Introduction to Finance for Managers

Why does a finance professional need to know how to understand financial statements?

The financial statements of a business represent a snapshot of its financial health at a certain point of time and the performance over the reported time frame.  If we have a good understanding of how to interpret these financial statements, we are better equipped to recognise the risks that may be present in both the businesses that we operate and the businesses of our clients.
 

Being able to recognize these risks means we will be well informed in terms of managing our own businesses, or from an insurance perspective, when in discussion with insurers and other interested parties and able to provide appropriate risk management advice.

This course looks at some of the components that make up a companies accounts, and discusses fundamental concepts in their creation, how they are prepared, and how to interpret them.