MBA ASAP Understanding Financial Statements

Course details

Being able to read and understand financial statements is a fundamental skill to understanding how businesses function. Since financial statements are the end product of accounting, understanding them provides the context for understanding accounting. Mastering this skill will help you become a better manager.

Being able to read financial statements will also help you make better investment decisions in the stock market because you will be able to get meaningful information out of an Annual Report or a 10K.

If you are an entrepreneur planning a start up then understanding financial statements is critical for your credibility as you meet with angel investors, bankers, and VCs. 

Why take this course?  Finally understand the numbers side of Business.  Financial Literacy matters to your career and success   Senior executives routinely share and discuss financial data with marketing directors, operations chiefs, and other direct reports. But how much do those managers really understand about finance and the numbers? A recent investigation into this question concluded most managers understand not enough to be useful.  Asked to take a basic financial-literacy exam—a test that any CEO or junior finance person should easily ace—a representative sample of U.S. managers from C-level executives to supervisors scored an average of only 38%.   Lack of financial literacy matters and impacts an organizations ability to optimally perform. Those who can't speak the language of business can't contribute much to a discussion of performance and are unlikely to advance in the hierarchy or reach their full potential.   Does a lack of financial literacy matter? From a managers' point of view, it surely does. Those who can't speak the language of business can't contribute much to a discussion of performance and are unlikely to advance in the hierarchy. They may get caught off guard by financial shenanigans, as many employees at Enron were.

They also are unable to gauge the health of a prospective or current employer.  The CFO of a small manufacturing company often asks candidates for engineering positions whether they would like to review the past two years of the company's financials. None yet have taken him up on the offer—knowing, perhaps, that they could make neither head nor tail of the statements.  People don't tell their bosses that they don't speak finance. It's the usual human reluctance to admit ignorance. In a survey managers were asked what happens in meetings when people don't understand financial data. The majority chose answers reflecting that reluctance, such as "Most people don't ask because they don't want to appear uninformed in front of their boss or peers."  Don't let this be you. Take this course and understand Financial Statements.