ΠΕΡΙΓΡΑΦΗ

An ability to understand the financial health and capabilities of a company is one of the most vital skills for aspiring managers, investors, and entrepreneurs to develop. Armed with this knowledge, investors can better identify promising opportunities while avoiding undue risk, and professionals of all levels can make more strategic business decisions.

Financial statements are telling a story of what happened to a company during a specific period. The story explains the financial position of the company and its changes and describes its performance, offering a window into the health of a company, which can be difficult to gauge using other means. While accountants and finance specialists are trained to read and understand these documents, many business professionals are not. The effect is a complication of critical information.

This training program will expose participants to the world of financial statements with the purpose to read the story behind the numbers presented and identify useful information about a company.

ΣΚΟΠΟΣ ΣΕΜΙΝΑΡΙΟΥ

By the end of the programme, participants will be able to: 

• Describe the context and purpose of financial reporting.
• List the qualitative characteristics of financial information.
• Convey the ethical principles that underpin financial reporting and specify their importance for maintaining the integrity of financial information.
• Separate financial information that relates to assets, liabilities, equity, expenses and income.
• Describe the main elements of financial accounting information – assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses.
• List the main financial ratios that can be used to assess the financial position and financial performance of a business.
• Describe the main techniques that can be used to value a business.
• Identify and evaluate alternative sources of business finance.
• Describe investment appraisal techniques.
• Explain the importance of adhering to the accounting principles and standards in order to maintain the consistency and integrity of financial information.
• Explain the main principles of financial reporting.
• Perform the analysis of a financial statement and interpret financial information.
• Choose effective investment appraisal techniques based on available information.
• Justify investment decisions based on analysis.
• Perform a proper business valuation.
• Choose the most appropriate financing option for business.
• Manage stakeholders’ expectations
• Assess the readiness of the organization to apply the requirements of the standards
• Recommend solutions based on financial information analyzed
• Justify the importance of properly analyzing the financial information
• Justify the need of a manager to understand the financial statements

ΣΕ ΠΟΙΟΥΣ ΑΠΕΥΘΥΝΕΤΑΙ

• Business owners
• Non-financial professionals and managers
• Financial analysts
• Lawyers
• Bankers
• Investors
• Company Stakeholders
• Credit risks analysts
• Anyone who wants to know about financial statements.

ΠΕΡΙΣΣΟΤΕΡΕΣ ΠΛΗΡΟΦΟΡΙΕΣ

Training Outline

First Things First — Basic Accounting Principles for Non-Financial Professionals

• Accounting: Information for decision making
• Accounting principles and professional practice
• Conceptual framework for financial accounting and reporting
• How to use International Financial Reporting Standards like a pro
• Non-accounting considerations that affect the value of financial statements
• The primary groups who are users of financial information — who they are, what they need to know

Mastering Income Statement

• The components of a classified income statement
• The concept of income
• The concept of expenses
• Why tax expense on the income statement is not always the same as taxes paid during the year
• Understand why tax expense on the income statement is not always the same as taxes paid during the year
• Cost of Goods Sold — what this means to an analysis of expenses
• How to determine gross profit, compare it to net profit and draw conclusions about a company’s operating environment
• Discontinued operations.
• Statement of other comprehensive income.
• How to calculate net profits or losses

Anatomy of a balance sheet

• Discovering what a balance sheet is and what sets it apart from other financial statements
• How accounts are classified within the balance sheet
• Identifying 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 company
• How to recognize an organization’s liquid assets
• Historical cost depreciation and amortization — what the weaknesses are
• The difference between short- and long-term liabilities
• When liabilities can be evaluated as assets
• Equity: what it is, where it appears on the balance sheet, and how it relates to an organization’s liabilities
• Using comparative analysis to assess an organization’s financial picture over a specified period of time

Controlling cash -The Cash Flow Statement

• Definition of cash and cash equivalent
• Cash sources and uses
• Cash Vs Profits
• Presentation of cash flow statement
• Other reporting requirements
• Walking through a comprehensive example

Understanding and Analysing Financial Statements

• What financial statements can’t tell you — review the limitations of financial analysis
• Using horizontal analysis to determine increases or decreases in income, profits, and expenses
• How to use vertical analysis to compare individual income and expense amounts with net sales
• An introduction to ratio analysis
• Applying ratios to determine profitability: proven formulas for net profit margin, net operating margin, return on assets, return on equity, earnings per share, and more
• Current and quick ratios — two ways to determine your organization’s liquidity
• A must-know formula for revealing inventory turnover and ensuring inventory management is on track
• Using numerous other ratios to compare, analyse and make sense of financial data, including:
• Current liability to owners’ equity
• Fixed assets to owners’ equity
• Long-term debt to working capital
• Inventory to working capital
• Long-term debt to total capitalization
• Fixed assets to long-term debt
• Operating ratio
• Owners’ equity turnover
• Networking capital turnover
• Return on investment
• Exploring the use of financial ratios to analyse trends, make industry comparisons and predict financial problems
• Evaluating capital investment proposals by calculating:
• The present values of future cash flows
• The net present values and internal rates of return

Training Style

• Illustration of key terms and concepts
• Preparation and discussion of practical examples, including mini cases
• The course will have both a theoretical and practical framework with real examples drawn from actual companies, local and international

CPD Recognition

This programme may be approved for up to 7 CPD units in Accounting and Auditing. Eligibility criteria and CPD Units are verified directly by your association, regulator or other bodies which you hold membership.