Introduction to Financial Statements

This Introduction to Financial Statements online training course is comprised of four modules, which discuss the three financial statements that are commonly used to understand a company’s economic performance: the balance sheet, the income statement, and the cash flow statement. Each statement is prepared regularly so that users inside and outside of the organization can make decisions about the health of the company. For example, management is interested in the quality of an organization's financial statements. They act as a historical record of its ability to put the organization's resources to profitable use. Capital providers are also interested in an organization's financial statements. In this case, financial statements offer insight into the quality of their investment. The first module is an in-depth study of the balance sheet. The second module focuses on developing your understanding of the income statement and the third module, the cash flow statement. The final module explores the debit and credit system of accounting that is used to account for business transactions.

Course Learning Objectives

By taking this online Introduction to Financial Statements course, users will learn:

• Understand the concepts of accountability and corporate governance
• Interpret information found on the balance sheet
• Explore the role the income statement plays in management accountability and its relationship to the balance sheet
• Differentiate between accrual and cash accounting
• Recognize income statement account classifications
• Understand the purpose of the cash flow statement
• Interpret the information from the cash flow statement and understand how it builds a bridge between current and previous financial reports
• Recognize business transactions normally recorded on the debit and credit sales sides of balance sheets and income statement accounts
• Understand the sequence of an accounting cycle

Course Outline

This online Introduction to Financial Statements course is made up of the following sections:

1. Module 1: The Balance Sheet
2. Module 2: The Income Statement
3. Module 3: The Cash Flow Statement
4. Module 4: Recording Transactions

​​​​​​​

Course Audience

This Introduction to Financial Statements online training course was designed for business owners and decision-makers.

 If you have any concerns as to whether this course is appropriate for you or your industry, please browse our full selection of online courses.