Course overview
Financial analysts must turn published accounts into defensible views on performance, cash generation, financial risk and value. Reported profit alone rarely answers the questions an investment committee, credit committee, finance director or business-unit leader needs answered. Revenue recognition choices, capitalised costs, lease accounting, impairments, pension assumptions, tax effects and non-recurring items can materially alter the economic picture.
This course develops the accounting fluency and analytical methods required to read financial statements critically and convert them into decision-ready analysis. Participants examine the income statement, statement of financial position, cash flow statement and notes under IFRS, with reference to major differences commonly encountered under US GAAP. They assess earnings quality, normalise reported results, calculate operating and credit ratios, reconstruct cash flow, identify accounting red flags and build integrated forecasts. The course also connects accounting analysis to valuation, lending and corporate performance decisions.
Teaching combines focused technical briefings with financial statement cases, calculation work, peer review and analyst-style judgement calls. Participants work from annual reports, management accounts and market assumptions rather than simplified accounting examples. By the end of the course, each participant has built and presented an integrated financial analysis pack containing restated earnings, ratio analysis, cash flow assessment, forecast financial statements, valuation outputs and an investment or credit recommendation.
The course is designed for finance professionals who use accounts to assess companies, projects, borrowers, suppliers, acquisitions or business-unit performance. It is particularly relevant to analysts moving from accounting preparation into analysis, and to managers who need to challenge financial conclusions with greater technical confidence.
