Abstract:

The present research reports on a case study conducted in a Management class in an MBA program. The purpose of this investigation is to explore the use of information resources and other aspects of information-seeking behavior associated with creating a Business Plan in a Management class. As a part of the present case study, one of the investigators worked on creating of such a Business Plan in a Management class. Later, the resulting document was analyzed from the Business Informatics perspective. The contents and various components of the Business Plan called for utilization of the plethora of the business information resources. The Business Plan was created for a fictitious consulting service, International Financial Exchange Cross-Listing, Inc (IFECL). IFECL was intended to help foreign companies to cross-list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Due to some economical and political issues associated with Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), many foreign companies cross-listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). It became a popular alternative to cross-listing on the NYSE. However, there are some foreign companies, including ones in Russia, which would still prefer to cross-list on the NYSE. IFECL is a consulting service that would help these companies to overcome the SOX anxiety and guide them through the cross-listing procedures at the NYSE and other financial forums in the U.S. IFECL will also have an NPO (nonprofit organization) spinoff that will educate the small investors in countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. This way IFECL will be involved in the process of social entrepreneurship, also indirectly promoting its for-profit services, somewhat similarly to Gramin-Dannon in Bangladesh.

As a part of information gathering process for the Business Plan, the fictitious company of IFECL conducted secondary and primary research. For the secondary research IFECL used data that was already available from the NYSE and a variety of other resources. For the primary research IFECL conducted a market survey and also analyzed it using descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistical treatment included non-parametric test of correlation. The results were favorable for the IFECL. An estimated Income Statement and a Balance Sheet were provided as a part of the Business Plan. Financial ratio analysis was also conducted, using liquidity, debt, and profitability ratios. The analysis likewise was favorable to the IFECL. Furthermore, break-even point was calculated, which was also favorable.

Keywords:

Business Informatics, International Financial Exchange Cross-Listing, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, New York Stock Exchange.