How to Interpret Financial Statements Online Course | Learn to Read and Analyse Business Finances
The Interpreting Financial Reports Online Course is designed to help professionals, entrepreneurs, and aspiring managers understand and evaluate financial statements. Gain the skills to confidently read income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, and make informed decisions based on financial data—at your own pace.
Why take this course on Interpreting Financial Reports?
Financial reports are the language of business. This course teaches you how to decode that language so you can make strategic decisions, communicate effectively with stakeholders, and assess financial health with clarity.
What you’ll gain from this course:
Understand the structure and purpose of financial statements like balance sheets and income statements.
Learn to interpret key financial ratios that indicate profitability, liquidity, and solvency.
Apply financial insights to make better decisions, reduce risks, and improve business performance.
This Course is designed to demystify the world of business finances for non-finance professionals, entrepreneurs, and managers. Financial statements are more than just numbers—they tell the story of a business’s performance, profitability, and stability. This course will help you learn how to read and understand these statements with confidence.
You’ll dive into the structure and purpose of the three main financial reports: the income statement, which shows a company’s profitability; the balance sheet, which presents assets, liabilities, and equity; and the cash flow statement, which highlights the inflow and outflow of cash. Through real-world examples and simplified explanations, you’ll understand how each statement connects to the others—and how to use them to assess business health.
You’ll also learn how to calculate and interpret key financial ratios, such as gross profit margin, return on investment, and current ratio. These insights will help you evaluate financial performance, identify trends, and make informed strategic decisions in your role or business.
Whether you’re preparing for a leadership role, running a small business, or simply want to improve your financial literacy, this course equips you with the practical tools to read, understand, and apply financial data effectively.
Course Content
- (Incl. 1.1-1.4 ) Income and Expenditure Statements are explained, and components are understood
- (Incl. 2.1-2.5) Balance Sheet is evaluated, and its components explained
- (Incl. 3.1-3.2) Compiling a personal asset and liability statement
- The financial strengths and weaknesses of an entity are analysed and suggestions are made of ways to improve income and reduce costs.
- The concept of a cost to income ratio is explained and suggestions are made on how to improve the ratio.
- The relationship between turnover, income, revenue, sales/earnings and profit is explained with examples.
- The concept of cash flow is explained in terms of liquidity.
Accreditation
- Non-accredited: Short course only
- Duration: 1h 30m
- Delivery: Classroom/Online/Blended
- Access Period: 12 Months
