Financial Analysis and Ratio Insights
Build job-ready skills in financial ratio analysis to evaluate profitability, liquidity, efficiency, and risk with real data
Duration
3 weeksWeekly study
2 hours100% online
How it works
Financial Analysis and Ratio Insights
This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.
Evaluate business performance using financial ratios
Learn new ways to assess whether a company is financially healthy. Financial ratios can provide powerful tools for evaluating business performance.
This three-week course explores profitability, liquidity, efficiency, working capital, and leverage ratios using real financial statements. You’ll learn to calculate key metrics including margins, ROA, ROE, current ratios, inventory turnover, and debt ratios.
Understand core ratio frameworks and profitability measures
Explore foundations of financial ratio analysis and key performance measurement frameworks. You’ll learn to calculate and interpret profitability and return ratios, including margins, ROA, ROE, and return on capital.
You’ll discover how these metrics link to the income statement and balance sheet to reveal strengths and weaknesses.
Learn liquidity, solvency, and efficiency analysis
Examine liquidity and solvency using current, quick, and cash-based ratios to understand short-term and long-term risk. You’ll work with efficiency and working capital ratios, including inventory, receivables, payables, and turnover metrics.
You’ll assess how effectively a business manages day-to-day operations and its cash cycle.
Explore leverage, benchmarking, and real-world assessment
Learn capital structure and leverage analysis, including debt ratios and interest coverage measures highlighting financial risk. You’ll benchmark performance using peer comparisons, trends over time, and industry standards.
By the end of this course, you’ll walk away with the ability interpret ratios confidently and use them to assess company financial health in real business contexts.
Syllabus
Week 1
Profitability and Return Analysis
Lesson 1: Intro Video to Course
This introductory video provides an overview of the course, highlighting key topics to be covered and outlining the learning goals. It sets the stage for the lessons ahead.
Lesson 2: Profitability Metrics and Margins
Explains how to evaluate financial performance using gross, operating, and net margins. Learners assess cost structure and identify signals of operational strength or weakness.
Lesson 3: Title of the Lesson: Return Ratios and ROIC
Introduces return-based measures of performance and shows how to evaluate returns on assets, equity, and invested capital.
Lesson 4: DuPont Decomposition
Breaks down ROE using the DuPont formula and teaches how to isolate the drivers of return through margin, turnover, and leverage.
Week 2
Liquidity, Efficiency, and Working Capital
Lesson 5: Liquidity Ratios and Stress Testing
Introduces the concept of liquidity and explores key metrics used to assess a firm’s short-term solvency and financial cushion under stress.
Lesson 6: Efficiency Ratios and Asset Utilisation
Explains how to measure how well a company uses its assets to generate revenue and manage operational throughput.
Lesson 7: Working Capital and the Cash Conversion Cycle
Covers how working capital operates in practice, including receivables, payables, and inventory, and how the cash conversion cycle impacts liquidity and operations.
Week 3
Leverage, Coverage, and Benchmarking
Lesson 8: Capital Structure and Leverage Ratios
Explores how companies finance operations using debt and equity, and how to interpret leverage ratios to understand financial risk and return amplification.
Lesson 9: Interest Coverage and Credit Risk
Teaches how to evaluate a company’s ability to meet interest obligations and how debt maturity profiles affect refinancing and liquidity risk.
Lesson 10: Trend and Peer Benchmark Analysis
Introduces horizontal and vertical analysis techniques, and explains how to use industry benchmarks to contextualise financial performance.
Lesson 11: Course Conclusion
This conclusion lesson reviews key concepts and includes a wrap-up video and final quiz to reinforce learning and assess understanding.
Who is this accredited by?
The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Analyse profitability and return metrics using income statement and balance sheet data
- Evaluate liquidity, efficiency, and working capital ratios to assess operational health
- Assess capital structure, interest coverage, and industry benchmarks to identify financial risk
Who is the course for?
This course is ideal for learners strengthening their ability to evaluate business performance using financial ratios, especially early-career professionals in finance, accounting, consulting, banking, corporate roles, and business analysis.
Who will you learn with?
Who developed the course?
Starweaver
Starweaver is a next generation platform that engages your workforce as no other. Combining business and technical skills, Starweaver provides real-time skill building that is in line with your business objectives and strategies, and in your associates day to day tasks and jobs.
| Best ValueBest Value - learn more, save more! | |||
Ways to learn | Buy this course | Subscribe & save | Start learning today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choose the best way to learn for you! | $54/one-off payment | $244.99 for a whole year Automatically renews | Free |
| Fulfill your current learning need | Develop skills to further your career | Try this course - with limits | |
| Access to this course | tick | tick | Limited to 3 weeks |
| Access to 1,000+ courses | cross | tick | cross |
| Learn at your own pace | tick | tick | cross |
| Discuss your learning in comments | tick | tick | tick |
| Certificate when you're eligible | Printed and digital | Digital only | cross |
Cancel for free anytime |
Ways to learn
Choose the best way to learn for you!
Subscribe & save
$244.99 for a whole year
Automatically renews
Develop skills to further your career
- Access to this course
- Access to 1,000+ courses
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Digital certificate when you're eligible
Cancel for free anytime
Buy this course
$54/one-off payment
Fulfill your current learning need
- Access to this course
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Start learning today
Free
Try this course - with limits
- Limited to 3 weeks
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades) Sale price available until 2 November 2026 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply. | |||
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)
Sale price available until 2 November 2026 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
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