Financial statements

The three statements every company publishes, taken one at a time and then together. You learn the question each answers, how to read margins, classified balance sheets and cash flow sections, and how a single event travels through all three.

The real examples here are Titan, a manufacturer and retailer with a balance sheet full of stock, and Info Edge, an online business whose balance sheet is mostly investments. Reading two such different companies with the same method is the point.

5 lessons, about 1 hour 56 minutes of reading in all. Start at the top and go in order.

After this module you will be able to

• name the three statements and the question each answers
• compute gross, operating and net margins and read what sits below the profit line
• place any item in the right block of a classified balance sheet
• classify cash movements as operating, investing or financing
• trace profit, cash and equity across the three statements

The lessons

1. Introduction to Financial Statements21 minThe three financial statements and the question each answers, shown through one shop's first eight events and Titan's real FY2023-24 accounts.
2. The Income Statement24 minMargins, EPS and what sits below the profit line, with a live calculator and two real income statements, Titan's and Info Edge's.
3. The Balance Sheet22 minBuild a classified balance sheet block by block, then read the real balance sheets of Titan and Info Edge with four simple questions.
4. The Cash Flow Statement24 minSort fifteen events into operating, investing and financing cash flows, then read Titan's real FY2023-24 cash flow statement section by section.
5. How the Three Statements Connect25 minSee profit, cash and the balance sheet move together in a live one-year model, then trace the joins in Titan's and Info Edge's real accounts.

Start with the first lesson