Advanced Financial Statement Analysis Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Financial Controllers, Corporate Finance Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FM-057

Before you join: Participants should understand the structure and purpose of the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement, and should be comfortable with basic accounting terminology, spreadsheet calculations and common financial ratios.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Financial statements can appear credible while masking weakening cash conversion, aggressive revenue recognition, unsustainable margins, refinancing pressure or management estimates that materially affect value. Senior finance professionals, credit teams, investors and business leaders need more than ratio calculations: they need a disciplined way to test the economic story behind reported numbers, identify what requires further investigation and communicate conclusions that withstand challenge.

This course develops advanced financial statement analysis for investment, lending, acquisition, performance-management and risk decisions. Participants examine the links between the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, equity movements and supporting notes. They assess profitability, working capital, liquidity, capital structure, earnings quality, accounting policies, off-balance-sheet exposures and warning signs of financial distress. The programme also covers forecasting, credit analysis, valuation inputs, covenant analysis and sector-specific analytical issues. IFRS and US GAAP differences are considered where they affect comparability and decision making.

Teaching combines concise technical briefings with guided analysis of realistic corporate filings, banking credit cases, acquisition targets and operational performance packs. Participants progressively construct an analytical workbook from reported financial data, document assumptions, reconcile adjustments and prepare decision-focused findings. They leave with a structured financial statement analysis pack containing normalized statements, ratio and cash-flow analysis, earnings-quality assessments, forecasts, valuation drivers, credit observations and an executive presentation.

The course is suited to experienced finance, accounting, audit, investment, credit, treasury and commercial professionals who already work with financial reports and need stronger analytical judgement. It is particularly relevant where decisions depend on understanding not only what a company reported, but whether its results, cash generation and financial position are sustainable.

What you will be able to do

  • Reconstruct multi-year financial statements into a consistent analytical model
  • Interpret IFRS and US GAAP accounting choices affecting comparability and earnings
  • Calculate and explain profitability, liquidity, efficiency and solvency ratios
  • Assess earnings quality using cash conversion, accruals and non-recurring item analysis
  • Identify accounting red flags through note disclosures, estimates and control indicators
  • Build integrated forecasts for income statements, balance sheets and cash flows
  • Develop credit and valuation conclusions from normalized financial information
  • Present a decision-ready financial statement analysis pack with evidence-based recommendations

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce defensible financial analyses from annual reports and management accounts
  • Challenge earnings claims using cash, accrual and disclosure evidence
  • Recognise accounting choices that distort peer comparisons and trend analysis
  • Contribute stronger analysis to lending, investment and acquisition decisions
  • Present concise conclusions to executives, credit committees and investment stakeholders

For your organisation

  • Improves the quality of investment, lending and acquisition due diligence
  • Identifies deteriorating liquidity, covenant pressure and refinancing risks earlier
  • Strengthens challenge of management performance reports and forecast assumptions
  • Creates more consistent financial analysis across finance, audit and risk teams
  • Reduces reliance on headline profit measures when assessing business performance

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can establish an evidence-based approach to analysing published financial information.

  • Analytical questions linked to investment, lending, acquisition and performance decisions
  • IFRS and US GAAP reporting architecture: statements, notes, estimates and judgments
  • Common-size statements separating scale effects from changes in economics
  • Three-statement linkage from transactions through profit, cash flow and equity
  • Materiality thresholds and comparative periods used to set investigation priorities
  • Source-document hierarchy: audited filings, releases, presentations and management commentary

Participants can prepare reliable multi-year data sets for detailed financial analysis.

  • Rebuild multi-year financial statements into a consistent analytical data set
  • Map chart-of-account disclosures to standardized income statement and balance-sheet lines
  • Separate reported, adjusted and underlying measures within an audit trail
  • Normalize fiscal-year changes, discontinued operations and acquired business comparatives
  • Use XBRL tags while reconciling extracted values to published tables
  • Document assumptions, sources and calculation checks in a model-control sheet

Participants can explain the operational and accounting drivers of reported profitability.

  • Revenue, gross profit, operating profit and net income bridge analysis
  • Price, volume, mix and cost analysis behind margin movements
  • Fixed-cost absorption and operating gearing effects on reported profitability
  • Segment disclosures used to isolate profitable and loss-making activities
  • Separate recurring operating performance from unusual and non-operating items
  • Benchmark margins against peers, historical ranges and management guidance

Participants can calculate, interpret and challenge ratios used in financial decisions.

  • DuPont analysis linking return on equity to operating drivers
  • Return on invested capital compared with weighted average cost
  • Liquidity ratios tested against cash availability and debt maturity profiles
  • Efficiency ratios connecting inventory, receivables, payables and revenue trends
  • Solvency metrics adjusted for leases, pensions and contingent obligations
  • Ratio limitations arising from seasonality, inflation and accounting policy differences

Participants can assess whether working capital supports or weakens business performance.

  • Cash conversion cycle built from receivable, inventory and payable days
  • Receivables ageing reviewed for concentration, disputes and expected-credit-loss allowances
  • Inventory turnover tested for obsolescence, valuation and demand forecasting risks
  • Payables movements assessed for supplier stress and delayed payment practices
  • Working-capital seasonality separated from structural deterioration using monthly balances
  • Management actions translated into forecast cash release or cash absorption

Participants can evaluate cash generation, liquidity resilience and funding requirements.

  • Indirect cash flow statement reconciled from profit to operating cash
  • Operating cash conversion compared with earnings, working capital and tax movements
  • Free cash flow calculated after maintenance capital expenditure and lease payments
  • Investing cash flows assessed for acquisition, disposal and capital-allocation patterns
  • Financing cash flows traced through debt issuance, repayment, dividends and buybacks
  • Liquidity headroom tested using cash balances, facilities and near-term obligations

Participants can identify revenue-recognition judgements that affect reported performance.

  • IFRS 15 five-step model applied to complex customer contracts
  • Performance obligations separated from bundled goods, services and support
  • Variable consideration assessed for rebates, returns, bonuses and penalties
  • Contract assets and contract liabilities analysed for timing and collection risk
  • Principal-versus-agent judgements tested against gross and net revenue presentation
  • Cut-off procedures reviewed through quarter-end sales, receivables and cash collections

Participants can assess the recoverability and economic usefulness of reported assets.

  • Capital expenditure classified between maintenance, expansion and acquisition spending
  • Depreciation policies compared with asset lives, replacement cycles and peers
  • IAS 36 impairment indicators linked to cash-generating units and forecasts
  • Goodwill balances assessed against headroom, discount rates and growth assumptions
  • Capitalized development costs tested for feasibility, amortisation and impairment risks
  • Asset disposals examined for gains, recurring patterns and balance-sheet effects

Participants can assess debt capacity, refinancing risk and the economic burden of obligations.

  • Debt maturity ladder constructed from borrowings notes and facility disclosures
  • Net debt reconciled to cash, restricted cash and derivative balances
  • Interest coverage measured using EBIT, EBITDA and operating cash flow
  • IFRS 16 lease liabilities incorporated into debt and fixed-charge analysis
  • Covenant definitions compared with reported metrics and permitted adjustments
  • Refinancing exposure assessed through maturities, market access and cash requirements

Participants can incorporate complex obligations into financial risk and valuation analysis.

  • Effective tax rate reconciled to statutory rates and recurring drivers
  • Deferred tax assets assessed for recoverability against future taxable profits
  • Uncertain tax positions evaluated through provisions, disclosures and litigation status
  • Defined-benefit pension deficits analysed using discount rates and asset assumptions
  • Actuarial gains and losses traced through other comprehensive income
  • Provisions reviewed for restructuring, warranties, legal claims and environmental obligations

Participants can distinguish sustainable earnings from accounting-driven or non-recurring results.

  • Accruals quality assessed through cash conversion and balance-sheet movements
  • Non-recurring items screened for frequency, size and management classification
  • Adjusted EBITDA reconciled to audited profit and disclosed exceptional items
  • Capitalized costs examined for their effect on earnings and cash flows
  • Share-based payment expense incorporated into profitability and dilution analysis
  • Normalized earnings bridge prepared for credit, valuation and transaction decisions

Participants can identify indicators requiring deeper investigation or specialist review.

  • Beneish M-Score inputs used to screen potential earnings manipulation
  • Unusual journal-entry patterns linked to revenue, reserves and period-end adjustments
  • Related-party transactions reviewed for pricing, funding and undisclosed dependencies
  • Auditor reports examined for qualifications, emphasis paragraphs and key audit matters
  • Management estimate changes traced through provisions, impairments and useful lives
  • Control weaknesses connected to reporting risk under the COSO framework

Participants can build integrated forecasts grounded in operational and financial drivers.

  • Driver-based revenue forecast built from price, volume and customer assumptions
  • Margin forecasts linked to input costs, capacity and operating gearing
  • Working-capital schedules forecast through days assumptions and sales growth
  • Capital expenditure, depreciation and impairment assumptions integrated into projections
  • Debt schedule models interest expense, amortisation and refinancing requirements
  • Three-statement forecast checked through balance-sheet balancing and cash reconciliation

Participants can form a structured view of borrower creditworthiness and repayment capacity.

  • Business risk assessed through market position, concentration and operating volatility
  • Financial risk evaluated using leverage, coverage, liquidity and cash conversion
  • Debt service coverage calculated from forecast operating cash flow
  • Downside scenarios test covenant headroom, liquidity needs and refinancing capacity
  • Security packages reviewed for ranking, collateral coverage and guarantee support
  • Credit memorandum findings structured around risks, mitigants and monitoring triggers

Participants can derive valuation inputs and interpret value implications from reported accounts.

  • Enterprise value reconciled with market capitalization, debt and non-operating assets
  • Trading multiples adjusted for accounting policies, capital intensity and growth
  • Discounted cash flow inputs derived from normalized earnings and reinvestment needs
  • Terminal value tested against sustainable margins, growth and capital returns
  • Comparable-company selection assessed for business model, geography and reporting consistency
  • Sensitivity tables communicate valuation effects of operational and funding assumptions

Participants can connect financial results to business model, competitive position and strategic choices.

  • Business model analysis links revenue mechanics to cost and capital requirements
  • Porter's Five Forces used to interpret margin sustainability and pricing power
  • Segment returns compared with capital allocation and strategic investment priorities
  • Customer concentration assessed through revenue disclosures and receivable exposure
  • Foreign-exchange exposure traced through revenue, costs, debt and hedging notes
  • Management guidance challenged against historical delivery and financial capacity

Participants can assess whether governance and disclosure practices support confidence in reported results.

  • Board oversight evaluated through committee mandates, attendance and financial expertise
  • Internal control disclosures reviewed for material weaknesses and remediation plans
  • Key audit matters assessed for recurring judgement and reporting-risk themes
  • Accounting policy changes traced across annual reports and comparative periods
  • Non-GAAP measures tested for consistency, reconciliation and prominence
  • Disclosure quality scored against specificity, transparency and decision usefulness

Participants can adapt core analysis methods to sector economics and reporting conventions.

  • Bank analysis considers net interest margin, capital ratios and credit losses
  • Insurance analysis reviews combined ratio, reserves and investment portfolio risk
  • Project businesses assess backlog, contract assets and percentage-of-completion estimates
  • Retail analysis links like-for-like sales, leases and inventory markdowns
  • Manufacturing analysis examines capacity utilization, absorption and maintenance spending
  • Infrastructure analysis tests regulated returns, concession terms and long-term funding

Participants can communicate financial findings clearly for senior decision makers.

  • Executive summary frames conclusion, evidence, risks and recommended actions
  • Waterfall charts explain earnings, cash flow and net debt movements
  • Ratio dashboards distinguish leading indicators from outcome measures
  • Scenario outputs presented with assumptions, sensitivities and decision thresholds
  • Investment committee papers separate facts, judgements and unresolved questions
  • Review challenge anticipated through evidence references and calculation transparency

Participants can build, review and present a complete financial statement analysis pack for a decision scenario.

  • Select material issues from financial statements, notes and operating disclosures
  • Construct normalized historical statements with documented accounting and classification adjustments
  • Assess profitability, cash conversion, liquidity, leverage and earnings quality
  • Build forecast scenarios with integrated cash flow and debt-service analysis
  • Form credit, valuation or investment conclusions supported by financial evidence
  • Present findings, recommendations, risks and monitoring indicators to a review panel

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Normalized financial statement analysis workbook
  2. Ratio and cash conversion dashboard
  3. Earnings quality assessment checklist
  4. Financial reporting red-flag review template
  5. Integrated three-statement forecast model
  6. Executive financial analysis presentation pack

Who should attend

  • Financial Controllers — need to challenge reported performance and explain underlying movements
  • Corporate Finance Managers — assess targets, investments and funding decisions using reported accounts
  • Credit Analysts — evaluate debt capacity, covenant headroom and borrower repayment risk
  • Investment Analysts — form evidence-based views on earnings sustainability and valuation drivers
  • Internal Auditors — identify reporting risks, estimation bias and disclosure weaknesses
  • Senior Accountants — translate accounting results into management and stakeholder insights

Skills and tools covered

Earnings quality analysisCash flow modellingCredit risk assessmentFinancial ratio analysisAccounting policy reviewValuation driver analysis

Tools and standards

IFRS Accounting Standards, US GAAP, XBRL, COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by structured work with annual reports, note disclosures, management accounts and financial models. Participants analyse realistic cases involving listed companies, borrowers, acquisition targets and operating businesses. Group exercises test alternative accounting treatments, credit conclusions and valuation assumptions. Simulations require participants to defend findings before an investment committee or credit review panel. Application planning connects each method to participants' own reporting packs, counterparties or portfolios. Trainers provide worked calculations, model structures and feedback on analytical judgement.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand the structure and purpose of the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement, and should be comfortable with basic accounting terminology, spreadsheet calculations and common financial ratios. At least two years of experience in finance, accounting, audit, credit, investment analysis, treasury or commercial finance is expected. Participants should be able to read annual reports and follow links between financial statements. Prior valuation, forensic accounting, modelling or IFRS specialist knowledge is not required. The course does not teach bookkeeping or introductory financial accounting.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need a sound working knowledge of the three primary financial statements and basic accounting concepts. Experience reading annual reports, management accounts or financial models is expected; specialist valuation or forensic accounting experience is not.

Bring a laptop with spreadsheet software and, where permitted, a recent annual report, management pack or borrower file from your work. Course cases and model materials are provided, and confidential information should be anonymised.

It is designed for experienced finance, accounting, audit, credit, treasury, investment and corporate finance professionals. It is not intended as a first course in bookkeeping or introductory financial accounting.

Financial modelling courses focus primarily on building projections, while valuation courses focus on estimating value. This course starts with the reliability and meaning of reported numbers, then uses that analysis to improve forecasts, credit conclusions and valuation inputs.

Participants can use the templates to review annual reports, challenge management reporting, assess counterparties and prepare investment or credit papers. The methods also support due diligence, covenant monitoring, budget review and performance analysis.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first part develops consistent analytical foundations and working papers; the later part applies advanced tests, forecasting, credit, valuation and the final capstone analysis.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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