Program Outline

I. Program Overview - Examining key elements of Financial Statements, why they are important

A. What are financial statements, key elements, what they represent
B. Why financial statements are important in business
C. Who uses financial statements to help plan, who should be using them
D. How financial statements are developed
E. How financial statements can be used in decision making
F. How financial statements affect your organization
G. How major projects are evaluated and funding approved
H. How cost accounting operates in determining a department's performance

II. Accounting Principles - Understanding the "big picture"

A. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
B. Conservatism
C. Internal Control
D. Materiality
E. Adequate Disclosure

III. How Accounting Systems Function - How they are audited by examining journal entries

A. Types of Financial Statements, which are the most reliable
B. The Dual Entry Accounting System
C. The Balance Sheet
D. The Income Statement
E. The Retained Earnings Statement
F. Comprehensive Income Statement
G. Financial Statements Footnotes

IV. Accounting Concepts - Learning what calculations and inner workings are used in your organization and why

A. Cash vs. Accrual Accounting
B. LIFO vs. FIFO
C. Dollar Value FIFO
D. Capitalization vs. Expensed
E. Goodwill Calculation
F. Deferred Taxes

V. Accounting Classification - The first step in financial analysis

A. Current Assets
B. Current Liabilities
C. Fixed Assets
D. Intangible Assets
E. Long Haul Debt
F. Owner's Equity

VI. Financial Analysis - from your viewpoint, what you need to know

A. What does Financial Analysis mean?
B. What you need to look for in determining your company's financial health
C. What you should be looking for as an investor or manager
D. How financial professionals determine financial risks
E. Ratio Analysis
    1. Liquidity Ratios
    2. Leverage Ratios
    3. Operating Ratios
    4. Profitability Ratios
    5. Bankruptcy Predictors
    6. Security Analysis

VII. The World of EBITDA - What it means

A. Uses of EBITDA
B. What it tells you and the "rest of the world"
C. What EDBITDA does not tell you
    1. Overstating cash flow
    2. Misleading measure of liquidity
    3. Changes in working capital
    4. Omitted expenses
    5. Capital expenditures
D. Why you need to understand EBITDA as a benchmark

VIII. Capital Budget Analysis - Learn to better plan for the future of your department

A. Break even analysis
B. Net present value analysis
C. Internal rate of return
D. Pay back period
E. Weighted cost of capital analysis

IX. Cost Accounting - From inventory to overhead, how to add it all up

A. Inventory
    1. Inventory and profitability
    2. Lower of costs or market
    3. Finished goods
    4. Work in progress
    5. Raw materials
B. Direct Costs
C. Indirect Costs
D. Overhead allocation
E. Standard costs
F. Equivalent costs
G. Direct materials
    1. Price variance
    2. Quantity variance
H. Labor
    1. Rate variance
    2. Time variance
I. Factory overhead
J. LIFO vs. FIFO
K. Dollar value LIFO

X. Budgeting, an important building block of a solid financial plan

A. Sales Forecast / Budget
B. Cost of goods sold budget
    1. Direct materials budget
    2. Direct labor budget
    3. Factory overhead budget
C. Sales and general administration budget (SG&A)
D. Capital expenditures budget
E. Cash budget

XI. Recognizing and preventing forgery, embezzlement and fraud

A. System of checks and balances
B. When assets are really expenses
C. Recognizing revenue in the correct period
D. How to correctly document inter and intra-company sales
E. Gross vs. Net
F. Compensation vs. reimbursement

XXII. Course Wrap Up and Discussion