Assessed Learning Outcomes:

A.  understand the  importance of written and verbal communication from a personal and business perspective

B.  develop team work experience and experience the different stages of building up effective relationships

C.  develop ways to work effectively in groups and improve organizational and planning skills

D.  carry out effective self-guided research

E.  present confidently in front of others

1.   Group Formation

Students will work on the assignment in groups, and the requirements for group formation are provided below.

(1) Group Size: Form groups of 2-5 members. We strongly recommend a full team of 5 members to effectively share the workload and diversify skills.

(2) Eligibility: Group members can be from different classes within the ACC101 cohort.

(3) Registration: Each student must register yourself as a member of a group on Learning Mall Core (LMO) by 23:59, 30 September 2025.

2.   Background

Suppose you are working as a financial analyst intern at the advisory department of an international accounting firm. Your role is to evaluate the business performance of listed companies and provide insights to support investment decisions.

Recently, your team leader requested that you prepare a comprehensive report evaluating the recent financial and non-financial affairs (from 2022 to 2024) of two companies in the same industry to provide better investment advice to clients. In this regard, you are required to prepare an informative comparative report in which you critically discuss and evaluate several financial and ESG issues in the companies. You are also expected to present your findings and recommendations to your team and the client in a concise and professional manner.

3.   Company pairs for analysis

You are required to select one pair of companies from the list below:

4.   Deliverables

(1) Written report (60%)

Your first task is to prepare a 2500-word comprehensive comparative report analyzing the financial and ESG performance of your chosen company pair. The report should simulate a professional analysis conducted by a financial analyst intern and should provide meaningful insights to support investment recommendations. You are expected to critically examine both quantitative financial metrics and qualitative ESG factors, and benchmark your findings against the industry average to provide a complete evaluation.

Below is a suggested written report structure:

• Executive Summary (≈150 words)

•     Concisely summarize your main findings.

•     Highlight significant differences between the two companies.

•     Present your overall investment recommendation.

• Introduction (≈200 words)

•     Provide a brief overview of the selected industry and the two companies.

•     Explain the purpose of your report.

•     Outline the structure of your analysis.

• Financial Analysis (≈800 words)

•     Focus on key measures of profitability and liquidity for 2022–2024.

o  Profitability ratios: ROA, ROE, net profit margin.

o  Liquidity ratios: current ratio, quick ratio.

•     Present calculations clearly in tables and charts.

•     Discuss the results, interpreting trends over time.

•     Compare the two companies and benchmark them against the industry average.

•     Emphasize analysis and interpretation, not just reporting numbers.

•     Support  your  interpretation  with  references  to  management  discussions  in  the annual report and analyst commentaries where available, as this will strengthen your arguments by linking numerical results to real-world explanations.

• ESG / Non-Financial Analysis (≈800 words)

•     Assess environmental, social, and governance aspects for both companies. Your analysis should be guided by (but not limited to) the following areas. The scope and depth of your discussion may vary depending on the availability and quality of company disclosures.

o  Environmental:   carbon   emissions,   energy   efficiency,   renewable   energy initiatives.

o  Social: labor practices, community engagement, supply chain sustainability.

o  Governance: board structure, ownership, transparency, controversies.

•     Use ESG scores where available or information from sustainability reports.

•     Provide a comparative assessment of the two companies and benchmark against industry norms.

• Comparative Discussion (≈400 words)

•     Integrate insights from both financial and ESG analyses.

•     Identify main strengths and weaknesses of each company.

•     Discuss key differences and whether ESG performance complements or conflicts with financial performance.

•     Highlight relevant industry trends and their potential impact.

•     Conclude  with a reasoned investment recommendation, supported by evidence from your analysis.

• Conclusion (≈150 words)

•     Summarize key findings.

•     Highlight limitations of your analysis.

Here provides additional requirements regarding your written report.

• The report must be prepared on A4 paper and word-processed in 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font with a minimum of 1.5-line spacing and justified text.

• The margins of the report should be: top  1 inch (2.5 cm), bottom  1 inch (2.5 cm), left 1.25 inches (3.2 cm), and right 1.25 inches (3.2 cm).

• All pages must be numbered.

• The report should be approximately 2,500 words (excluding cover page, tables, charts, appendices, and references). Reports that exceed the word limit by more than 10% will be penalized at a rate of 1% of the total mark for every additional 100 words. Please state the total word count at the end of your report.

• The assignment must include a cover sheet using the template provided on the LMO course page, ensuring that the name and student ID number of each group member are correctly specified.

• All work must be written in English (UK) and be grammatically correct, with careful attention to sentence construction, syntax, and spelling.

• The Harvard referencing style must be used wherever the work of others is cited, and all sources must be acknowledged.

• Final submission must be uploaded onto the LMO course page well before the deadline (23:59, 12 December 2025) to avoid late submission issues. Late submissions will incur a penalty of 5% of the report grade per calendar day for all group members, unless an extension has been granted by the module leader (examiner) in advance.

• Your file should be named in the following format: “Group XXX.docx” .

• All University Policies apply to this assignment, including policies on assessment, examination, and academic integrity. Both the report and the presentation video must be the  original  work  of  the   students,   and   any   improper   use   of  AI   tools   without acknowledgement will be treated as academic misconduct.

• Please bind your report in the following sequence: A completed cover sheet (available on the LMO) → the completed contribution statement (Appendix A of this document)

→ the main body of your report (indicating the word count of the main body at the end) → Reference list & any appendices.

The written report will be assessed on data accuracy, quality of financial and ESG analysis, depth   of   comparative   discussion,   clarity   of   recommendations,   and   professional presentation. Particular emphasis will be placed on your ability to critically interpret the data and provide practical insights for investment decisions. The report accounts for 60% of the overall  assignment  grade. While  each  group will receive  a group grade  for the report, individual grades will be adjusted based on the contribution statement (Appendix A, pages 7-8 of this document) submitted by each group and the module leader (examiner)’s judgment where appropriate, which records the roles and relative contributions of members. This ensures that individual performance is fairly reflected in the final mark.

(2) Presentation video (40%)

For the oral presentation, you are required to synthesize and communicate the key findings and recommendations   from   your   written   report   in   a SWOT   (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of your chosen company pair. The goal is to demonstrate your ability to interpret financial and ESG information and present actionable insights in a professional manner. The presentation should draw directly on material from your written report, including both financial ratios (profitability and liquidity) and ESG assessments, as well as your industry benchmarking.

Your  recorded  presentation   should  include  the  following   sections.  Begin  with  a  brief introduction of yourself and the selected industry and company pair, clearly stating the purpose of your analysis. Next, present your SWOT analysis, discussing the internal strengths and weaknesses of the companies, as well as external opportunities and threats they face. Use examples and data from your report to support your points. Follow this with a commentary that interprets the SWOT findings in the context of investment decision-making, highlighting how financial and ESG factors influence your assessment. Conclude your presentation with a summary of key findings and actionable recommendations.

The presentation should be recorded in English and rely exclusively on publicly available information. Ensure that your recording is original and that your delivery is clear, professional, and well-organized. The recommended length of the video is approximately 20 minutes, allowing sufficient time to cover all sections of the analysis in depth.

Your presentation will be assessed based on the quality and clarity of your content, the depth  of  your  SWOT  analysis, the integration of  financial and ESG insights, the professional delivery of the presentation, and the overall coherence and structure. The oral presentation accounts for 40% of the overall assignment grade, complementing the written report and demonstrating your ability to communicate complex analysis effectively to a professional audience. Late submissions will incur a penalty of 5% of the presentation grade per calendar day for all group members, unless an extension has been granted by the module leader (examiner) in advance.

The presentation video is due at 23:59, 12 December 2025.