Financial Statements - Analysis, Forecasts, and Valuation

Overview

A firm’s financial statement can tell many stories. The data presents useful information about a firm, and one must analyze the information to make meaningful decisions regarding the firm's position, effectiveness of management, and where the firm might be heading. In order to make good decisions, one must understand the environment in which the firm is operating, where the firm is now, and where the firm is going.

This course takes students through an analysis of Tesla’s 10-k, demonstrating some standard analytical frameworks and ratio analysis techniques for turning data into story. With this course’s example narrative, the student is shown how to interpret financial information by knowing the rules that have been followed in creating the financials and by applying techniques for putting information together. Aspects of the company’s past, present, and projections can meaningfully drive some of a stakeholder’s decision-making. In this course, the financial statement user is shown practical analytical techniques, standard ratios, and generally accepted methods for determining a business’s value. Although there are inherent limitations in using a company’s historical data to drive its future, financial statement users need to have a common understanding of standard analytical techniques.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, the student should be able to:

  • recognize correct application of common analytical frameworks: PEST analysis, Porter's Five forces, and SWOT
  • identify the appropriate data to be used in performing ratio analysis
  • recall proper use and application of ratios used for analyzing a firm's liquidity, leverage, efficiency, and profitability
  • distinguish areas in which financial statement data can inform accounting policy judgment
  • recognize correct application of several technique for making projections based on financial statement data
  • recall methods for valuing public and private companies

Designed For

CPAs, CFPs, CFEs, CMAs, and other finance and accounting professionals.

Prerequisites

General understanding of financial statement presentation, primarily in the balance sheet and income statement, and to a lesser extent the statement of cash flows and statement of shareholders' equity.

Advanced Preparation

None

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