AMA’s Course on Financial Analysis

Master financial analysis and keep your profit outlook right on the money. Accurate financial analysis is a fundamental element of growth, strategy and overall success. Understanding how to use financial indicators and benchmarks allows you to allocate resources and evaluate potential projects for maximum return-on-investment. Financial analysis takes the guesswork out of the planning process and enables you to keep tabs on how your business is performing.

If your job requires a firm grasp of financial situations, then this hands-on comprehensive workshop is for you. You’ll review proven analytical tools and develop a keen understanding of how and when to use them to improve your company’s profit picture.

Also Available as:

• Onsite

How You Will Benefit

• Identify current vital financial indicators that are important to your organization
• Comprehend financial forecasting techniques that can enable management to make truly informed decisions
• Apply methods that can improve your company's profit picture and your stockholders' investment
• Know your firm's finances and what that means for the present and future

What You Will Cover

Your Role in Corporate Planning

• Strategic planning
• Capital budgeting
• Financial forecasting

How to Increase Company Value

• Drivers of shareholder value creation
• Economic Value-Added model

How to Evaluate Capital Investment Proposals

• How to use financial forecasting to make accurate evaluations of proposed projects
• Income tax aspects of capital investments
• Alternative investment proposals

How to Measure Management Performance

• Balance sheet analysis—DuPont formula, ROI, ROA, ROE
• Evaluating profit margins, asset turnover (efficiency) and leverage
• Income statement analysis—EPS, ROS
• Past performance and project outcomes
• Benchmarking company performance

How to Use Cash Flow Analysis

• Cash flow from operations, investing and financing
• Ratios and metrics you can use
• Identifying patterns of value
• Interpreting FAS 95— "Statement of Cash Flows"
• Cash flow performance indicators—profitability, liquidity and solvency

How to Interpret and Evaluate Financial Information

• Financial statement analysis
• Managing capital—debt and equity
• What a financial analyst looks for
• Utilizing “Value Line” reports

Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM): How to Calculate Present Value

• The time value of money
• Internal rate of return (IRR)
• Net present value (NPV)
• Calculation of compound growth rate
• Estimation, payback and terminal value
• Discounted cash flow

Extended Seminar Outline

Print this page Extended Seminar Outline Seminar #1552 Learning Objectives

• Analyze Financial Statements
• Apply Financial Analysis Methods and Tools to Measure Performance Against Internal and External Standards and Industry Benchmarks
• Make Sound Decisions Based on Accurate Assessments of Business Performance and Results
• Ask Better Questions to Gain a Clearer Understanding of the Business, and Focus Attention on Areas of Greatest Impact
• More Effectively Manage Value in the Business

The Nature of Financial Analysis

• List the Principal Questions Answered By Financial Analysis
• Identify the Financial Statement Sources of Data Used in Financial Analysis
• List the Major Tools Used in Financial Analysis

The Planning Cycle

• Identify Components of the Planning Cycle
• Describe the Role of the Financial Analyst

Income Statement and Balance Sheet

• Identify Key Accounts and Subtotals of the Income Statement
• Identify the Major Sections of the Balance Sheet and How Analysts Use Them
• Explain Why Companies Own Assets and How They Pay for Them
• Use Common Size Financial Statements

Measurement of Performance

• Calculate the Solvency Ratios, Liquidity Ratios, and Profitability Ratios
• Explain How Ratios Relate to the Creation of Shareholder Value
• Define How Growth Rates Are Used to Indicate Performance

Cash Flow

• Analyze a Company’s Gross Cash Flow from Operating, Investing and Financing Activities
• Describe Why an Analysis That Fails to Take Cash Flow into Account Is Inadequate
• Define a Company’s Free Cash Flow
• Use Cash Metrics to Measure Value Creation

Creating Shareholder Value

• Calculate a Company’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital and Total Capital in Accordance with CAPM
• Use Bond Rating Information to Manage Leverage

Analyzing Enterprise Investments: The Theory of Interest and the Time Value of Money

• Use a Financial Calculator
• Calculate Future Value, Present Value, and Compound Growth Rates
• Calculate the Present and Future Value of an Annuity and Annuity Payments
• Calculate and Understand Internal Rate of Return
• Calculate the Present Value of a Perpetuity

Analyzing Enterprise Investments: Capital Project Evaluation

• Define the Steps Necessary to Perform a Capital Project Evaluation
• Create a Spreadsheet to Describe a Project
• Choose a Hurdle Rate for a Project
• Apply the Major Techniques: NPV, IRR, EPVI, Payback
• Give a Definition of Terminal Value
• Price an Acquisition

Who Should Attend

Managers with financial responsibility or seeking a refresher in analysis - including financial analysts, accountants, project managers, budget analysts, vice presidents of finance, controllers and treasurers.

Note: Please bring your organization’s financial statement and a financial calculator, HP 12C or equivalent.

Recommended CPE credit: 21 hours/Advanced
Recommended for optimum learning benefit: familiarity with fundamentals of finance (seminar #2218) and accounting (seminar # 1210)
Instructional Method - Group Live

Special Feature

AMA Blended Learning combines instructor-led training with online pre- and post-seminar assessments, tune-up courses and other resources to maximize your training goals. Through a blend of proven instructor-led seminars and powerful online technology, AMA Blended Learning provides a compelling and more comprehensive experience for the learner - producing a greater return-on-investment for the employer and the seminar participant.