Accounting & Financial Analysis (Introduction)

This three-day course is for non-accountants who need to read, understand, interpret and analyse the financial statements of companies.

It starts with the basic mechanics of a set of financial statements, continues with the key accounting treatments for important events and transactions before finishing with a thorough financial analysis of the performance and position of the company using a wide variety of metrics, ratios and key performance indicators.

It is not possible to analyse the performance and position of a company without first understanding where the numbers in the financial statements come from.

Hence the trajectory of this course through the accounting rules before the financial analysis. The course uses practical Excel exercises to provide a thorough grounding in all key areas of accounting and financial analysis theory.

What Will You Learn?

• Accounting fundamentals
  • Cash flow statement basics
  • Income statement basics
  • Balance sheet basics
  • Links and integrations between the statements
  • Dual effect of transactions
  • Retained earnings
  • Practical financial statement construction exercise
  • Cash flow revisited (reconciliation from profit to cash flow)
• Revenue recognition
  • Top of the income statement
  • Cash flow vs earnings
• Accounting for current assets and liabilities
  • Current assets and liabilities
  • Inventory/stock
  • Receivables/debtors
  • Payables/creditors
• Non-current assets
  • Property, plant and equipment
  • Depreciation
  • Revaluations
  • Impairment
• Intangible assets
  • Purchased intangibles
  • Research and development
  • Internally generated intangibles
  • Goodwill
  • Basic acquisition accounting for subsidiaries
• Financing
  • Debt
  • Effective interest rate accounting
• Provisions
  • Profit shifting
  • Contingent liabilities
• The financial analysis framework
  • Profitability
  • Efficiency
  • Liquidity
  • Solvency
• Profitability
  • Growth
  • Margins
• EPS
  • Efficiency
  • Working capital days
  • Cash cycle
  • Short term financing
• Liquidity
  • Current Ratio
  • Quick Ratio
  • Interest cover
  • Other ratios
• Solvency
  • Gearing
  • Leverage
  • Other ratios
• Return ratios
  • Assets
  • Equity
  • Capital employed