Name: Reading Financial Statements
Rating: 4.87 (4545 reviews)

Overview

Reading Financial Statements Course

Learn how to read financial statements. In this 2-part free course, we use a company’s financial statements and annual report to understand the financial strength of a company and help us make informed decisions.

Reading & Understanding the Balance Sheet

In this first module, we learn how to read the balance sheet and its related notes using a company case study, Espresso Software. This will help us understand the financial strength of the company and help us make informed decisions. By the end of this module, you will have a solid understanding of the specific accounts in a typical balance sheet and the related notes to the financial statements.

Navigate successfully through the notes to the financial statements.
Read and interpret the various items in a published balance sheet.
Understand complex balance sheet concepts (e.g. deferred taxes, goodwill, investments, etc.)

Free Accounting Course - CFI

Reading & Understanding the Income Statement and Cash Flow

In this second module of this free course, we continue reading Espresso Software’s financial statements. We look at the company’s income statement and statement of cash flows and conclude by covering the key contents of an annual report. By the end of this module, you will have a solid understanding of a typical income statement, statement of cash flows and annual report.

Understand the different ways to present an income statement and cash flow statement.
Read and interpret the various items in a published income statement.
Identify the operating, financing, and investing activities of a company.
Determine what is contained in an annual report and where to find it.

How to read financial statements free course

More About This Free Financial Statements Course

This accounting course is highly interactive with many different applied exercises and case studies. Sophisticated search and navigation tools allow you to go at your own pace while pop quizzes test what you have learned. The reading financial statements course also includes two PDF reference guides – a financial statements glossary and an accounting factsheet. These can be used while taking the course and downloaded to your computer for future reference.

Free accounting classes online

Reading Financial Statements

Led by Lisa Dorian

Get Started Enroll For Free

Level 2

Approx 1.5h to complete

100% online and self-paced

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What you'll learn

Lesson

Multimedia

Exams

Files

Introduction

Course introduction

Downloadable files

Understanding the Balance Sheet

Session objectives

Session objectives Draft

Three key financial statements

Balance sheet

Income statement

Statement of cash flows

Simplified balance sheet

Current vs non-current

Interactive exercise 1

Espresso Software balance sheet demonstration

Investments

Deferred income taxes

Interactive exercise 2

Common vs preferred shares

Authorized vs outstanding share capital

Contributed surplus

Other comprehensive income

Interactive exercise 3

Balance sheet component matching exercise

Statement of shareholders' equity

The full disclosure principle

Three key financial statement notes

Significant accounting policies

Direct information

Indirect information

Interactive exercise 4

Noteworthy exercise

Understanding the Income Statement and Cash Flow Statement

Session objectives

Session objectives Draft

The three key financial statements

The income statement

Single step vs multi-step income statement

Cost of sales

Selling, general and administration

Gains and losses

Interactive exercise 5

Espresso Software income statement exercise

The cash flow statement

The cash flow activities

Operating activities

Investing activities

Financing activities

Direct method vs indirect method

Direct method

Indirect method

Key elements in a cash flow statement

Interactive exercise 6

Espresso Software cash flow statement exercise

The benefits of an annual report

Contents of an annual report

Management discussion and analysis

Espresso Software reporting challenge exercise

Summary

Qualified Assessment

Qualified assessment

This Course is Part of the Following Programs

Why stop here? Expand your skills and show your expertise with the professional certifications, specializations, and CPE credits you’re already on your way to earning.

Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)® Certification

Reading Financial Statements is part of the Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)® certification, which includes 41 courses.

Skills Learned Financial modeling and valuation, sensitivity analysis, strategy
Career Prep Investment banking and equity research, FP&A, corporate development

Learn More

Financial Planning & Wealth Management (FPWM)™ Certification

Reading Financial Statements is part of the Financial Planning & Wealth Management (FPWM)™ certification, which includes 26 courses.

Skills Learned Financial Learning, Business Development, Investment Management, Practice Management, Relationship Management
Career Prep Financial Planner, Investment Advisor, Portfolio Manager

Learn More

What our students say

Amazing Content
Please dont skip this class.

Stephen Lott

It was an interesting experience
The course was structured in a brief manner covering the important elements of the financial statements along with establishing a link with the basic fundamentals of accounting. The video solutions for the assignments/task related to the Annual Reports, Notes of Financial Statements, etc., can be added to this course.

Mohit Sharma

overall nice
happy to know the content

Akshatha N M

Best Financial Course
One of the best courses I've ever done.

Huzaifa Ansari

Amazing Overall experience till now
Hi all, Just a bit of background, I have passed CFA Level 1, have done bachelors in management studies from Delhi University and have done a number of other courses as well but this course is by far the best I have ever undertaken. I am saying so because of the content, ease of understanding the concepts, easy language, interactive interface, nature of exercises embedded in between videos and many other reasons!! All the best to all others who are pursuing this course, hope we all make the best out of this course.

POOJITA SRIVASTAVA

Good educational platform for all entire worldddd.

Mala Nurmalasari

Informative and fun
The UI is awesome, and so is the content.

Aditya Purohit

Wonderful learning experience
Thanks for creating an opportunity to help me deepen my knowledge in reading financial statments.

Ngozi Christophin Sam-Imide

The notes are way to much summarized. Needs more explanation; so as to help revise concepts from notes in future.

Jayaditya Singh Chandel

A WONDERFUL COURSE WITH RELEVANT INFORMATION FOR EVERY ACCOUNTANT
EVERY ACCOUNTANT SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE

EMMANUEL JATTO

1 min videos with hub of finance knowledge
In-depth bite size videos makes courses more interesting.

Shalvi Shete

Cfi courses are easy understanding
The course was exciting and easy understanding.

Abdulrahman Muhammed Abdullahi

THE GATEWAY TO A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN FINANCE
The concepts are explained in a clear and accessible way for everyone.

Ken M. Muhia

Just take it you will learn a lot and not lose much time either
It's very accurate in terms of the time you would take to complete. Exactly 1.5 hr. or even lesser to get it done and still have a decent start point to interpreting a financial statement.

Sandeep Prakasan

1 This course is very well laid out
Learning to read financial statements is a valuable lesson to learn. I think any improvement to my understanding of how to evaluate a company from a financial perspective, adds value to my personal financial goals. This course is very thorough in breaking down all the nuances that come with learning how to read financial statements.

Major Todd

Great Course
Important course for finance graduates

Bhuvaneshwaran Balamurugan

Worth your time
Really more professional than I expected.When I am available, I will definitely make time for other courses that interest me.

Furkan Akay

Clear and intuitive explaination
Eeveryone should attend this course

Andrea Cerroni

A great resource to learn all about finance and accounting
Courses are great to watch, has fun interactive challenges to test what you learn as you progress throughout the course. Also love the certificates for completing each course!! Thank you CFI!

Sikandar Shah

This is a great institute
I’m happy to tell you getting to study with this institute is the best decision you’ve made and an excellent opportunity taken.

Afeez Hammed

But one Flaw
A monthly subscription or payment should be allowed

Oluwatosin Jacob

Special Thanks
A very important and effective training course. Thank you for providing it for free

Ahmed Mohamed Rashad Tahoun

i found all is well that required for this course

Muhammad Hasham

Fantastic
Every body can have a chance of life long learning with CFI,

Ayele Mulugeta

Awesome
I had a superb experience, most especially trying to thing through the questions and getting the right answers.

Vintia Akani

Excellent start on accounting
You'll navigate on the main topics of financial statements and learn the differences between them.

Claudio Costa Studart Soares Filho

The course if for free and it is very good. Explained in simplie terms.

Nidhi Shetty

Excellent
It's really insightful

Iseoluwa Oyeleke

GREAT
I Wish I started my journey with CFI earlier before now anyways I am getting there.

Mari Dauda

Excellent
Coursera, but for Finance, and better UI.

Juan Pablo Vollert

Fantastic
It's a very cool learning platform that everyone should explore

Veronica Akinse

Best in class
I wish this would be in my college time.

Bhupender Singh Dogra

Compact with proper example and report
Compact with proper example and report.

Shyashree Chatterjee

Basic Accounting Information
If you need proper guidance about professional accounting CFI is the best.

ARIFUL ISLAM

Best course for understanding the financial statements
The quality of content, Knowledge of instructor is very good, you will understand the improvement in your knowledge after completing this course.

Nitesh Sawant

Excellent
More Interesting Training

Wahab Abiona

good course
I thoroughly enjoyed the learning materials and videos.

Datta Eswar Tangeti

That course is very helpful

Kiran Gajare

Must Read
Very helpfull to have a complete overview of what the company financial position is based on the 3 key financial statements

Siddhartha Jha

Prepping for the World of Finance
The knowledge gained has adequately prepped me up for the world of finance. It was an abundance of learning experiences.

Timothy Uyanah

Reading Financial Statement
I now have a basic clue of the course in terms of reviewing and understanding these financial documents as to how they can provide you with valuable insights about a company, including: Its debts and ability to repay them. Profits and/or losses for a given quarter or year. Whether profit has increased or decreased compared to similar past accounting periods.

Cecil Ncekana

Good experience
This course is very useful for learning Reading Financial Statement.

Abdul Basit

Superb
The instructor was knowledgeable and effective in delivering the course.

HABEEB TAIWO

Great Learning Experience
Very Helpful and enriching learning platform

Vaibhav Mungshe

Interesting and concise
the course is easy to follow; it is fast to learn main concepts; and it has good real life examples to test your knowldge from the course

Valentina Popovska

It's a very good place for all students for learning purpose this website encourage & increase the students confidence ✨✨✨✨

Muhammad Umair Rasheed

it was great
it helped me a lot in providing a headstart inn my career

Shrinidhi Sriram

excellent
CFI is a place to be for finance student

ADEOSUN ADEKUNLE

Great content
Contents of any course of CFI are very interesting.

Karan Mistry

Informative
Educative . Detailed

Tinashe Farai Gada

Wow, tutors are really good. Kudos

OSUJI FAVOUR

Thoroughly Done But a Huge Number of Segments
The number of segments contained in this course was surprisingly large. I felt I had to go over the core content twice before I felt comfortable taking the assessment. That being said, it was well done and a thorough overview.

Brian Canada

I experienced an excellent understanding

Abdillah Juma

Very excellent experience
Very excellent experience

Tamer Mohamed Mahmoud Elaywa

VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE COURSE
VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE COURSE

NAJIBULLAH INAMI

Clear and crisp
Very well designed to understand reading Financial Statements

Akib Shaikh

It was a nice experience

Onyinyechi Christiana Ugochukwu

Quick but thorough
the structure was excellent

Adam Hanzely

very satisfied
Much recommended for starters. Contents are precise and clear.

Bhaskar Kumar

Exhilarating
The course is comprehensive with informative materials that allows the reader to have an in-depth understanding of the financial statements.

Dennis Kamau

Awesome this far
I’m moving over to the paid service

Emmanuel Madzvamuse

Great
Extremely beneficial

MULONDA SOOKA

Good
Able to learn the basics of reading financial statement. Good.

jagadeesh kumar.r

good
Thanks for the course

Mutwakil Abdalla

Great Content
The content provides a good refresher before the hard work begins

Anika Clarke

Very best plateform built any skills

Deepak Kumar

Excellent
As detailed and well explained as possible.

Morenikeji Alabi

I am very impressed by the organized content and the teaching skills. Very useful content and everyone can understand and learn from scratch.

Chetan Paliwal

knowledgeable
very informative and easy to grasp

Vidhi Patel

Enlightening and Interesting
The course Reading Financial Statements is very impactful, educating and interesting. The instructor is knowledgeable.

Adejoke Bamgboye

This course has increased my experience of Finance.

EBOU S TAMBA

Wonderful Course
It helps learners to know how to read and interpret financial statements in best way possible ^_^

Charu Singh

Good head start
Its nice to have a refresher in advance

Shadrack Alosa

Very educative and informative course
CFI is a wonderful learning platform for any person wishing to achieve quality financial information and knowledge growth

Abubakar Bachani

Good engaging learning
Recommended for beginners

Venkata surendra Yarra

teaching method is very good.

Usama Khan

i love the course 2
I have the course and would recommend to my colleagues and friends.

Shujauddin Jalali

good
the exercises were very challenging and engaging

AJONG BERYL NDONKE

Great Platform to move towards progression
I must recommend every one to avail this opportunity and be the one to get enrolled in the course and extend your knowledge about financial statements

Afzaal Hussain

Very positive experience but there are still some little aspects that must be improved
Some concepts were treated very lightly without being well explained. For example, the difference between unrecorded and deferred income. However, my overall experience is good.

Miguel Arribas Barreras

Great Course
It gives you more insight into each component of every financial statement and how to better understand the operational and financial performance of a company by looking into their notes to their financial statements

Daysi Lizardo

Superb Course
Expanded my understanding in many ways that I couldn´t possible get through before. Course well structured, quiz and assignments relevant for day-to-day activities.

VLADMIR SATULA

great
good for gaining basic knowledge and moving towards complex courses is easy after doing these courses. i am an incoming mba student.

Jaikumar Jadhav

Extremely helpful 123
Extremely helpful and it is worth your time..

Kevin Edmondson

Perfect
I found the material to be well-organized, comprehensive, and engaging. The course content was presented in a clear and concise manner, and exercises were very helpful.

Pelesa Molefi

Brief but informative
The course covered the fundamental knowledge on the topic.

Abbos Juraev

superb and user friendly, easy to understand and apply

MAHESH BENDIGERI

good refresher
Good class for reminders of components of a financial statement

Tamra Garber

Awesome and Enjoyable
Please use CFI for deeper understanding of any course offered here

Rotich Zephania

Good course
Good informative course to study

Sonali Kumari

Great and easy to understand
Great learning experience.

Angus McCone

My experience was a good one on this course
It is educative and a good one to start with on one's knowledge in finance

Ruth Igberaese

This course helps people to build their accounting career path

Mohamed Abd El Monem Abd El Rahman Osman

The course is elaborative and very informing

Seth Opande

Authentic
I recently did the course, and I must say, it exceeded my expectations. It was knowledgeable, engaging, and provided practical examples that were easy to understand. The course covered all the essential topics. The course was also up-to-date with the latest accounting standards and regulations, which made it even more valuable. I learned a lot from this course and came away feeling more confident in my ability to analyze financial statements effectively. Overall, I highly recommend this financial statement course to anyone who wants to improve their financial literacy.

ARNOLD OLUNJA

Good for brush up your accounting fundamental
This course is good because it helps you to review your accounting knowledge and it is not difficult to understand at all.

Siriporn Rangsisophin

Very Good And Informative Couse for a refresher to all the Finance Students.

zahid sarangwala

Great program
Pushes you to complete each assignement and ace exam.

Daniil Ostroumov

Great program
Pushes you to complete each assignement and ace exam.

Daniil Ostroumov

KOFFI Koffi Joel

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Absolutely! All the files and templates needed in a course are available for download. Just look for a module that shows Downloadable Files within the course dashboard. See here for a visual guide on how to do this.

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