Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 25/02/2026
Subject: Business Studies
Lesson Topic: users of accounts and ratio analysis: internal, e.g. owners (sole traders, partnerships, shareholders), managers, employees
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe the different internal users of accounts and their information needs.
  • Explain how key profitability, liquidity and efficiency ratios are calculated.
  • Analyse a set of ratios to evaluate business performance for owners, managers and employees.
  • Apply ratio analysis to make a recommendation for a specific internal decision.
  • Evaluate the strengths and limitations of ratio analysis for internal decision‑making.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and screen
  • Whiteboard and markers
  • Printed handout of the key ratios table
  • Calculators
  • Sample financial statements (income statement & balance sheet)
  • Worksheet with a short case study
  • Sticky notes for exit tickets
 Introduction:
Begin with a quick question: “Who decides whether a business should expand or cut costs?” Students recall that owners, managers and employees all use financial information. Explain that today they will learn how each group uses ratio analysis, and the success criteria – identify users, calculate key ratios, and interpret results.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5’) – Students match internal users to the type of information they need.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10’) – Overview of internal users, purpose of accounts, and introduction to key ratios.
  3. Guided practice (15’) – Calculate Gross Profit Margin, Net Profit Margin and Current Ratio from a sample set of statements.
  4. Group activity (15’) – Each group analyses a different set of ratios for a specific user and prepares a brief recommendation.
  5. Whole‑class debrief (10’) – Groups share findings; discuss strengths and limitations of ratio analysis.
  6. Exit ticket (5’) – Students write one ratio each internal user would prioritize and why.
Conclusion:
Recap that internal users rely on specific ratios to inform decisions and that ratio analysis turns raw numbers into actionable insights. Collect exit tickets for retrieval practice and assign homework to analyse a real‑world company’s published accounts using the ratios covered.