AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Finance & Accounting
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry
AMB Property Corporation set out to be a leader in corporate governance and financial reporting. The company, a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, and owns industrial properties, believed that its governance and reporting practices were among the best in the industry. The implementation of good disclosure practices in the REIT industry was not a simple undertaking. Historically, the real estate industry was dominated by private partnerships and institutional investors who used tax and partnership accounting rather than generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). As a result, there was a need for new financial terms that were meant to bridge the differences between GAAP and private partnership accounting, notably funds from operations. However, because such industry-specific metrics were not consistently calculated, it was difficult for users of REIT financial statements to compare operating results across companies. Public REITs that used non-GAAP metrics were required to reconcile these metrics to GAAP standards, a process which added significantly to the length of REIT financial reports. In addition, companies were required to apply GAAP accounting standards that were mostly designed for industries other than real estate and had the unintended consequence of making it difficult to evaluate the operating performance of REITs and compare those results across periods. Explores the issue of financial reporting in the REIT industry, including important FASB standards that potentially distort REIT financial results, the use of Funds From Operations as a metric of financial performance, and different approaches for valuing REITs.
Swot Analysis of "AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry" written by Maureen McNichols, Brian Tayan includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Reit Gaap facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Communication, Financial management and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry casestudy better are - – increasing transportation and logistics costs, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Reit Gaap, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Reit Gaap operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Reit Gaap
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Reit Gaap
Strengths AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Reit Gaap in AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Reit Gaap is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Reit Gaap has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Reit Gaap has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Innovation driven organization
– Reit Gaap is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Reit Gaap is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Reit Gaap is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Reit Gaap to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Reit Gaap to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Reit Gaap is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Reit Gaap in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Reit Gaap are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Reit Gaap in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Reit Gaap has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Reit Gaap digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Reit Gaap has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Reit Gaap has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Weaknesses AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry are -
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Reit Gaap is planning to shift buying processes online.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Reit Gaap supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Reit Gaap vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Need for greater diversity
– Reit Gaap has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Reit Gaap is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Finance & Accounting segment. Reit Gaap needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Reit Gaap to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry HBR case study mentions - Reit Gaap takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry, it seems that the employees of Reit Gaap don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Reit Gaap has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Reit Gaap is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Reit Gaap needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry, is just above the industry average. Reit Gaap needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Opportunities AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Reit Gaap is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Reit Gaap to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Reit Gaap can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Reit Gaap operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Finance & Accounting sector.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Reit Gaap can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Finance & Accounting segment.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Reit Gaap can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Reit Gaap to increase its market reach. Reit Gaap will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Reit Gaap has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Reit Gaap to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry case study. Reit Gaap can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Reit Gaap has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Reit Gaap can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Reit Gaap to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Reit Gaap can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Reit Gaap to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Reit Gaap to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Developing new processes and practices
– Reit Gaap can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Threats AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry are -
Environmental challenges
– Reit Gaap needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Reit Gaap can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Reit Gaap business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Reit Gaap needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Finance & Accounting industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Reit Gaap has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Finance & Accounting industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Reit Gaap needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Finance & Accounting sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Reit Gaap will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Reit Gaap high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Reit Gaap can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry .
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Reit Gaap with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing wage structure of Reit Gaap
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Reit Gaap.
Regulatory challenges
– Reit Gaap needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Finance & Accounting field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Reit Gaap can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of AMB Property Corporation: Financial Reporting in the REIT Industry is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Reit Gaap needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.