Understanding Financial Statements for non-Financial Professionals (1.2 CEUs)

Financial statements are standard documents prepared for businesses that range in size from corner grocery stores to multinational corporations. Understanding Financial Statements (UFS) is aimed at people without a background in finance who may move into management positions in which knowing how to work with financial statements is a required skill. The course does not focus on details of how to prepare financial statements, i.e. bookkeeping and accounting, but rather on what information they contain and how this should guide management action.

The course covers the income statement, balance sheet and statement of cash flow, illustrating key principles and concepts by both sample problems and analysis of actual company financial statements. Financial statements speak to both operational and financial management issues, and the course addresses each of these. Key differences between companies are illustrated based on their annual financial reports.

Participants will emerge with an understanding of why financial statements are so critical to managers and investors, and will be able to extract key information from them and relate it to appropriate action.