Financial Statements and Annual Reports Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Financial Accountants, Senior Accountants and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-A-088

Before you join: Participants should understand double-entry bookkeeping, trial balances, accruals, prepayments, depreciation and basic financial statement formats.

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

Preparing financial statements and an annual report requires more than transferring trial balance figures into prescribed formats. Finance staff must resolve cut-off issues, apply recognition and measurement rules, support estimates, reconcile cash flows, prepare disclosures and maintain a clear audit trail. Errors in classification, disclosures, consolidation adjustments or subsequent-event treatment can delay publication, create audit findings and weaken confidence in reported results.

This course develops the practical skills needed to prepare, review and coordinate a set of financial statements and supporting annual report content. Participants work through the reporting cycle from close planning and trial balance controls to primary statements, cash flow reporting, notes, accounting estimates, group reporting and publication checks. The course uses IFRS-based examples while showing where local GAAP, company law and regulatory filing requirements may affect presentation. Participants learn to build supporting schedules, apply key IAS and IFRS requirements, identify material disclosure issues and explain significant movements clearly.

Teaching combines concise technical briefings with worked reporting cases, group analysis, statement-building tasks, audit-query simulations and application planning. Cases reflect issues commonly found in banks, manufacturers, public bodies, NGOs and multinational groups, including revenue recognition, asset impairment, provisions, foreign currency balances and related-party disclosures. Participants leave with a reusable financial statements preparation pack containing close, review, disclosure and publication tools that can be adapted to their reporting cycle.

The course is suited to finance professionals who prepare, review or coordinate statutory accounts, annual reports or reporting packs. It is particularly useful for staff moving from management accounting or transactional finance into financial reporting responsibilities.

What you will be able to do

  • Prepare primary financial statements from an adjusted trial balance using IAS 1 presentation requirements
  • Apply IFRS recognition and measurement rules to revenue, inventory, fixed assets and provisions
  • Construct an indirect-method cash flow statement and reconcile it to reported cash balances
  • Produce supporting schedules for material balances, estimates, adjustments and disclosure evidence
  • Draft financial statement notes using disclosure checklists, cross-references and comparative information
  • Calculate consolidation adjustments for intragroup transactions, goodwill and non-controlling interests
  • Evaluate accounting estimates, impairment indicators, subsequent events and going-concern evidence
  • Plan an annual report production process with review gates, approvals and filing deadlines

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce clearer first drafts of statutory financial statements
  • Handle auditor queries with better schedules and evidence
  • Identify disclosure gaps before late-stage review
  • Move from management reporting into financial reporting roles
  • Contribute confidently to annual report timetables and approvals

For your organisation

  • Fewer late adjustments during audit and financial statement review
  • More consistent application of accounting policies across reporting teams
  • Improved quality of supporting schedules and audit evidence
  • Earlier identification of disclosure, impairment and going-concern issues
  • Better control over annual report production deadlines and approvals

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can map the reporting cycle, annual report components and responsibilities from close to publication.

  • Purpose, users and reporting deadlines behind a statutory annual report
  • Management accounts versus published financial statements: scope, basis and assurance
  • IFRS, local GAAP and company law reporting obligations compared
  • Reporting entity, functional currency and presentation currency determined under IAS 21
  • Materiality judgements documented using quantitative and qualitative thresholds
  • Annual report components mapped from financial statements to governance disclosures
  • Close timetable linked to source records, reviews and publication milestones

Participants can prepare an audit-ready adjusted trial balance and supporting reporting schedules.

  • Trial balance integrity checks: suspense accounts, control accounts and reconciliations
  • Chart of accounts mapped to primary statement line items
  • Period-end cut-off tested for sales, purchases, payroll and inventory
  • Accruals, prepayments and provisions distinguished using recognition criteria
  • Bank, receivables and payables reconciliations investigated before draft production
  • Supporting schedules controlled through preparer, reviewer and evidence fields
  • Post-close adjustments tracked in a numbered adjustment log

Participants can apply key recognition and measurement requirements to common operating balances.

  • Revenue recognised under IFRS 15's five-step model
  • Performance obligations separated from contracts containing multiple goods or services
  • Variable consideration constrained using probability-weighted or most-likely-amount estimates
  • Contract assets, receivables and contract liabilities classified correctly
  • Inventory cost, net realisable value and write-downs measured under IAS 2
  • Property, plant and equipment capitalisation assessed under IAS 16
  • Depreciation methods, useful lives and residual values reviewed annually

Participants can prepare and review the primary financial statements using IAS 1 requirements.

  • Statement of profit or loss structured by function or nature
  • Other comprehensive income separated between recyclable and non-recyclable items
  • Statement of financial position classified between current and non-current balances
  • Equity movements reconciled for shares, reserves, dividends and retained earnings
  • Comparatives restated when accounting policies change or material errors arise
  • IAS 1 presentation requirements applied to subtotals, offsets and disclosures
  • Cross-casting and internal consistency checks completed across primary statements

Participants can prepare an indirect cash flow statement and explain key liquidity movements.

  • Operating cash flows prepared using the indirect method under IAS 7
  • Non-cash transactions removed from profit through working-capital movement schedules
  • Investing and financing cash flows classified from ledger transactions
  • Interest, dividends and taxes classified consistently under the chosen policy
  • Cash equivalents assessed using short-term maturity and liquidity criteria
  • Cash flow statement reconciled to opening and closing cash balances
  • Free cash flow and operating cash conversion interpreted cautiously

Participants can assess material estimates and prepare the related accounting and disclosure evidence.

  • Accounting policies distinguished from estimates and prior-period errors under IAS 8
  • Impairment indicators assessed for goodwill, assets and cash-generating units
  • Value in use estimated using forecast cash flows and discount rates
  • Expected credit losses calculated using IFRS 9 staging principles
  • Provisions measured using present obligation, probability and reliable-estimate tests
  • Contingent liabilities and contingent assets disclosed under IAS 37
  • Subsequent events evaluated under IAS 10 before authorisation

Participants can prepare material note disclosures supported by reconciled source data and clear cross-references.

  • Related-party relationships and transactions identified under IAS 24
  • Segment disclosures prepared from management's internally reported operating segments
  • Financial instrument risk notes drafted for liquidity, credit and market risk
  • IFRS 7 sensitivity disclosures tied to underlying risk data
  • Lease commitments and maturity analyses prepared under IFRS 16
  • Tax reconciliation connects accounting profit, tax expense and effective rate
  • Note cross-references, comparatives and disclosure checklists reviewed systematically

Participants can prepare core consolidation adjustments and reconcile group reporting schedules.

  • Control assessed using power, variable returns and decision-making ability
  • Acquisition-date fair value adjustments recorded in consolidation schedules
  • Goodwill calculated from consideration, non-controlling interests and net assets
  • Intragroup balances, sales and unrealised profits eliminated on consolidation
  • Non-controlling interests presented within equity and allocated profit
  • Associate investments accounted for using the equity method
  • Consolidation workbook reconciled from entity trial balances to group statements

Participants can organise reporting evidence, respond to audit requirements and support governance review.

  • Management assertions linked to evidence supporting material account balances
  • Audit-ready schedules prepared with source references and clear explanations
  • Disclosure committee review coordinates finance, legal, risk and investor relations
  • Directors' report, governance statement and financial statements aligned
  • Going concern assessment documented using forecasts, covenants and sensitivities
  • Internal control deficiencies evaluated using the COSO framework
  • Version control and sign-off records maintained through publication

Participants can coordinate annual report production, final analytical review and publication controls.

  • Annual report production plan sequences drafting, review, design and approvals
  • Plain-language financial commentary reconciled to audited amounts and key judgements
  • Key performance measures defined, reconciled and clearly labelled
  • Digital and printed report proofs checked for tables, links and pagination
  • Final analytical review compares margins, trends, ratios and cash movements
  • Publication checklist confirms approvals, filing deadlines and investor communications
  • Personal application plan identifies reporting-process improvements and ownership

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

What you take back to work

  1. Financial statement close timetable template
  2. Adjusted trial balance review checklist
  3. Indirect cash flow statement model
  4. Financial statement disclosure checklist
  5. Consolidation adjustment workbook
  6. Annual report publication control plan

Who should attend

  • Financial Accountants — prepare statutory accounts and supporting schedules
  • Senior Accountants — review period-end adjustments and financial statement drafts
  • Finance Managers — oversee reporting quality, close controls and annual report delivery
  • Management Accountants — move into external reporting and statutory accounting responsibilities
  • Consolidation Accountants — prepare group adjustments, eliminations and group disclosures
  • Internal Auditors — assess evidence, controls and reporting risks before external audit

Skills and tools covered

Financial statement preparationIFRS applicationCash flow reportingDisclosure draftingConsolidation accountingAnnual report coordination

Tools and standards

IFRS Accounting Standards, IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements, IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows, COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by worked examples, reporting cases, group exercises and guided statement reviews. Participants analyse adjusted trial balances, prepare extracts of primary statements, resolve recognition and disclosure issues, and respond to simulated audit queries. Cases address typical annual report problems such as incomplete reconciliations, cash flow misclassification, unsupported estimates and inconsistent note disclosures. Each participant develops an application plan for improving a current reporting process, supported by reusable preparation and review tools.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand double-entry bookkeeping, trial balances, accruals, prepayments, depreciation and basic financial statement formats. At least one year of finance, accounting, audit or reporting experience is recommended, particularly where participants have worked with month-end close or management accounts. Familiarity with IFRS or local GAAP is helpful but not essential; relevant requirements are explained during the course. Participants do not need prior experience of preparing a full annual report, consolidation software, advanced financial modelling or external audit work.

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

You should understand bookkeeping, trial balances, accruals and basic financial statements. Prior IFRS knowledge is useful but not required, as the relevant standards are explained through reporting examples.

Bring a calculator and, if permitted by your employer, an anonymised copy of a recent financial statement, reporting timetable or disclosure checklist. Course materials and reporting templates are provided.

It is designed for accountants, finance managers, management accountants, consolidation staff and internal auditors involved in statutory reporting. It also suits professionals preparing to move into financial reporting roles.

A general IFRS course concentrates on the requirements of individual standards. This course focuses on assembling those requirements into a controlled financial statements and annual report preparation process.

Participants can use the close timetable, supporting schedule format, cash flow model and disclosure checklist during their next reporting cycle. The course also helps participants identify where their current process lacks evidence, review points or clear ownership.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between technical instruction, worked reporting cases, group analysis, simulations, statement review and application planning.

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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