Foundations of Financial Analysis

Overview

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Build a strong foundation in financial statement analysis by learning how to interpret, connect, and evaluate the three core financial statements: the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. This course introduces key accounting principles, IFRS standards, and analyst techniques used to assess financial performance, identify risks, and improve comparability across companies and industries. Learners will explore revenue recognition, depreciation and amortization, inventory accounting, consolidation, provisions, and major IFRS vs. US GAAP differences relevant to financial analysis. Through practical examples, mini case studies, and hands-on exercises, you will learn how accounting policy choices affect metrics such as EBITDA, ROIC, earnings quality, and cash flow. The course also examines common financial misrepresentation tactics, including revenue manipulation, expense classification issues, capitalization practices, and non-recurring adjustments. By the end of the course, learners will be able to analyze financial statements with greater confidence, detect red flags, and perform normalized financial analysis for informed business and investment decision-making.

Syllabus

Understanding Core Financial Statements

Build a solid foundation in the three financial statements and how they interconnect. Learn common principles, how statements flow, and how to read them with an analyst’s eye.

IFRS Accounting Policies & Analyst Implications

Build the policy “building blocks” that materially affect metrics and valuation—depreciation & amortisation, revenue recognition, inventory, consolidation, and provisions—plus a focused comparison of IFRS vs. US GAAP for analysts.

Detecting Financial Misrepresentations

Now that learners know the policy backbone, we examine the “cracks”—how financials get bent, how to spot red flags, and how to adjust for clean comparability.