Accounting and Financial Statement Analysis

Part I (“Accounting”):

1. Fundamentals, closing operations, and impacts on cash flows
2. Detailed analysis of asset accounts
3. Detailed analysis of liability accounts
4. Detailed analysis of the income statement and appropriations of result

Part II (“Financial Statement Analysis”):

1. Balance sheets and income statements across different industries/sectors
2. Managerial view of the balance sheet (Net Working Capital, Working Capital Requirement, Net Liquid Balance) and critical ratio analysis
3. Cash flow statement and interpretations
4. Financial analysis of a growing SME
5. Introduction to financial planning and sustainable growth
6. Financial plan for a debt-financed acquisition

At the end of Part I (“Accounting”), students will be able to:

· Understand and apply the fundamental concepts of accounting

· Manage accounting matters effectively in collaboration with an accountant and engage in a well-argued discussion with a CFO

· Interpret financial statements in a managerial and critical way

· Understand the fundamental differences between accounting and finance

At the end of Part II (“Financial Statement Analysis”), students will be able to:

· Master the essential accounting and financial mechanisms

· Conduct a financial analysis that integrates financial planning concepts

· Gain a better understanding of managerial requirements in relation to financial statements

· Communicate with an organization’s financial executives and raise the right questions

Required and Corequired knowledge and skills

Introduction to Accounting 

Required and corequired courses

- Theoretical lectures

- Practical exercises

- Case studies (to be prepared in advance)

Course notes

• Université virtuelle

Contacts

benjamin.lorent@solvay.ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• written examination
• Group work

written examination

Group work

Final grade = Written exam on Accounting ("Part 1", Q1, 70%) + Group Assignement on Financial Statement Analysis ("Part 2", Q2, 30%) with an oral presentation. The final written exam is a closed-book exam. The professor reserves the right to invite any student to an additional oral examination in order to verify their personal mastery of the content of the submitted exam, particularly where inconsistencies identified in the exam prevent the professor from properly assessing the student’s level of knowledge and skills covered by the course.

Deferrals from one exam session to another are granted only in accordance with the faculty regulations for the final course grade (with no exceptions). A partial deferral is automatic, from one session to the next only, for each component with a grade equal to or higher than 10/20. Consequently, in the case of a resit, any component(s) with a grade lower than 10/20 must be retaken.

The above indications regarding the calculation of the final grade remain applicable in the resit session.

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

• If both parts are passed:
–The final grade is the weighted average of the grades obtained in Part I (“Accounting”, weighted at 70%) and Part II (“Financial Statement Analysis”, weighted at 30%).

• If one of the two parts of the course is failed (i.e. a grade below 10/20 in either part):

–The lowest grade obtained (either in Part I, “Accounting”, or Part II, “Financial Statement Analysis”) will be the final grade.

Language(s) of evaluation

• english