Financial Reporting Analysis — Tesla vs Ford
Semester-long financial analysis comparing Tesla and Ford using SEC 10-K filings, ratio analysis, financial modeling, and investment evaluation.
ACCT 1201View Syllabus
Financial Accounting &
Reporting
Analyzing public companies using financial statements, SEC filings, Excel financial modeling, ratio analysis, and professional reporting.
Northeastern UniversityFall 2025Professor Patrick Hurley
About
Accounting as the language of business.
ACCT 1201 introduced the foundations of financial accounting and reporting — how organizations measure performance, communicate results, and support decisions through standardized financial information. The course built fluency in reading balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements under GAAP, while connecting accounting outputs to real business interpretation.
Across lectures, Excel modeling, SEC EDGAR research, ratio analysis, and written deliverables, I developed the ability to extract meaningful insights from public filings, evaluate corporate performance with discipline, and communicate financial conclusions with clarity. Topics spanned financial statement analysis, corporate reporting, accounting ethics, business decision making, and professional communication — including thoughtful use of AI-assisted financial analysis.
Skills
Core competencies from this course.
Financial Statement Analysis
Ratio Analysis
Excel Modeling
SEC EDGAR
Corporate Valuation
GAAP
Cash Flow Analysis
Balance Sheet Analysis
Income Statement Analysis
Professional Communication
AI-assisted Financial Analysis
Projects
From SEC filings to professional financial analysis.
Project Highlights
Key visuals from the semester project.
Downloads
Course files and deliverables.
Tesla vs Ford Final Report
Semester capstone report comparing Tesla and Ford through SEC filings, financial modeling, and ratio-based investment analysis.
Open PDFFinancial Reporting Analysis Workbook
Excel model with linked financial statements, ratio calculations, competitor benchmarking, and SEC 10-K analysis.
Download ExcelAI Financial Reflection
Reflection on AI-assisted accounting analysis, prompt engineering, accuracy limits, and professional judgement.
Open PDFAccounting Alumni Panel Flyer
Event flyer from Northeastern's Accounting Alumni Panel on public accounting careers and recruiting.
Open PDFProfessional Engagement
Beyond the classroom.
Accounting Alumni Panel
Attended Northeastern University's Accounting Alumni Panel featuring professionals from Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG discussing public accounting careers, internships, recruiting, and industry expectations.
Learning Outcomes
What this course taught me to do.
1
Reading SEC Filings
Navigating EDGAR, locating 10-K reports, and extracting relevant financial disclosures.
2
Financial Modeling
Building structured Excel models that connect statements, assumptions, and forecasts.
3
Ratio Analysis
Calculating and interpreting liquidity, profitability, efficiency, and leverage ratios.
4
Investment Analysis
Evaluating public companies using quantitative evidence and qualitative business context.
5
Corporate Decision Making
Connecting accounting outputs to strategy, risk, and stakeholder decision making.
6
Excel
Using spreadsheets to organize data, automate calculations, and present findings clearly.
7
Business Writing
Communicating financial analysis in a clear, professional, evidence-based format.
8
Professional Accounting
Understanding how accountants support transparency, compliance, and business reporting.
9
AI-assisted Accounting
Evaluating when AI tools help analysis and when professional judgement remains essential.
Reflection
Carrying accounting forward into my work.
ACCT 1201 reshaped how I think about business information. Before this course, financial statements felt like abstract tables; by the end, they read as structured stories about strategy, risk, and performance. The Tesla vs Ford project was especially formative — it pushed me to move from simply collecting numbers to building an argument grounded in SEC filings, ratio trends, Excel models, and disciplined professional writing.
The course strengthened my analytical thinking, spreadsheet fluency, and confidence in financial decision making. It also clarified the limits of automation: AI can accelerate research and drafting, but accounting still demands judgement, verification, and ethical responsibility. That combination of technical skill and professional communication is what I will carry into co-op experiences, analytics work, and future business leadership.