Financial Statement Analysis

The course aims to equip students with the tools and techniques to become informed users of financial statement information. Students will learn fundamental accounting principles, understand a wide range of business transactions, and appreciate how users such as equity investors, creditors, financial analysts and managers employ financial accounting information for decision making. Students will also examine the impact of different accounting choices on reported earnings, assets, liabilities and shareholders' equity. By integrating the knowledge of accounting, finance and economics, students will achieve a holistic view on how business transactions are accounted for and the strategic implications of financial statement information. Students will develop skills in analysing financial statements for investment, credit and other business decisions. Throughout the course, real-world applications will be provided to enhance students' learning. Due to large similarities among US Financial Reporting Standards (US GAAP), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (International) (SFRS (I)) for most of the topics covered in this course, we will focus on SFRS (I). Any major differences between SFRS (I) and IFRS (and/or US GAAP) will be highlighted where appropriate. In summary, this course aims to provide students with a strong technical foundation in financial statements analysis from the user perspective