Course Details

This course is appropriate for a wide range of professionals but not limited to:

• Equity and Credit Research Analysts
• Investment Managers and Portfolio Managers
• Financial Analysts and Corporate Strategists
• Due Diligence and M&A Professionals
• Auditors and Forensic Accountants

• Expert-led sessions with dynamic visual aids
• Comprehensive course manual to support practical application and reinforcement
• Interactive discussions addressing participants’ real-world projects and challenges
• Insightful case studies and proven best practices to enhance learning

By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

• Deconstruct and interpret the three primary financial statements (IS, BS, CFS) in an integrated way.
• Analyze a company's quality of earnings and identify aggressive accounting practices reliably.
• Adjust reported financials to derive true economic earnings for valuation purposes accurately.
• Master advanced ratio analysis for profitability, liquidity, solvency, and efficiency effectively.
• Analyze and model complex accounting areas like pensions, leases, and stock-based compensation successfully.
• Apply forensic accounting techniques to detect earnings management and financial distress confidently.

DAY 1

Integrated Financial Statement Analysis and Forecasting

• Welcome and Introduction
• Pre-test
• Advanced vertical and horizontal analysis of the Income Statement and Balance Sheet
• The importance of the Statement of Cash Flows and Free Cash Flow calculation
• Linking the three statements: ensuring mathematical and logical consistency
• Techniques for projecting future financial performance (Sales and Cost forecasting)
• Using historical data and drivers to build a complete financial forecast

DAY 2

Quality of Earnings (QoE) and Forensic Analysis

• Defining and assessing the quality of reported earnings
• Identifying red flags in revenue recognition and expense capitalization
• Forensic techniques for detecting aggressive accounting and earnings management
• Analyzing related-party transactions and off-balance sheet financing
• The role of footnotes and Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
• The Beneish M-Score and Altman Z-Score

DAY 3

Advanced Accounting Topics and Adjustments

• Complex accounting for operating and finance leases (ASC 842/IFRS 16)
• Analyzing and adjusting for defined benefit pension plans and post-retirement liabilities
• Modeling and adjusting for stock-based compensation (SBC) and dilutive securities
• Detailed analysis of deferred taxes (DTA/DTL) and their impact on cash flow
• Accounting for intangible assets, goodwill, and impairment testing
• Analyzing special purpose entities (SPEs) and consolidation methods

DAY 4

Advanced Ratio Analysis and Credit Assessment

• Advanced profitability analysis: ROCE, ROIC, RONA, and sustainable growth rate
• Liquidity and solvency metrics: cash conversion cycle and debt covenants
• DuPont analysis: deconstructing ROE into its core drivers
• Advanced credit analysis: cash flow coverage ratios and debt servicing ability
• Analyzing corporate financing strategies and capital structure decisions
• Using industry-specific ratios and benchmarking techniques

DAY 5

Valuation and Review

• Applying adjusted financial statements to intrinsic valuation models (DCF)
• Review of advanced modeling and forecasting principles
• Common pitfalls in financial statement analysis and how to avoid them
• Comprehensive case study review combining all analytical techniques
• Final Q&A and practical application discussion
• Post-test
• Certificate ceremony