Financial Analysis

Evaluation, Budgeting & Decision-Making

This course will provide you with vital skills such as financial forecasting, formulation and analysis of different scenarios, and the confidence to speak persuasively and with assurance about your financial analysis with colleagues and clients, thereby enhancing your reputation as a finance expert. By applying these skills to the tasks and challenges you face in your work, you will experience breakthroughs you may never have thought possible.

Course Content

• Understanding the content of, and relationships between, primary financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement) Utilizing financial statements to evaluate the financial and strategic performance of an organization
• Appreciation of discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques and their application to financial decision-making
• Identifying key success factors, early warning signs and financial momentum signals in your own industry sector
• Understanding of EVA (Economic Value Added), RONA (Return on Net Assets) and other indicators, as performance metrics
• Framing the value creation/destruction process in mergers and acquisitions from the market’s perspective and recognizing signals from the market to management
• Building a realistic budget, under a base case, upside and downside scenarios
• Identification and utilization of financial and business data sources that give insights into business and financial strategies
• Constructing and using rigorous Excel spreadsheets for financial analysis, from the basics to more complex models
• Enhancing your professional and personal networks among colleagues of similar background, talent and potential

Course Objectives

• Reading and understanding financial information to evaluate performance and trends accurately
• Embedding and applying present value concepts to expected future cash flows to make the best financial decisions
• Using comparative ratio analysis to pinpoint areas of concern
• Identifying key success factors, warning signals, negative and positive trends
• Becoming familiar with key financial metrics used by leading global companies
• Projecting with confidence the future performance of your firm and its investments through accurate, real-world budgeting