This course covers current practices in corporate financial reporting and fundamental issues relating to asset valuation and income determination. The emphasis is on financial statement analysis and interpretation of financial disclosures to help improve risk assessment, forecasting, and decision‐making.
The course utilizes a combination of lectures, case discussions and analyses, numerical exercises.
Learning Outcomes
- Have a framework for analyzing a business. We will incorporate key elements that you have learned in your other classes and apply this knowledge systematically to value a business
- Become familiar with the organization and disclosure of information reported in 10-K filings and the notes to the financial statements. You will have a detailed understanding of assets and liabilities reported on the balance sheet. You will also understand what assets and liabilities are NOT reported under accounting rules and determine the importance of these off-balance sheet items for understanding the value of a business
- You will understand how accounting errors (either intentional manipulation by management or unintentional mistakes) impact reported income and the book value of equity in a particular year and over time
- Be proficient at calculating and interpreting financial ratios. You will understand how to use ratios to compare a firm to its competitors and to evaluate changes in ratios over time. You will also know how to use these ratios to help forecast the future
- Learn about earnings announcements and the reporting of GAAP and non-GAAP earnings numbers
