Explore and evaluate the financial environment under which health and social care services are provided.

HCM5001 Fundamentals of Health & Care Finance

Portfolio of Tasks

Date for Submission: Please refer to the timetable on ilearn

(The submission portal on ilearn will close at 14:00 UK time on the date of submission)

As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a Fundamentals of Health & Care Finance assignment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.

Learning Outcomes:

After completing the module, you should be able to:

1. Explore and evaluate the financial environment under which health and social care services are provided.
2. Explain the accounting process to prepare financial statements in healthcare and analyse the role of the finance function in a healthcare organisation.
3. Interpret financial statements in healthcare and evaluate financial information for the management of healthcare organisations.
4. Determine how to prioritise and evaluate investments in healthcare by applying tools to assess their financial viability and their benefits/costs for the population of interest.

All learning outcomes must be met to pass the module.

Graduate Attributes:

Discipline Expertise

Students will perform effectively within the professional environment. They will work within a team, demonstrating interpersonal skills such as effective listening, negotiating, persuading and presentation. They will be flexible and adaptable to changes within the professional environment.

Guidance

Your assignment should include: a title page containing your student number, the module name, the submission deadline and the exact word count of your submitted document; the appendices if relevant; and a reference list in AU Harvard system(s). You should address all the elements of the assignment task listed below. Please note that tutors will use the assessment criteria set out below in assessing your work.

You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of the identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number.

Maximum word count: 3000 words

Please refer to the full word count policy which can be found in the Student Policies section here: Arden University | Regulatory Framework

The word count includes everything in the main body of the assessment (including in text citations and references). The word count excludes numerical data in tables, figures, diagrams, footnotes, reference list and appendices. All other printed words ARE included in the word count.

Students who exceed the wordcount up to a 10% margin will not be penalised. Students should note that no marks will be assigned to work exceeding the specified limit once the maximum assessment size limit has been reached.

Assignment Task

Task 1: Learning Outcome 1 (20 Marks)

(a) Analyse the recent developments with regards to the legal, financial, and regulatory environment of health and social care. (10 marks)

(b) Discuss the usefulness of alternative funding options such as Private Finance Initiatives (PFI), resources, financial aspects of agency partnerships, competition, pricing, tendering, and outsourcing in the health and social care sector. (10 marks) (700 words) (20 marks) (LOs: 1)

Task 2: Learning Outcomes 3 & 4 (35 Marks)

a) Review the financial statement for UDG Healthcare plc Group and determine the profitability of the business.

I. What is financial statement? Explain the process for preparing the financial statement particular for health care sector and elaborate the importance of finance functions in health care system. (10 marks)

II. Determine and write a statement for Return on Equity (ROE) (Du Pont Analysis) for 2019 and 2020. (5 marks)

III. Determine and write a statement for the Operating Margin for UDG Healthcare plc Group in 2019 and 2020. (5 marks)

(b) Explain how Du Pont Analysis could be used in decision-making for UDG Healthcare plc Group. Is this business viable business in this case?

Industry Average for Healthcare Sector

ROE: 11.6 %

Operating Margin:17.6%

Current ratio: 1.72 

(15 marks) (1000 words) (35 marks) (LOs: 3, 4)

Task 3: Learning outcomes 2, 3, & 4 (35 Marks)

Assuming the role of a financial advisor, write a briefing report to the board of directors of the UDG Healthcare plc Group to cover the following:

a) Explain the process to prepare financial statement. (10 marks)

b) How do financial statements help with the decision making process of healthcare organizations. (10 marks)

c) Think as a financial advisor and determine how to prioritise your investment plans for healthcare system. From the given Income Statement and the Balance Sheet, develop a short and long term investment recommendations to the Senior Management.(15 marks) (1300 words) (35 marks) (LOs: 2, 3,4)

Ten additional marks are allocated for presentation, referencing and academic writing (10 marks)

UDG Healthcare plc Group Income Statement for the year ended 30 September 2020

UDG Healthcare plc Group Balance Sheet as at 30 September 2020

Formative Feedback

You have the opportunity to submit a draft assignment to receive formative feedback.

The feedback is designed to help you develop areas of your work and it helps you develop your skills as an independent learner.

If you are a distance learning student, you should submit your work, by email, to your tutor, no later than 2 weeks before the actual submission deadline. If you are a blended learning student, your tutor will give you a deadline for formative feedback and further details.

Formative feedback will not be given to work submitted after the above date or the date specified by your tutor - if a blended learning student.

Referencing Guidance

You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the AU Harvard Referencing system. The My Study Skills Area on iLearn contains useful resources relating to referencing.

Follow this link to find the referencing guides for your subject: Arden Library

Submission Guidance

Assignments submitted late will not be accepted and will be marked as a 0% fail.

Your assessment can be submitted as a single Word (MS Word) or PDF file, or, as multiple files. Analyse the recent developments with regards to the legal, financial, and regulatory environment of health and social care

If you chose to submit multiple files, you must name each document as the question/part you are answering along with your student number ie Q1 Section A STUXXXX. If you wish to overwrite your submission or one of your submissions, you must ensure that your new submission is named exactly the same as the previous in order for the system to overwrite it.

You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook which is available on the A-Z key information on iLearn.)