Evaluating Financial Performance

Evaluating Financial Performance --- This course introduces basic concepts and methods used in the preparation, interpretation and analysis of corporate financial statements as a source of information for investors and other interested stakeholders. The major objective is to understand the structure, relevance and information content of the basic financial statements - balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows - from the user's perspective. The course emphasizes analysis of cases and actual financial reports and concerns the applications of the basic concepts and methods of financial accounting to issues such as cash flows versus accruals, receivables and revenue recognition, inventory, capital assets, intellectual property, debt securities, corporate ownership, and deferred taxes. Consideration is given to financial statements prepared both under U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards.