In Financial Statement Analysis, you'll learn...
- How to understand the specialized language of finance—vital terms like sales, revenue, costs, income, profits and more
- To get a firm grip on your company’s lifeblood—cash flow
- How to quickly scan a financial report and pick out the numbers that matter
- How to detect variances while there’s still time to take corrective action
- And much more!
When complete and well-prepared, financial statements contain an incredible amount of timely and revealing information about a business’s financial health: Its strengths, vulnerabilities and challenges … whether or not it’s on track … if it’s really making money. Few decision-makers fully understand financial statements, but those who do hold the power. Do you want to play a more significant, meaningful role in the future direction of your organization … and position it for long-term growth and profitability? This comprehensive workshop shows you how by simplifying the principles, tools and practices for interpreting and using financial statements. Enroll today!
WORKSHOP AGENDA
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Essential concepts underlying the financial analysis process+
- What financial statements are and what they’re really supposed to tell us
- The sources of reliable, well-prepared financial data
- How understanding the rules of GAAP will save you time, frustration and embarrassment
- Essential financial terms you absolutely need to know
- The components of a healthy bottom line
- The most serious limitation of financial statements
- A step-by-step guide to analyzing a financial statement
- The guiding principles underlying good financial reporting
- 7 characteristics of a well-prepared financial statement
Key measurement tools, ratios and indicators +
- 4 useful ratios and what they tell you
- How to recognize warning signals early on—before a crisis occurs
- The hows and whys of trend analysis
- How the easily calculated return on assets and return on equity give you a good idea of ROI
- Your debt-to-equity ratio—what lenders want to see
- Using the price-earnings ratio to compare stock values
- The relationship between earnings and stock returns
- What interest coverage and payment coverage ratios say
- Avoid confusion surrounding quick and current ratios for liquidity analysis
The Balance Sheet—a snapshot of your financial health+
- What goes into working capital and how it can increase and decrease during the normal course of business
- How valuing assets can be tricky
- How days in accounts payable can upset the delicate balance of your operating cycle
- Important things the Balance Sheet—all by itself—can tell you
- The relationship between days sales outstanding and operating efficiency
- Inventory turns—when to know you’re headed for trouble
- Sorting through the Balance Sheet: Assets, liabilities and equity
- The role of the Z score in predicting bankruptcy
- What goes into the valuation of a business
- Extended payment terms—could they be artificially inflating your revenue and profits?
- Critical information sometimes hidden in footnotes—read them!
- Ways the Balance Sheet can misrepresent—and mislead
- Examine the cash operating system underlying your Balance Sheet
The Income Statement—your measure of financial performance over time+
- Deciphering the components of the Income Statement
- Activity-based accounting—a different way to look at results
- The rules for smart break-even analysis
- Overcoming the limited insight the Income Statement provides into operating leverage
- Using common-size statements for variance analysis
- What the Income Statement tells you about your business—and what it leaves out
- When using EBITDA as an earnings measure is most relevant
- The DuPont Formula—the questions it answers and the new ones it raises
- The danger in accepting reported revenues at face value
- Issues in recognizing revenue that could trip you up
The Statement of Cash Flows—the lifeblood of your business+
- An overview of the GAAP Statement of Cash Flows
- What the purpose of the Cash Flows Statement really is
- Types of cash flows
- The cash flows forecast—don’t make a purchasing or personnel decision without one
- The key test of cash flows health
- The difference between direct and indirect cash flows statements
- When to factor in the Time Value of Money
- Cash management tools your lender can supply to keep you on track
