afternoon to work
on the project, divide up work for next time, and combine our parts. To prepare for this meeting,
we also figured that we would each put in around three hours of work on our own time. This
would come out to about 15 hours a week or 150 hours during the semester. This was just a rough
estimate with some parts of our Wednesday meeting devoted to looking at homework for class or
reviewing as well, and there were certainly weeks that we put in many additional hours. Looking
back on our entire project, we probably did spend about the amount of time we allocated working
on this. Having the first deadline before Spring Break was a huge help to keep us on track. With
a hard deadline, we worked on getting that part finalized and formatted correctly, so adding in the
rest of our work later was much easier. It also let us see exactly how much time this was taking
us and how to allocate our remaining weeks to make sure we got the entire project complete and
in the form we wanted by the due date. Getting close to the due date, we met many more days
than just once a week to make sure we were all keeping up on our parts and everything was coming
together well. We also wanted adequate time to proofread the entire report and make sure it looked
as good as possible.
Leadership
By initially dividing up most parts of the assignment, we were all able to lead in different ways.
Each person read about different topics, so when we met to combine and discuss the parts we
each looked at on our own, we could each share our new expertise. Each person put effort into
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their parts, making the switch between leaders very smooth because each person was very
knowledgeable in their area and able to explain it to the others easily.
Coordination
This part came fairly easy to us. We never made a formal contract, but we had a copy of the
syllabus in an excel file with each part in its own row. This almost served as in informal contract
that we all obeyed by. When we met in the beginning, we divided up the first part that was due
before spring break and color coordinated the document so it was very clear which person was
leading each part. There were no discrepancies then as each team member had a copy of this. We
also divided up questions by workload instead of just by the number of parts. Once we had sections
that seemed of equal weight, we talked about if anyone had any prior knowledge on a topic or
strong desire to do a section. This method left us all happy and with an equal workload. Another
valuable asset to our coordination was a Group Me group text that we set up. With this, it was
easy for us all to communicate with each other and let everyone know at once if we had to be late
to a meeting or had a question.
Norms
In order to complete the project in a timely and efficient manner, we developed the norm of the
work plan to assign topics, work independently on our parts, and edit and piece together the final
product. This strategy helped us to determine a set plan and sequence of events. That mentality
led us to our second norm of creating a checklist to ensure completion of all the parts. We created
a Google Document with all the components of the project, complete with columns for the assigned
team member and level of completion to date. Sequentially, our third norm was setting and
meeting deadlines. Lastly, our most important norm was scheduled meetings. We met every
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Wednesday of the semester at 2:30PM in the library. We used our meetings to ask each other
questions on our parts of the project, as well as class-related topics. We determined that by having
scheduled meetings we would guarantee a block of time every week to work on the project, even
if we were working independently. We did need to take any action to enforce these norms because
we all felt strongly about their efficiency in completing the project.
Conflict
Our main source of conflict among the group has been determining deadlines that are within reason
for all the group members. We all have busy schedules between classes, extracurricular activities,
and social lives. Working around our prior commitments was a tough obstacle, but be had to
resolve it in order to complete the project efficiently. First of all, we had to put ourselves in each
other’s shoes and understand the importance of certain prior commitments. On the other hand, we
had to take in account the fact that we are all extremely busy, but making time for this project
needed to be established as a top priority for the semester. This difficulty resulted in letting our
previously-set deadlines slip a few days, but we never allowed ourselves to miss deadlines but a
substantial amount. If we had not resolved this conflict then we would have been scrambling to
meet our preliminary and final deadlines set in the syllabus, which could result in a poorly
constructed project.
Contribution
Overall, we all had a fairly equal share of the project. We collectively talked about each part and
could go to each other with any questions or concerns that came up, but each had our own sections
to really focus on. Below is how we divided up the specific tasks and questions.
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Kristin – Number 3 parts e, f, g, j, m. Number 4 financial health. Organization of our checklist that
went along with the syllabus. Printed and turned in the project part one.
Chris – Number 2 parts 1, b, c. Number 3 part k. Number 6 parts a, b, c, d. Proofread and corrected
typos in project part one.
Luke – Number 2 parts d, e, f, g. Number 3 parts h, Number 6 parts e, f, g.
Sammi – Number 3 parts a, b, c, d, l. Number 6 parts h,I, j. Organization of Appendix.
After assessing how much work we all put into the project, we think that we each did an equal
share of the project and should each earn 100% of the total grade we receive.
Team Member
Grade Allocation
Kristin
100%
Chris
100%
Luke
100%
Sammi
100%
Instructions
We originally thought the project looked really long, both by looking at the topics to cover in the
syllabus and also the example projects online. I think we all started out a little scared, but saw that
just breaking it down made it work out and “baby steps” made it manageable. Our report quickly
grew long before we knew it. Having the first part due before spring break was a great idea. It
kept us on track and made sure we did not slack at all right before break and have to come back to
a lot of work. This also helped us estimate the amount of time that the remaining parts of the
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project would take and allowed us to create a schedule of deadlines for after break. We noticed
that some parts we split up and thought would be fair and equal actually were not, so in those
cases, someone who had a little less work would step up to help the person who’s section was
longer than we anticipated. Some parts of the project on topics we only briefly talked about in
class were challenging, but it also taught us some good research skills, and the example projects
were helpful as well.
Other
Other than working on the project, our team accomplished many different goals. We met to study
for exams, completed in class tasks like flow charts and tables and conversed any time one member
was unsure about class material. These non-report related meetings helped us cultivate a setting of
open dialogue, hard work and productivity.
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