Before a bank extends credit, or an investor commits capital, somebody has to answer one basic question: can this company be trusted with money? Answering it starts with knowing how to read a balance sheet and translate financial ratios into a clear judgement about creditworthiness.

This introductory Arab British Fellowship Training Academy course is built for people who work with financial reports and accounting information but have little or no background in corporate finance. It focuses on the numbers behind the risk rather than the risk itself, giving participants a practical, confident grounding in balance sheet analysis, financial terminology, and how a company’s operations show up in its financial statements. The course is delivered by a team of internationally experienced finance professionals.

Who Should Attend?

• Anyone who needs a refresher on the basics of financial analysis before moving into business analysis
• Financial professionals working in credit risk, investment or relationship management
• Underwriters, risk assessors and those involved in trading debtor risk
• Regulators, or people without an accounting background preparing for corporate credit analysis or related courses

Knowledge and Benefits

By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:

• See how a company’s operations and financial activities are reflected in its financial statements
• Understand the main components of a company’s financial statements
• Identify key data points across the balance sheet, profit and loss, cash flow and annual financial statements
• Clearly distinguish between cash flow and profit
• Measure operational, investment and financial performance using the right metrics and cash flow tools

• Why Financial Statements Matter for Credit and Risk Decisions

  • The link between a company’s financial statements and its creditworthiness
  • Who uses this analysis: credit risk, investment and relationship professionals
  • Focusing on the numbers behind the risk, not the risk itself

• Components of the Annual Financial Statement

  • How a company’s business and financial activities are reflected in its financial statements
  • Key components of an annual financial statement
  • Key data across the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow statement

• Cash Flow versus Profit

  • The core difference between cash flow and profit
  • Why this distinction matters for assessing a company’s real financial position

• Measuring Performance with the Right Tools

  • Measuring operational, investment and financial performance
  • Using appropriate financial metrics and cash flow tools
  • Building confidence working with financial ratios and terminology