Credit Research Foundation HOMEROOM

Course 101: Financial Statement Analysis

Developed and Delivered by Steven C. Isberg, Ph.D

Senior Research Fellow

The purpose of this online course is to provide participants with an understanding of financial statement structure and the relationships between business activity, accounting transactions, and financial reporting.  The course consists of six online sessions, each including:

• Video and synchronized slide presentation of course content
• Interactive examples for participants to work through as part of the video presentation
• Annotated presentation material making it easier for participants to follow along and take accurate notes
• Outside exercises with annotated solutions enabling the participants to sharpen and solidify the skills acquired in the video lesson
• An onscreen notepad enabling the student to compose, review, save and print notes as they work through the presentation.
• Interactive assessment - exams enabling the students to test and check themselves on their progress through each session
• Access to the course instructor and other participants via a non-synchronous interactive discussion board facility that enables them to ask questions and engage in discussions
• A cumulative final exam, on which a passing score would qualify participants for a CRF Certificate of Professional Development

 Session Objectives 

1. The Balance Sheet: This session provides participants with an understanding of the elements and basic structure of a balance sheet for a corporate entity. 
2. The Income Statement: This session provides participants with an understanding of the elements and basic structure of an income statement for a corporate entity.
3. Basic Accounting Transactions: This session provides participants with an understanding of the double-entry accounting system, how transactions affect different accounts and how account balances are used to create financial statements with application to a retailing environment.
4. Accounting Transactions in the Manufacturing Environment:  This session extends the lessons learned in Session 3 to cover more detailed transactions, in particular those that are found in a manufacturing environment.
5. Cash Flow Statements: This session provides participants with the ability to construct a cash flow statement from a set of balance sheets and an income statement and understand its meaning.
6. Market Value Transactions:  This session provides participants with an understanding of a variety of “marked to market” and other market value transactions and how they affect the appearance and meaning of balance sheets and income statements. 

Videos on this CRF website require a Flash enabled browser. 

The Credit Research Foundation Certificate of Professional Development will be awarded to students completing the course with a minimum passing grade of 70.     This course also qualifies for one NACM Career Road Map Point towards CBF & CCE certification.