FC 37-3 Small Business Finance Assignment & Project Guide

Module title & code

FC 37 -3: Small Business Finance

Assessment type

Group Report and Presentation

Weighting of assessment

70% (Group Report 50% and Presentation 20%). Students are required to pass in both components and failing in one will result in failing both the components. In case of re-sit for group reports and presentations, the referral assessment willalways be individual.

Module learning outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Discuss and explain various aspects of financial management of a small business and its successful sustenance.

Skills and Abilities

Develop abusiness plan with forecasted financial statements for a small business.

What am I required to do in this assignment?

2A Group Report: (50%)

SMEs are widely recognised as key drivers of economic diversification, employment and innovation OECD frameworks highlight that new business creation should be supported through access to finance, digital transformation and the adoption of environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices for sustainable growth (OECD, 2023).

In Oman, Vision 2040 positions SMEs as a strategic pillar for private sector and non-oil economic development, supported by the SME Development Authority through financing and incubation initiatives (Oman Vision 2040, 2021; ASMED, 2022).

These efforts also align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 8 and SDG 9 (UN, 2015).

Therefore, this business plan evaluates the establishment and growth potential of a new SME within this policy and sustainability framework.

References:

ASMED(2022)SME Development Strategy and Entrepreneurship Support Programs. Muscat: Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (ASMED), Sultanate of Oman.

OECD(2023)OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2023. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Available at:https://www.oecd.org(Accessed: 19 February 2026).

Oman Vision 2040(2021)Oman Vision 2040: National Development Framework. Muscat: Government of the Sultanate of Oman.

UN(2015)Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York: United Nations.

Considering the above statement, you are required to prepare a business plan for a startup business. The plan should cover:

• Executive Summary
• Business description and a Mission/ vision statement
• Industry analysis (PEST)
• Customer Profile
• Market Analysis (4P's)
• Competitor Analysis
• Operational plan
• Financial plan: Five-year forecasted financial statements.

Report guidelines:

The report will be graded considering the following points. The students should prepare the following sections.

Cover Sheet:

• Business Name (a catchy and memorable name)
• Address
• Phone Number
• S1 - Executive Summary

An exciting and interesting executivesummary which give all the reasons why you believe it will be successful. Close with financial requirements. Mission & Vision: Explicitly tie ESG values to the companys purpose.

Strategic Objectives: Add ESG-related KPIs alongside financial ones.

S2 - Description of the Business one page

A brief of all the sections closing with the Mission and Vision statement.

S3 - Industry analysis (PEST)

Four external environmental factors done well and supported with data/ research/ statistics/ ranking etc. with reference to Oman.

S 4 customer analysis

3 profiles geographic, demographic, and psychographic profiles of your customer

Close with your strategy.

S 5 - Market Analysis (marketing strategy 4p'S)

Details of your 4 PS - product, price place and promotion and your strategies in each area.

S 6 Competitor Analysis

Start by listing 3 or 4 competitors both direct and substitute. These are real businesses.

Then do a strength and weakness analysis of the above competitors. Close with your strategy to use their weaknesses and overcome their strengths.

S 7 Operational plan: Management and staffing

• Profiles of each partner
• A functional organisation chart.
• Staffing details
• Sourcing plan from where you are sourcing your staff local/ international.
• S 8- 5 Years Forecasted financial statements.

Prepare these in the excel file and copy into this section.

Your report should include a Title, Table of contents and References. You may make any suitable assumptions while composing the report.

2B Viva: (20%)

The group presentation will be in the form of an Elevator Pitch on the selected business plan covering Key areas such as product, location, market, competitors, and financial outcome.

For Operational Guidelines refer toStudent HandbookSection IV: ASSESSMENTS.

Deliverables

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Your work will be graded on the following aspects:

• This is a group work.
• The assignment MUST be submitted on-line (through MOVE) on or before the due date.
• Your assignment shall reflect the depth and breadth of your original analyses clearly and coherently.
• Use of the relevant academic literature to support ideas and issues discussed. The range of academic sources such as texts and journals to support your arguments and comments.
• This is group assignment and carries a weighting of 40% (pair report) +20% for individual viva towards the final grade in this assessment.
• This assignment follows an essay format and must be original and creative. An analytical piece of work is required. The use of cut and paste approach will be penalized. It must be presented in a structured manner, with appropriate cover page, content page, introduction, body (with appropriate heading / sub-headings), conclusion, references, page numbered and any required appendices.
• The cover page should be attached with the assignment and uploaded through MOVE (on-line). Name of the student, The Programme, Module Title, Assignment Title and number of words must be reflected on the cover sheet.
• All assignments must adhere strictly to the deadlines specified by Majan University College. Failure to hand in the assignment for any reason and without prior approval and a valid written extension from the module tutor will not be marked and will be awarded a grade G (0) irrespective of the quality of the work.See section 4.4 of Undergraduate student handbook. Soft copy of the student handbook is available on MOVE.
• Unacknowledged use of work of others (plagiarism) is regarded as a dishonest practice and will be penalized.See section 5.7 & 5.8 of Undergraduate student hand book.
• The role of Generative Artificial Intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and Bard is limited to the purpose of gathering ideas, getting structural inputs, understanding theoretical frameworks and their applications, gleaning examples, checking grammar, outlining your thoughts, tuning research questions, and refining your ideas. If you have used any generative AI tools in your assessment, you need to ensure that this is very clearly flagged in the assignment cover sheet. However, these tools should NOT be used to write/produce content related to assessments as this leads to an Academic Offence and your submission will be referred to the Academic Integrity Committee.
• Any reference to authors and other writers shall be quoted with due acknowledgement in your assignment report using theHarvard Referencing System. For details of Harvard referencing style, refer section 7.3 of Undergraduate student handbook.

Submission

The Assignment Submission link on MOVE will be open, a week ahead of the submission date.

• You can submit your assignment multiple times, until the submission deadline. Note that Turnitin could take up to 24 hours to produce similarity reports for submissions.
• The last submission, within the deadline, will be considered as your final submission.
• Assignmentsshould be submitted by 6 pm on the day of the deadline. There is a grace period until midnight to allow for any technical difficulties, but any assignmentssubmitted after this will be counted as late. Technical problems will not be accepted as an excuse for submitting after the day of the deadline.
• You are required to tick to confirm the statement: I confirm that thisassignmentis my own and all sources have been acknowledged. I understand that the use of other peoples work or ideas without acknowledgement is plagiarism and could result in failing theassignment. You will not be able to submit theassignmentwithout ticking this box.
• In a case of group work, it is recommended that the group should identify a leader who can be responsible for uploading the assignmenton Turnitin and to share the feedback received from lecturers with the group members.
• The similarity percentage of your final submission will be one of the factors considered, for assessing the originality of your assignment.However, the decision to report an assignment for plagiarism is taken by the Lecturers, who mark your assignment.
• The Lecturers will consider several factors such as Assignment type, Part of the assignment where similarity occurs, Nature of similarityetc.,along with the similarity percentage of your assignment, to assess the originality of your assignment. Therefore, similarity percentage willnotbe accepted as a basis for disputing academic judgments regarding plagiarism.

Note that the similarity percentage of your submission can change until the submission deadline if the submissions of other students have similarity to your assignment. Therefore, the similarity percentages arenotfinal, till the assignment submission is closed.

You have to pass both the components of this assessment to pass assessment 1. Failing in one lead to fail in the other.

What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations)

Create a business plan carrying out a PEST analysis, customer and competitor analysis and put forth a marketing strategy along with forecasted financials statements.

How do I produce high quality work that merits a higher grade?

To achieve higher grades students, have to demonstrate evidence of relevant academic reading, illustrations, and appropriate examples, construction of logical analysis and arguments drawing up an appropriate conclusion.

• The presentation should demonstrate.
• In-depth coverage of the topic selected.
• Evidence of the information collected.
• Evidence of relevant academic reading
• Evidence of wider reading
• Use of real-world examples specifically those relating to Oman
• Critical evaluation of the sources of finance
• Clarity of expression
• Language and use of Harvard referencing style.

How does assignment relate to what we are doing in scheduled sessions?

During the practical sessions, guidance and help relating to the conceptual framework will be given. The practical sessions will be used to develop the prerequisite knowledge and skills in terms of forecasting Financials, carrying out PEST, customer, competitor analysis. Note that you will also be expected to work outside of the practical sessions.

How will my assignment be marked?

Your assignment be marked according to the threshold expectations and the criteria on the following page.

You can use them to evaluate your own work and estimate your grade before you submit.

No

Criterion

Weighing (%)

Sub Standard / No Attempt

(0 Marks)

Poor

(20 Marks)

Satisfactory

(40 Marks)

Good

(50 Marks)

Very Good

(60 Marks)

Excellent

(70 Marks)

Outstanding

(100 Marks)

1

Presentation Aids

15

No visual aids are used

There are many errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The slides were difficult to read and too much information had been copied onto them. No visual appeal

There are many errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Slides are disorganized and lack full coverage of content but cover minimum points. Minimal effort made to make slides appealing or too much going on

There are some errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Too much information crammed into few slides. Has acceptable visual appeal.

There is a clear structure of slides and synthesized. There is logical flow of information. Slides complement the arguments

The slides are clearly structured and well synthesized There is logical flow of information Slides enhance the arguments

The slides are clearly organized, structured, and well synthesized There is logical flow of information that enhances the arguments presented.

2

Teamwork

20

Lacks onstage coordination and sub-topics are not equally distributed

Unbalanced presentation or tension resulting from over-helping. Multiple group members not participating. Evident lack of preparation/rehearsal. Excessive dependence on slides.

Significant controlling by some members with one minimally contributing. Primarily prepared but with some dependence on just reading off slides.

Slight domination of one presenter. Members helped each other. Acceptable preparation.

All presenters knew the information, participated equally, and helped each other as needed Extremely prepared and rehearsed.

Excellent onstage coordination and equal distribution of load thus enhancing the delivery of the presentation.

Outstanding onstage coordination and there is evidence of equal distribution of load which enhances the presentation delivery.

3

Confidence

15

Minimal eye contact by more than one member focusing on small part of audience. The audience was not engaged. Majority of presenters spoke too quickly or quietly making it difficult to understand. Inappropriate/disinterested body language. Makes no effort to either understand the question or respond to the question

Demonstrates poor Level of confidence evident from inadequate level of subject knowledge and lack of preparation. No confidence demonstrated through language, expression and body language, all of which indicates lack of confidence. No eye contacts. Shows no interest in topic presented Fails to increase audience understanding of knowledge of topic. Does not understand the questions responds incorrectly, asks for questions to be repeated, tried to avoid questions.

Demonstrates poor Level of confidence evident from inadequate level of subject knowledge and lack of preparation. No confidence demonstrated through language, expression and body language, all of which indicates lack of confidence. No eye contact

Demonstrates good level of confidence evident from adequate level of subject knowledge and preparation. Confidence demonstrated through language, expression and body language seems artificial. rarely keeps eye contact

Demonstrates a very good level of confidence evident from good subject knowledge and preparation. Confidence demonstrated through language, expression, and body language. Frequent eye contact

Excellent confidence evident from command over subject knowledge, preparation. Confidence demonstrated through language, expression, and body language. Maintains continuous eye contact

Demonstrates an outstanding confidence evident from command over subject knowledge, preparation. Confidence demonstrated through language, expression, and body language. Maintains continuous eye contact

4

Handling Questions

25

No attempt to answer questions

Shows little or mixed feelings about the topic being presented. Raises audience understanding and knowledge of some points

Demonstrates an ability to understand the questions only at the surface level, respond with some explanation, focus and reasoning.

Shows some enthusiastic feelings about topic Raises audience understanding and awareness of most points

Demonstrates strong enthusiasm about topic during entire presentation. Significantly increases audience understanding and knowledge of topic; convinces an audience to recognize the validity and importance of the subject.

Demonstrates an outstanding ability to understand the real meaning of questions, responds with self-confidence and with clear explanation, focus and reasoning. Explains beyond what is expected.

5

Conceptual Understanding

25

Totally lacks understanding of the issues and there is disconnect with the topic to be presented.

Presenters didnt understand topic. Majority of questions answered by only one member or majority of information incorrect. Limited understanding of issues presented.

Few members showed good understanding of some parts of topic. Only some members accurately answered questions.

Most showed a good understanding of topic. All members able to answer most of audience questions.

Extensive knowledge of topic. Members showed complete understanding of assignment. Accurately answered all questions posed.

Demonstrates solid understanding of the issues presented with relevant reference to literature review

Demonstrates a very concrete understanding of the issues presented with relevant reference to literature review

How will my assignment be marked?

Your assignment be marked according to the threshold expectations and the criteria on the following page.

You can use them to evaluate your own work and estimate your grade before you submit.

No

CRITERION FOR WRITTEN REPORT

Weighing (%)

Sub Standard / No Attempt

(0 Marks)

Poor

(20 Marks)

Satisfactory

(40 Marks)

Good

(50 Marks)

Very Good

(60 Marks)

Excellent

(70 Marks)

Outstanding

(100 Marks)

1

Information and Research

Completion of Tasks, Detailed information search

20

There is no evidence for information search/ Tasks are incomplete.

Sources not used to support substantive assertions or argument.

Information search is not adequate. Very limited resources are used to discuss the tasks.

Limited and uncritical use of a restricted range of sources

Information search is evident. There is an attempt to address some tasks. All the tasks lack proper focus in discussion.

Although the information supports the task, some of them are not properly analysed and lack paraphrasing at some areas.

Relevant information search is evident, but not adequate.

There is a good attempt to address the tasks.

All the tasks are discussed but one or two tasks lack focus or clarity.

Very good usage of variety information from various sources. Contents are properly paraphrased. The usage of information can be better if it relates to the context.

All tasks are discussed properly.

Excellent application of the relevant information from variety of sources. Excellent usage and quoting of the literature at relevant discussions. All the tasks are discussed astutely with proper focus.

Use of a wide range of appropriate sources, indicating critical awareness of their status and relevance.

Exceptional use of a wide range of appropriate and current sources, focusing on research-based reviews indicating personal research and critical awareness of their status and relevance.

2

Understanding of Issues. Reference to appropriate theoretical background, illustrations

20

No evidence of understanding the issues.

Limited evidence of understanding the issues.

General understanding of the various issues. Some reference to related theoretical background is evident.

Good understanding of the various issues. Majority of the tasks show evidence of good understanding of related appropriate theoretical background.

Evidence of very good understanding of relevant theory and research in all tasks.

Evidence of excellent understanding of relevant theory and research. Reference to appropriate theoretical background provides support to the discussion.

Some illustrations that support the theoretical background are evidenced in the discussions.

Evidence of exemplary understanding of relevant theory and research. Reference to appropriate theoretical background provides support to the discussion.

Illustrations are provided that amplify the theoretical background.

3

Application and Analysis

Detailed discussion on the tasks involved and critical awareness.

35

Lack of analysis of information. No discussion is evident.

The discussed tasks are completely out of focus.

Tasks are not properly addressed.

Limited evidence of critical evaluation of material.

Poor analysis of information. Although there is evidence for some discussion, they are discrete and lacking focus. It does not reflect critical application of the concepts to the case.

Use of a range of appropriate sources. but without critical evaluation or missing some significant items.

Evidence of a general critical stance. Evidence of limited critical evaluation in some areas, with some lost opportunities or misunderstandings.

There is good evidence for critical analysis and reasoning in some areas.

Evidence of critical evaluation in some areas, although some material not evaluated.

Use of a wide range of appropriate sources with some critical awareness of their status and relevance

Very good application of the information to the case. There is evidence for in-depth analysis of data. However, all tasks are not consistent in analysis and can be presented in a better manner.

Evidence of good

critical appreciation

and evaluation of

relevant theory and research and a systematic attempt to relate it to the topic

Excellent analysis of the information and precise application to the case. Critical reasoning is evident while discussion of all the tasks.

Evidence of thorough critical appreciation and

evaluation of relevant theory and research and a systematic and

creative attempt to relate it to the topic

Critical reasoning is consistently evident across the discussions. The tasks have exemplary discussion and detailed narration.

4

Presentation and structure:

Clear introduction, logical structure, reference to appropriate theoretical background, illustrations, good use of the limited number of words allowed, clear layout, overall organisation of the report.

15

The report is unorganized to the point of being virtually unreadable.

Lacks cohesion and orderly flow.

The assignment has unacceptable failings in structuring and / or clarity of written expression.

The report is difficult to read due to overwhelming errors or misspellings.

Though discussion of the ideas is clear, a coherent flow of thought is not evident.

The report is unorganized but can be read. Poor flow of the report structure.

The assignment has failings in structuring and / or clarity of written expression, which impair its capacity to communicate.

Frequent compositional errors or misspellings, but the report can be read

Evidence for a coherent presentation is evident but lacks uniformity throughout the essay.

The report is somewhat organized. The flow is not coherent and needs improvement.

While the assignment has some failings in structuring and / or clarity of written expression, these do not impair its capacity to communicate.

More than occasional errors or misspellings.

The report is well organized. There is orderliness in the structure. Coherence is also evident but there is still scope for improvement.

A generally well-structured and expressed assignment, that communicate clearly.

Well executed. Few grammar or writing errors. Reads easily. Is well organized.

The report is well organized with a cohesive discussion. The structure of the report is excellent.

An assignment whose clear structure and expression significantly enhances its argument.

Reads easily. Is well organized.

The structure is exemplary. Execution is excellent. Discussions are free of grammar or writing errors. A clear layout augments the presentation.

Excellent overall organisation of the report.

5

References

10

The references do not clearly comply with the basic requirements of HARVARD STYLE format.

The references do not clearly comply with the basic requirements of HARVARD STYLE format. The references are inadequate to support the literature used in the report.

Sources used show limited relevance and currency.

The report shows some compliance with HARVARD STYLE referencing but shows many errors.

Very few references quoted which are inconsistent with the amount of literature used in the report.

Some sources of information are relevant while others are dated.

The report demonstrates a basic level of HARVARD STYLE referencing, but still contains major deficiencies. No sophistication is evident i.e., Websites do not follow Harvard Referencing style.

Majority of the sources are relevant and current.

The report demonstrates a solid understanding of the basic elements of HARVARD STYLE formatting. In-text citations if presented at relevant areas will lend more appropriateness to the report.

Sources used to support the discussions are relevant and current.

The report demonstrates excellent HARVARD STYLE formatting skills. In-text citations are presented at relevant areas.

Consistent use of relevant and current sources that enhance the discussions.

Accurate use of Harvard Referencing style.

Student recognizes the concept of intellectual property, can defend him / herself if challenged, and can properly incorporate the ideas / published works of others into their own work building upon them.

Skillful use of credible, relevant, and current sources of information that augments quality of discussion.