Financial Analysis

Course Description

Nearly every business decision calls for a clear understanding of the underlying numbers. A manager needs this information to understand how well a business unit is performing, whether a new venture can achieve a reasonable profit, how much debt to take on, and so forth. Financial Analysis can assist with these decisions by focusing on the key indicators in a business that will drive its future performance. It does so by describing how to extract meaningful information from financial statements. It also delves into a number of analyses that are linked to specific business decisions, such as price optimization, constraint management, and credit granting. Another area addressed is financing, where the course covers financial leverage, capital structure, and foreign exchange risk. Other topics include financial forecasting, discounted cash flow analysis, and the valuation of acquisitions. In short, Financial Analysis is the essential desk reference for anyone who wants to make better-informed decisions.

What Do Participants Learn?

• Note the situations in which different types of financial analysis could be used.
• Note the issues to consider when making recommendations as the result of financial analysis.
• Identify the financial statements, their contents, and how they are formatted.
• Cite the key accounting concepts that can alter the information presented in the financial statements.
• State the methods used to interpret the information in the financial statements.
• Identify the components of the cost-volume-profit relationship, and how they are used.
• Identify the advantages of the various pricing methodologies.
• Cite the issues that can impact the cost of a cost object, and whether that cost is recognized.
• Identify the key constraint concepts and how they can be used to improve profitability.
• Note the concepts under which credit is granted to customers, as well as indicators of possible future delinquency.
• Identify the financing choices available to a company.
• Cite the impact and risks of financial leverage on a business, as well as when leverage is more likely to be used.
• State the issues impacting the capital structure of a business, as well as situations in which the capital structure should be reviewed.
• Identify the measurements used by investors to track the adequacy of dividend payments.
• Identify the risks and mitigating actions associated with foreign exchange.
• Cite the risks and mitigating actions associated with interest rates, as well as the terms of the various interest rate hedging instruments.
• State the elements of a system of forecasting and budgeting.
• Identify the issues impacting the rate of growth of a company.
• Identify the elements of the cost of capital, and note how the cost of capital is calculated.
• Cite the basis for the use of discounted cash flows, the types of annuities, and how discounted cash flows can be used.
• State the methods available for analyzing requests for capital projects, and the issues to be reviewed when examining such requests.
• Note the concepts involved in the lease or buy decision process, the information to include in or exclude from the decision, and the circumstances under which different lease types would be used.
• Identify the techniques used to place a value on a target company.
• Cite the methods used to measure and improve shareholder value, and the situations in which certain methods are more applicable.

Who Should Attend?

This course requires no prerequisite, thus it is available for all participants in the fields of finance, economics and banking. 

What Will the Learning Experience Include?

Phase: 1

Introduce

• Comprehensive pre-program activities include:
• Web-based information forms & surveys completed by attendee.
• Direct consultation with the attendee about the expectations.

• During the training, participants engage in data, activities, and conversations that lead to insight and knowledge.
• Participants learn from expert trainers who have both academic and business experiences.
• Highly applicable training content & instructive activities for adding depth to training topics.
• **A half-day site visit for integrating the experience & plan next steps. Opportunities to provide connections, ideas & support.

Phase: 2

Explore & Practice

Phase: 3

Apply

• Apply & sustain the learning experience by using this ongoing support:
• To ensure participant has new skills or behavior progress.
• Optional, fee-based mentoring & coaching with the trainer.
• Training materials & additional documents (e-books, pdf files, presentations and articles)

• Evaluate your training experience by giving us feedbacks and help us to reach our organizational goals.
• Participant's Evaluation
• Trainer's Evaluation

Phase: 4

EVALUATE