Financial Statement Analysis
Financial Statement Analysis allows members to apply their knowledge of accounting principles to interpret and evaluate financial information. Based on a given topic, members analyze financial statements and present their findings and recommendations to a panel of judges.
Event Overview
Division: High School
Event Type: Team of 1, 2 or 3 members
Event Category: Presentation
Event Elements: Presentation with a Topic
Presentation Time: 3-minute set-up, 7-minute presentation time, 3-minute question & answer time
Career Cluster Framework Connection: Financial Services
NACE Competency Alignment: Career & Self-Development, Critical Thinking, Communication, Leadership, Professionalism
Items Provided by Competitors: Technology and presentation items for preliminary and final round presentation, Photo Identification, Conference-provided nametag, Attire that meets the Florida FBLA Dress Code
Items Provided by FBLA: Table for preliminary round presentation; table, power, projector & screen for final round presentation
2025-2026 Topic
You’ve just been hired as a financial consultant for Chipotle Mexican Grill, a leading player in the fast-casual dining world. Your job? Dive deep into Chipotle’s financial statements (ending December 31, 2024) and deliver a boardroom-ready presentation that answers three key questions:
· What changed? Highlight key differences between this year’s financial statements and prior periods: revenues, costs, margins, assets, liabilities, etc.
· What does it mean? Analyze what those changes reveal about Chipotle’s current financial health (profitability, liquidity, efficiency, and solvency). Use ratios, trends, and relevant benchmarks.
· What’s next? Recommend 2–3 strategic business decisions backed by your analysis. These could focus on:
o Growth opportunities (e.g., new markets, menu expansion)
o Cost controls or efficiency improvements
o Financial Risk Management
District
Check with your District leadership for District-specific competition information.
State
Eligibility
· FBLA membership dues are paid by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on December 1 (or earlier date specified by District Director) of the current program year.
· Members may compete in an event at the State Leadership Conference (SLC) more than once if they have not previously placed in the top ten of that event at the National Leadership Conference (NLC). If a member places in the top ten of an event at NLC, they are no longer eligible to compete in that event.
· Members must be registered for the SLC and pay the state conference registration fee in order to participate in competitive events.
· Members must stay within the official FBLA housing block of the official FBLA hotel in order to compete.
· Each district may be represented by participant(s) based on the Florida FBLA scaled quota system found on the Florida FBLA website.
· Each competitor can only compete in one individual/team event and one chapter event (Community Service Project, Local Chapter Annual Business Report).
· Identification: Competitors must present valid photo identification (physical) that matches the name on their conference name badge. Acceptable forms include a driver’s license, passport, state-issued ID, or school ID.
· Only competitors are allowed to plan, research, prepare, and set up their presentations.
· All members of a team must consist of individuals from the same chapter.
· Participants must adhere to the Florida FBLA dress code established by the Florida Board of Directors or they will not be permitted to participate in the competitive event.
Recognition
· The number of competitors will determine the number of winners. The maximum number of winners for each competitive event is 10.
Event Administration
· This event has two parts: preliminary presentation and final presentation
· Preliminary Presentation
o Equipment Set-up Time: 3 minutes
o Presentation Time: 7 minutes (one-minute warning)
o Question & Answer Time: 3 minutes
o Important: Time allocations are exclusive. The presentation must begin immediately after the 3-minute set-up time concludes. Time may not be shifted between segments. Competitors will not interact with judges during the set-up period.
o Internet Access: Not provided
o Presentations occur in person at the State Leadership Conference (SLC).
o Competitors/teams are randomly assigned to presentation sections.
o Presentations must be delivered using one or two personal devices (laptop, tablet, mobile phone, or monitor approximately laptop-sized).
o If using two devices, one must face the judges and the other must face the presenters.
o Projectors and projector screens are not permitted, and competitors may not bring their own.
o Wireless slide advancers (e.g., presentation clickers or mice) are allowed.
o External speakers are not allowed; audio must come directly from the presenting device(s).
o Electricity will not be available.
o Visual aids, samples, notes, and other physical materials related to the project may be used.
o Items may be placed on the provided table or on the judges table, if space allows.
o No items may be left with the judges following the presentation.
o If performing as a team, all team members are expected to actively participate in the presentation.
o o Restricted Items: Animals (except authorized service animals), Food (for display only; may not be consumed by judges during the presentation), Links and QR codes (for display only; cannot be clicked or scanned by judges before, during, or after the presentation)
o Information must be supported by credible, well-documented sources.
o Any use of copyrighted material, images, logos, or trademarks must be properly documented.
o Event Specific Information: Competitors should incorporate the following aspects in response to the topic
· Perform an analysis on Chipotle’s financial statements (the actual Chipotle Mexican Grill, finding publicly posted financial statements from the previous year ending December 31, 2024, found at SEC’s EDGAR website)
· Perform financial analysis over each of the financial statement items identified below:
o Financial Statement: Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
§ Cash
§ Inventory
§ Property and equipment
§ Long term debt
§ Total assets
§ Current assets vs current liaibilites (current ratio)
o Financial Statement: Consolidated Statement of Operations
§ Sales
§ Cost of sales
§ Selling, general, and admin expenses
§ Operating income
§ Net earnings
o Financial Statement: Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
§ Cash provided by operating activities
§ Cash required for investing activities
§ Cash required for financing activities
§ Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Investment
§ Dividends per share
o Describe the overall financial condition of the company using insights gained from financial analysis above. Use relevant ratio analysis or benchmarks to help with gaining insights.
o What changed? Highlight key differences between this year’s financial statements and prior periods: revenues, costs, margins, assets, liabilities, etc.
o What does it mean? Analyze what those changes reveal about Chipotle’s current financial health (profitability, liquidity, efficiency, and solvency). Use ratios, trends, and relevant benchmarks.
o What’s next? Recommend 2–3 strategic business decisions backed by your analysis. These could focus on:
§ Growth opportunities (e.g., new markets, menu expansion)
§ Cost controls or efficiency improvements
§ Financial Risk Management
· Final Presentation
o Equipment Set-up Time: 3 minutes
o Presentation Time: 7 minutes (one-minute warning)
o Question & Answer Time: 3 minutes
o Internet Access: Not provided
o The presentation should include the same information on financial statement analysis as in the preliminary presentation.
o An equal number of competitors/teams from each section in the preliminary round will advance to the final round. When there are more than five sections of preliminary presentations for an event, two competitors/teams from each section will advance to the final round.
o Final presentations may be open to conference attendees, space permitting. Finalists may not view other competitors’ presentation in their event.
o All other guidelines from the preliminary round apply.
Scoring
· The preliminary presentation score will determine the finalists.
· The final presentation score will determine the top winners.
· The judges will break a tie. All decisions of the judges are final. All judging decisions are final. Results announced at the State Leadership Conference are considered official and will not be changed after the conclusion of the State Leadership Conference.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
· FBLA complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by providing reasonable accommodations for competitors. Accommodation requests must be submitted through the conference registration system by the official registration deadline. All requests will be reviewed, and additional documentation may be required to determine eligibility and appropriate support.
Recording of Presentations
· No unauthorized audio or video recording devices will be allowed in any competitive event.
· Competitors in the events should be aware FBLA reserves the right to record any presentation for use in study or training materials.
Penalty Points
· Competitors may be disqualified if they violate the Competitive Event Guidelines or the Honor Code.
National
If you are competing on the National level, be sure to see the National guidelines at https://www.fbla.org/divisions/fbla/fbla-competitive-events/