Analysing results

Explain what market research is and the difference between primary sources (own surveys and interviews) and secondary sources (already published statistics and reports), with one advantage of each type.

In a questionnaire, distinguish between an open question and a closed question, give an example of each for a gym's market research and explain what type of information each one gives.

A shop surveys only its current customers about whether it would open a second shop in the other neighbourhood, and 90% say yes. Explain what bias that sample has, why the figure is unreliable for the decision and how you would improve the study (whom to ask and where).

In a company's income statement, the following appear: sales $90.000\ \text{€}$, purchases $40.000\ \text{€}$, wages $25.000\ \text{€}$, and other expenses $10.000\ \text{€}$. Calculate the profit or loss for the financial year and interpret its sign in one sentence.

The diagram compares a company's revenue and expenses over two years. Calculate the profit or loss for each year and explain what happened between them: why does the net result worsen if revenue increases?

Explain with a simple numerical example why earning a lot of revenue is not the same as making a lot of profit: one company turns over $100.000\ \text{€}$ with expenses of $98.000\ \text{€}$ and another turns over $40.000\ \text{€}$ with expenses of $25.000\ \text{€}$.

Explain what a key indicator or KPI is and propose three useful KPIs for an online shop (for example, orders per week, average basket, percentage of abandoned carts), stating which question each one answers.

For a recipe app, explain why retention (percentage of users who come back the following week) is a more useful KPI than accumulated downloads, and propose another retention KPI that would complete the analysis.

A company has total assets of $180.000\ \text{€}$ financed with liabilities of $120.000\ \text{€}$ (75 % of which are short-term) and equity of $60.000\ \text{€}$. In the last financial year, it generated sales revenue of $150.000\ \text{€}$ and total expenses of $140.000\ \text{€}$. Its managing director states: «The year has been a resounding success: we have profits and equity is positive, so we can borrow another $40.000\ \text{€}$ to open a branch». a) Refute the director's statement by jointly assessing the return on sales and the company's debt and liquidity structure. b) Justify what consequences taking out this new loan would have and propose two financial measures that the company should prioritize to clean up its balance sheet.

A company budgeted sales of $30.000\ \text{€}$ and has sold $27.000\ \text{€}$. a) Calculate the variance in euros and as a percentage of the forecast. b) Explain why analysing variances helps correct the course in time.

A company increased its revenue by 10% over two years, but its profit fell by half. Propose two possible explanations (increase in costs, decrease in prices to gain market share) and explain which items in the income statement you would inspect to confirm each one.

“Growing in sales is always good news for any company.” Refute this statement with reasoned arguments: a) Justify through which economic and financial mechanism a rapid increase in sales can lead to the technical bankruptcy or suspension of payments of a business (relate in your explanation the cash conversion cycle, working capital requirements, and the collection and payment structure). b) If you were the chief financial officer, which two balance sheet or treasury indicators would you monitor to detect this risk before a liquidity crisis occurs? Justify your answer.

Design a simple dashboard for a coffee shop: choose four indicators (daily sales, average ticket, product waste, customer rating), define how often each one is reviewed and who is responsible for looking at it and acting.

A restaurant analyzes its sales from the last quarter and finds that 60 % of its total profit comes from only 25 % of the dishes on its menu, while half of the dishes offered barely cover costs or generate losses. a) Interpret this fact based on the asymmetric distribution principle applicable to business management and explain the operational and economic risks of maintaining an excessively wide menu with low-turnover dishes. b) Justify three specific strategic decisions (regarding pricing, menu engineering, or purchasing management) that management should adopt to maximize its profit based on these data.

“Numbers don't lie; therefore, any management report presenting actual figures guarantees objective and true conclusions.” a) Critically refute this statement: explain through two specific business situations how truthful quantitative data can be manipulated or misinterpreted to lead to false conclusions about the company's performance. b) Design three methodological criteria or best practices that a performance analysis must meet to be rigorous and reliable in decision-making.