Advanced Financial Statement Analysis and Management Course

This course brings together the key elements of financial statement analysis to help participants improve their financial analysis skills, enable them to ask the right questions, see the real risks facing businesses and investors, feel more confident in their ability to comment on business activities and performance and analyze financial health for management.

These skills and the required technical knowledge will be put into practice throughout the course using interactive examples and case studies, putting theory and technique into context.

Course Methodology

The course uses a mix of interactive techniques, such as brief presentations by the consultant, group exercises and case studies using Excel to apply knowledge acquired throughout the course, followed by participants' presentations of the results.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• List and differentiate between the important components of basic financial statements
• Explain financial statements' ratios and formulate Excel sheets and graphs for financial statements analysis
• Illustrate creative accounting schemes and critique the validity of accounting rules used
• Assess the quality of financial reports and evaluate the quality of earnings and cash flows reported
• Analyze the financial position and performance of a company over a period of time and draw conclusions regarding its sustainability.

Target Audience

Chief accountants, accounting managers, senior accountants, finance directors, finance managers, financial analysts, financial controllers, financial accounts managers, heads of finance departments, credit controllers, corporate financiers, credit risk analysts, bankers, and relationship managers.

Key Course Coverage

Module 1: General Introduction To Financial Statement Analysis

• Financial Statements Introduction
• Components of Financial Statements
• Users of Financial Statements
• Qualities of Financial Statements
• Usefulness of Financial Statements ratios.

Module 2: General Company Analysis

• Profitability Analysis    
• Liquidity / Solvency Analysis
• Investment Analysis
• Management Efficiency Analysis
• Gearing and Capital Structure Analysis
• Financial Stability Analysis.

Module 3: Banks Financial Statement Analysis

• Capital Adequacy Analysis
• Asset Quality Analysis
• Management Efficiency Analysis
• Earnings Analysis
• Liquidity Analysis
• Other Issues in Bank Analysis
• Analyzing the financial performance of other Financial Institutions.

MODULE 4: Qualitative Issues In Financial Statement Analysis

• Limitation of Ratios
• Basis of Ratios Comparison
• Qualitative Factors To Be Considered In Financial Statement Interpretation
• Competitors Ratios
• Tax Matters and other regulatory issues
• Age of fixed assets
• Employee quality.

MODULE 5: Window Dressing of Financial Statements / Creative Accounting

• Looking Beyond The Figures
• How Companies Manipulate Financial Statements
• Why Companies Manipulate Financial Statements
• Discovering Window Dressing
• Consequences of financial statements manipulations
• Auditors Roles and Limitations.

MODULE 6: Predicting Business failure Using Financial Statements

• Why Business Fails
• Financial Distress and Games
• Predicting Corporate Failures
• Altman Z Score
• Comparative Financial Statements
• Base Year Financial Statements
• Common Size Financial Statements.
• Case study: creative accounting scandals

Participants Must Bring Their Laptops