This guide is for ACCT 370 Week 1 Excel Project Part 1, start to submission. Company information and historical balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements for your company and 2 to 3 competitors, in Excel.
ACCT 370 is Financial Statement Analysis, 3 credit hours, in Liberty University's BS in Accounting. Canvas and the course guide file print the code as ACCT370; it is the same course.
| Course | ACCT 370 Financial Statement Analysis |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 1 |
| Points | 50 points |
| Length | Excel workbook (Part 1) |
| Sources | The companies' 10-K filings |
| Faith integration | Not required by the guide |
| Format | Microsoft Excel |
What ACCT 370 Week 1 Excel Project Part 1 asks for
You complete an Excel project on the financial statement analysis of a selected company traded on a recognized exchange such as the NYSE or NASDAQ, with instructor approval by email. The project is submitted in parts. Part 1 covers company information and historical balance sheets, income statements and statements of cash flows for the company and 2 to 3 competitors. It is due in Module/Week 1 with Revsine et al. chapters 1 and 2. Worth 50 points.
Where it fits in ACCT 370
In the published schedule, Excel Project Part 1 is one of 6 graded written assignments in ACCT 370. It is the first written assignment in the course; the next is Week 2 Group Discussion Board Forum.
How ACCT 370 Week 1 Excel Project Part 1 is graded
Liberty grades Excel Project Part 1 with the rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas, worth 50 points in the published guide. That is about 5% of the course's 1,010 points. The rubric rows are the real instructions. Draft against them, and you will rarely be surprised by the grade.
Course grades in ACCT 370 use Liberty's point scale: an A is 900 to 1010 points of the course total. Missing the length or source minimum usually costs points on several rows at once, which is why the checklist below starts with them.
Timing in the published guide: Each course module/week (except Module/Week 1) begins on Tuesday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Monday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday. Check the due dates in your Canvas section, which govern.
The ACCT 370 Week 1 method, step by step
Set up the data before the write-up
Work through the Excel Project Part 1 calculations or software steps first and save the output. The written part interprets those numbers, so they have to be right before you explain them.
Show the method
Name the method and the reason it fits. One or two sentences are enough, but they must be there.
Report the results plainly
Report each result with its value and what it measures. Tables and figures help when they are labeled and referred to in the text.
Interpret in the context of the question
Translate the numbers into a conclusion about the question. Say what decision they support and how confident you can be.
Name the limits
Name the assumptions and limits. A result with its limits stated reads as professional.
Submit the files the guide asks for
Submit every file requested and check that formulas, output and the write-up agree (Excel workbook, Part 1).
Enter three fiscal years for each company and note any differences in fiscal year-ends, since a January year-end retailer and a December year-end competitor are not perfectly aligned. Record the source page for each statement in a cell comment or note.
A structure for ACCT 370 Week 1 Excel Project Part 1
Word targets are planning numbers for about 900 words of body text, set by the length in the guide; the rubric decides where to spend more.
| Section | What it must do | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Company information | Business, segments, exchange and ticker. | ~140 words |
| Balance sheets | Three years for each company. | ~250 words |
| Income statements | Three years for each company. | ~250 words |
| Cash flow statements | Three years for each company. | ~250 words |
A topic angle that works
Standardize the statements across companies before Part 2: use the same line items and the same order on every tab, so ratios in the next part compare like with like.
Model paragraph with notes
An original paragraph written by our desk to show the register that earns full rubric credit. It is study material: learn the moves, then write your own.
Coca-Cola reports "selling, general and administrative expenses" while PepsiCo reports "selling, general and administrative expenses" together with other items; in the workbook both are mapped to a single SG&A line, with a note on what each company includes.1 Amounts are entered in millions for all three companies, and each tab links to the 10-K page where the figures appear, which makes errors easy to trace.
- Maps differing line items.
- Consistent units.
- Traceable sources.
Mistakes that cost points on ACCT 370 Week 1
- Missing a competitor.
- Mixing thousands and millions.
- Typing totals instead of summing them.
Checklist before you submit
- Length: Excel workbook (Part 1)
- Sources: The companies' 10-K filings
- Calculations checked and output saved
- Every table and figure referred to in the text
- Each rubric row read against the section that answers it
Questions students ask
What is in ACCT 370 Excel Part 1?
Company information and historical balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements for your company and 2 to 3 competitors.
How many points is ACCT 370 Week 1 Excel Project Part 1 worth?
50 points in Liberty's published course guide for ACCT 370, out of a course total of 1,010 points (about 5% of the grade). The rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas shows how those points are divided.
Is ACCT 370 Week 1 the same in every section of ACCT 370?
This guide follows Liberty's published course guide for ACCT 370. Liberty notes that course content can change from term to term, so if your Canvas section shows different instructions, a different week or different points, follow Canvas and your instructor.
Want a tutor to look at your draft?
Send the instructions and what you have so far. A Liberty tutor replies with what to fix first, usually within the hour.