Understanding Financial Statements, Ratio Analysis and Valuation
Learn to interpret financial statements, analyse business performance, and value companies with confidence.
Duration
3 weeksWeekly study
1 hourLanguages
English, Español, Italiano, Français, PortuguêsEnglish, Español100% online
How it works
Understanding Financial Statements, Ratio Analysis and Valuation
This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.
Interpret the numbers behind every business decision
Behind every successful investment, acquisition, or strategic decision is one essential skill: understanding a company’s financial story.
Financial statements reveal far more than revenue and profit. They uncover how a business operates, where risks exist, and whether performance is sustainable over time.
On this practical course, you’ll develop the analytical skills used by finance professionals to interpret financial statements, evaluate business performance, and build reliable company valuations.
Working through real-world examples, you’ll learn how financial data becomes meaningful business insight.
Understand what financial statements really reveal
Begin by exploring the three core financial statements - the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement — and discover how they work together to present a complete picture of business performance.
You’ll also examine key IFRS accounting standards, understand important differences with US GAAP, and learn how accounting policies influence reported results.
Measure performance through ratio analysis
You’ll calculate and interpret profitability, liquidity, and efficiency ratios while applying ROA, ROE, and DuPont analysis to understand the drivers of company performance.
Along the way, you’ll identify financial red flags and learn how analysts adjust financial statements to improve comparability.
Turn financial data into investment insight
You’ll combine ratio analysis with practical valuation techniques to assess company performance, identify business risks, and communicate findings clearly using portfolio-ready financial analysis.
By the end of the course, you’ll have the confidence to interpret financial statements, evaluate companies more effectively, and support strategic business decisions.
Syllabus
Week 1
Profitability Analysis
Lesson 1 : Margins & Cost Structure
Covers gross, operating, and net margins, helping learners interpret profitability, understand business model and cost structure drivers, and benchmark performance across industries.
Lesson 2 : Returns on Assets & Equity
Explores ROA, ROE, and DuPont analysis, helping learners decompose return drivers and assess company performance, efficiency, and long-term sustainability.
Lesson 3 : Profitability Quality & EBITDA
Examines earnings quality and EBITDA, helping learners understand profitability ratio limitations, accounting policy impacts, and the connection between EBITDA and cash flow.
Week 2
Liquidity, Solvency & Efficiency
Lesson 4 : Liquidity Ratios — Short-term Liquidity & Coverage
Introduces current and quick ratios, helping learners interpret liquidity across business contexts, monitor short-term financial health, and stress-test liquidity through dashboards.
Lesson 5 : Solvency Ratios — Leverage & Coverage
Covers debt-to-equity and interest coverage ratios, helping learners assess long-term financial stability, monitor leverage risk, and identify potential solvency concerns.
Lesson 6 : Efficiency Ratios — Working Capital & Turnover
Examines inventory and receivables turnover, helping learners track working capital performance, identify operational risks, and monitor efficiency KPIs using Excel and AI.
Week 3
Valuation Methods — Market Multiples, DCF, and Comparables
Lesson 7 : Market Multiples — Price-based and Value-based Multiples
Introduces valuation using P/E, P/B, and dividend yield, helping learners select appropriate multiples, adjust for non-recurring items, and interpret valuation signals.
Lesson 8 : Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Valuation
Guides learners through DCF valuation, including cash flow forecasting, discount rate estimation, terminal value calculation, and practical assumption-building using AI-powered tools.
Lesson 9 : Comparable Company & Transaction Analysis
Covers comparable company and precedent transaction analysis, helping learners select relevant peers, adjust for accounting differences, build comps tables, and visualize valuation ranges.
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 profitability metrics to analyze business performance.
- Apply liquidity, solvency, and efficiency ratios to evaluate an organization's financial health.
- Apply valuation techniques, including market multiples, discounted cash flow (DCF), and comparable company analysis, to estimate business value.
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for aspiring financial analysts, finance students, and professionals who want to strengthen their financial statement analysis, ratio analysis, and valuation skills. It’s ideal for learners preparing for careers in investment banking, corporate finance, consulting, or financial planning.
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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