In order to successfully complete this assignment, you need to make extensive use of the relevant literature, both from an academic and practitioner perspective. It is also important to be able to offer an informative and facts based personal view on the issues discussed. Avoid unreliable sources (such as Wikipedia) and base your answers on academic and policy papers, as well as articles from well-respected press (like Financial Times and The Economist). Be concise, succinct but, at the same time, provide well developed arguments. Your task is to analyse a bank's financial and income statements, before and after the Global Financial Crisis. You need to pick the statements from a bank of your choice (preferably from a British bank or a bank from your country of preference, as long as the statements are available in English), for the years 2007 and 2013 (i.e. the statements before and after the global financial meltdown). Then, using the relevant material from the lectures, try to provide answers to the following questions (please, do not forget to attach the statements as an appendix to your assignment; this appendix will not count to your word limit): (i) Discuss the purpose of financial reporting and the potential problems that might emerge due to mishandling/misreporting financial data. (20 marks) (ii) Present and analyze the composition of assets and liabilities of the bank, before and after the global financial crisis of 2007/8. Can you identify any differences, especially 1 in terms of the use of capital and the potential exposures to credit and default risks? (iii) Using some of the key profitability ratios discussed in the class, provide a comparative discussion of the income statements before and after the financial crisis periods. (iv) Based on your previous analysis, you are requested to provide some recommendations to the bank's board, on how to improve their performance in the following years. Focus on issues related to profitability, risk exposures, sources of income for the bank, as well as the use of the bank's funds. (20 marks) University standard grade descriptors apply LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE % MARK CRITERIA Excellent 70-100% Demonstrates an excellent understanding of a complex body of Good 60-69% Demonstrates a very good understanding of a complex body of Competent 50-59% Demonstrates an understanding of a complex body of knowledge and Weak 40-49% Displays understanding of the basics with evidence of some appropriate knowledge and the ability to use such knowledge in an innovative and creative manner to develop new insights and relate these to the particular circumstances of the situation under consideration. Has a very good grasp of recent research findings and demonstrates a maturity in critically evaluating concepts and abstract principles, and originality in addressing business problems knowledge and the ability to analyse and synthesise knowledge, reflect on the application of theory in practice and to use these skills to develop an argument which is well structured, clearly justified and relevant to the particular circumstances of the situation under consideration. Has a good grasp of recent research findings and demonstrates considerable ability and maturity in critically evaluating concepts and abstract principles, and a developing originality in addressing business problems the ability to synthesise knowledge from a range of appropriate sources (I tell you the appropriate resources). Is able to apply knowledge to specific scenarios in an appropriate manner and can develop an argument which is clearly justified and relevant to the task in hand. Has a grasp of recent research findings and demonstrates a developing maturity in critically evaluating concepts and abstract principles, and limited originality in addressing business problems. reading (again, I specify the reading). May lack the ability to develop a well structured argument which is sufficiently focused on the task in hand. Limited knowledge of recent research findings with limited ability to critically evaluate concepts and abstract principles and little or no originality in addressing business