Financial Statement Aerobics – Toning Your Fiscal Physique Parts 1 2 3 and 4

In this course you will learn the primary purpose of financial statement analysis, including examinig financial statements through the lens of an analyst who does not prepare the statements. You will also learn the premise upon which analysis can occur.

You will be introduced to the basic tools of analysis from a conceptual standpoint, including how to identify anomalies that appear during analysis, how to calculate and interpret ratios related to financial statements accounts, and how to combine certain related ratios in order to better understand the financial issues facing any company. Then we will apply these tools in a practice, problem-solving case.

In addition, you will learn how to gain an understanding of the dynamics of a business prior to performing financial analysis as a means of improving your skills in problem identification. We cover learning how fraud might impact the financial statements which could be identified during analysis in order to solve a fraud case.

You will apply these concepts through two real-world cases to test your skills in analysis. During the process we cover how to calculate return on invested capital by using the ROIC tree concept, and how to apply the ROIC tree in making day-to-day decisions to improve the return on invested capital as well as understanding the financial condition and profitability of a company.

Finally, we analyze future possibilities for improvements based upon past realities and learn methods used by management to increase the value of the company in the market place.