Course Description
If you're a business professional who could benefit from a more thorough grasp of financial statements, this course is tailor-made for you.With this financial statement training, you'll quickly master the fundamentals and develop a comprehensive understanding of how they work, learn how to interpret them accurately and discover how to use their information to make more effective, better-informed business decisions that have a positive impact on your organization's bottom line.Here's just a sample of what you'll learn:How to decipher general accounting terminology and gain a clear understanding of the language of finance and accountingGain insights to vastly improve your working knowledge and interpretive ability for balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statementsHow to use your enhanced knowledge of financial statements to develop better budgeting, projection and forecasting skillsInterpreting annual reports: how to translate their deluge of information into knowledge that can help you make informed decisionsHow to better communicate with accountants, bankers, comptrollers and other finance professionalsUsing financial ratios to analyze trends, conduct industry comparisons and predict financial problems before they become insurmountableIn today’s business climate, financial disorder is a serious factor in many organizations because of downsizing, outsourcing and contracting for services.It is critical business owners, managers and employees understand how to use available data to determine the financial health of their organizations, to assess the feasibility of their short and long-term goals and to plot the direction in which their companies are growing.In this powerful one-day seminar, you'll take a guided tour through the complexities of the financial statement. In clear, easy-to-understand language, we'll explain how to read financial statements, interpret their data and put that information to positive use.This course is designed to give business owners, managers and other non-financial professionals an arsenal of tools for understanding, analyzing and interpreting financial statements. As a result of this course, you'll have a better understanding of not only financial statements, but of how their information fits into the "big picture" at your organization. You'll be able to use the information gleaned from financial statements to plan ahead for your organization, ensure that cash flow is regulated and make timely, educated decisions regarding new product lines, equipment purchases, business expansion, increasing personnel, borrowing capital and much more.Objectives: First Things First — Basic Accounting Principles for Non-Financial ProfessionalsHow to use general accounting terminology (GAAP) like a proUnderstanding the underlying assumptions accountants use when preparing financial statements: historical cost, revenue recognition, matching principles, product costs, period costs, full disclosure, conservatism, materiality and accrual accountingWhat the FASB, SEC and AICPA are and how they govern accounting methodsNon-accounting considerations that affect the value of financial statementsTwo primary groups who are users of financial information — who they are, what they need to knowThe difference between managerial accounting and financial accountingDefining the role of the financial analystThe financial analysis techniques best suited to specific situations The Income StatementIdentify the components of a classified income statementWhy tax expense on the income statement is not always the same as taxes paid during the yearUnderstand why tax expense on the income statement is not always the same as taxes paid during the yearCost of Goods Sold — what this means to an analysis of expensesHow to determine gross profit, compare to net profit and draw conclusions about a company’s operating environmentThe difference between operating expenses, fixed expenses and depreciating expensesHow to calculate net profits or losses The Statement of Cash FlowThe purpose and general structure of the cash flow statement.Learning to distinguish between operating, investing and financing cash flows. The Balance SheetDiscovering what a balance sheet is and what sets it apart from other financial statementsHow accounts are classified within the balance sheetIdentifying cash, marketable securities, inventory and prepaid expenses on the balance sheet “Current,” “fixed” and “other” assets — what they are, and how to assess their value to the companyHow to recognize an organization’s liquid assetsHistorical cost depreciation and amortization — what the weaknesses areThe difference between short- and long-term liabilitiesWhen liabilities can be evaluated as assetsEquity: what it is, where it appears on the balance sheet, how it relates to an organization’s liabilitiesUsing comparative analysis to assess an organization’s financial picture over a specified period of time Understanding and Analyzing Financial StatementsWhat financial statements can’t tell you — review the limitations of financial analysisUsing horizontal analysis to determine increases or decreases in income, profits and expensesHow to use vertical analysis to compare individual income and expense amounts with net salesAn introduction to ratio analysisApplying ratios to determine profitability: proven formulas for net profit margin, net operating margin, return on assets, return on equity, earnings per share and moreCurrent and quick ratios — two ways to determine your organization’s liquidityA must-know formula for revealing inventory turnover and ensuring inventory management is on trackUsing numerous other ratios to compare, analyze and make sense of financial data, including:Current liability to owners’ equityFixed assets to owners’ equityLong-term debt to working capitalInventory to working capitalLong-term debt to total capitalizationFixed assets to long-term debtOperating ratioOwners’ equity turnoverNetworking capital turnoverReturn on investmentExploring the use of financial ratios to analyze trends, make industry comparisons and predict financial problemsEvaluating capital investment proposals by calculating:The present values of future cash flows and annuitiesThe net present values and internal rates of return What you need to know about public reports and audits. The difference between public and non-public quarterly statementsCompilation reports for non-public companies — what they are and how to read themReports to the Securities and Exchange CommissionForms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K — and what information is required for eachIdentifying the difference between government and not-for-profit accounting and reportingWhat an encumbrance is and how it is usedHow fiscal responsibility plays into governmental and not-for-profit reportingWhat fund accounting is and how to use itThe three types of funds — Governmental, Proprietary, Fiduciary — and the purpose of eachUsing audit reports to accurately assess company performanceShould your company be audited? Learn when the situation is r Agenda
First Things First — Basic Accounting Principles for Non-Financial ProfessionalsHow to use general accounting terminology (GAAP) like a proBecome familiar with the underlying assumptions accountants use when preparing financial statements: historical cost, revenue recognition, matching principles, product costs, period costs, full disclosure, conservatism, materiality, and accrual accountingWhat the FASB, SEC, and AICPA are and how they govern accounting methodsTwo primary groups who are users of financial information — who they are, what they need to knowThe difference between managerial accounting and financial accountingThe Balance SheetDiscover what a balance sheet is, and what sets it apart from other financial statementsDecipher how accounts are classified within the balance sheet"Current," "fixed," and "other" assets — what they are, how to assess their value to the companyUse comparative analysis to analyze an organization's financial picture over a specified period of timeThe Income StatementIdentify the components of a classified income statementUnderstand why tax expense on the income statement is not always the same as taxes paid during the yearDistinguish gains and losses categorized as "extraordinary" and how they are reflected on the income statementCost of Goods Sold — learn what this means to an analysis of expensesLearn how to determine gross profit, compare to net profit, and draw conclusions about a company's operating environmentUnderstanding and Analyzing Financial StatementsWhat financial statements can't tell you — review the limitations of financial analysisUsing horizontal analysis to determine increases or decreases in income, profits, and expensesUsing vertical analysis to compare individual income and expense amounts with net salesAn introduction to ratio analysisUsing ratios to determine profitability: proven formulas for net profit margin, net operating margin, return on assets, return on equity, earnings per share, and more!