Financial Analysis Essentials: Analyse Performance and Value Companies
Master financial analysis, ratio analysis, and company valuation to make confident business and investment decisions.
Duration
3 weeksWeekly study
1 hourLanguages
English, Español, Italiano, Français, PortuguêsEnglish, Español100% online
How it works
Financial Analysis Essentials: Analyse Performance and Value Companies
This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.
Turn financial data into confident business decisions
Every number tells a story - but only if you know how to read it.
Whether you’re assessing an investment opportunity, evaluating business performance, or supporting strategic decisions, financial analysis provides the tools to separate strong companies from struggling ones.
On this practical course, you’ll build the analytical skills used by financial analysts, investment bankers, and corporate finance professionals.
Working with real-world financial data, you’ll learn how to measure company performance, interpret financial statements, and value businesses using industry-standard techniques.
Measure business performance with confidence
Start by learning how to assess a company’s financial health.
You’ll calculate and interpret key profitability, liquidity, solvency, and efficiency ratios, while using DuPont analysis to understand what drives business performance beneath the surface.
These core metrics provide the foundation for stronger financial decision-making.
Apply professional valuation techniques
Next, discover how organisations and investors estimate what a business is truly worth.
You’ll work through discounted cash flow (DCF) models, market multiples, and comparative valuation techniques used across investment banking, corporate finance, and consulting.
Along the way, you’ll understand the strengths and limitations of each approach.
Build practical financial analysis skills
Finally, you’ll bring your learning together using interactive dashboards and hands-on valuation models.
You’ll identify financial trends, highlight operational risks, and communicate insights that support investment and strategic business decisions.
By the end of the course, you’ll have developed practical financial analysis skills that can be applied immediately in professional finance roles.
Syllabus
Week 1
Financial Analysis Essentials: Analyse Performance and Value Companies
Lesson 1 : Introduction to Financial Statements
Introduces financial statements, their purpose, how they connect, and key industry-specific nuances that shape interpretation and analysis.
Lesson 2 : Income Statement Deep Dive
Provides a focused examination of the income statement, covering its structure, revenue segmentation, EPS, and comprehensive income.
Lesson 3 : Balance Sheet & Cash Flow Analysis
Examines key balance sheet components and cash flow sections, highlighting how they support liquidity, solvency, and overall financial analysis.
Week 2
IFRS Accounting Policies & Analyst Implications
Lesson 4 : Depreciation & Amortisation, and Revenue (IFRS 15, IAS 16/IAS 38)
Explores IFRS policies for depreciation, amortisation, and revenue recognition, showing how key assumptions, methods, and analyst adjustments affect financial metrics, comparability, and performance assessment.
Lesson 5 : Inventory, Consolidation, and Provisions (IAS 2, IFRS 10, IAS 37)
Examines IFRS policies for inventory, consolidation, and provisions, showing how cost formulas, group structures, and provision recognition affect reported results, comparability, red flags, and analyst adjustments.
Lesson 6 : Key Differences in Accounting Standards (IFRS vs US GAAP) for Analysts
Highlights key IFRS and US GAAP differences affecting financial analysis, including revenue, leases, inventory, and consolidation, with a focus on cross-jurisdiction comparability adjustments.
Week 3
Detecting Financial Misrepresentations
Lesson 7 : Revenue Manipulation Tactics
Examines common revenue manipulation tactics, including premature recognition and channel stuffing, helping learners identify red flags, assess reporting impacts, and evaluate revenue quality.
Lesson 8 : Expense & Liability Manipulation
Explores expense misclassification, improper cost capitalization, and understated liabilities, helping learners identify manipulation tactics and adjust reported figures for a clearer view of financial health.
Lesson 9 : One-offs, Policy Changes, and Analyst Adjustments
Covers non-recurring items, policy changes, and other comparability distortions, helping learners build normalization checklists, interpret disclosures, and reconstruct adjusted earnings for more accurate analysis.
Lesson 10 : Course Conclusion
Concludes Foundations of Financial Analysis by reinforcing statement analysis, accounting policy interpretation, misrepresentation detection, and comparability adjustments.
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...
- Apply financial statement analysis to explain and interlink income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
- Apply IFRS accounting policy knowledge to interpret depreciation, amortisation, revenue recognition, inventory, consolidation, and provisions, including relevant differences from US GAAP.
- Apply analyst judgment to detect common financial misrepresentations and make adjustments that improve comparability.
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for aspiring financial analysts, finance professionals, and students who want to strengthen their financial analysis and valuation skills. It’s ideal for learners preparing for careers in investment banking, corporate finance, financial consulting, or related business roles.
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
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- 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
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- 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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