Accounting Analyst Course

Lesson 1 • Introduction to Financial Reporting Standards

Surveys globally accepted reporting frameworks and their core principles. Sets the compliance context for all financial statement preparation covered later.

Lesson 2 • Chart of Accounts and Account Types

Explains how accounts are organised and coded within a business. Connects account structure to efficient data retrieval and financial reporting.

Lesson 3 • The Accounting Equation and Double-Entry

Introduces assets, liabilities, and equity as the structural backbone of accounting. Establishes how every transaction maintains balance through debits and credits.

Lesson 4 • Accrual vs. Cash Basis Accounting

Contrasts recognition timing under each method and explains why accrual basis dominates professional reporting. Grounds students in revenue and expense matching.

Lesson 1 • Trial Balance Review and Close Process

Guides the systematic review of an adjusted trial balance for errors before closing. Executes closing entries and prepares a post-closing trial balance.

Lesson 2 • Allowances and Provisions

Explains estimation-based entries for bad debts, warranty obligations, and restructuring costs. Builds judgment in distinguishing provisions from contingent liabilities.

Lesson 3 • Depreciation and Amortisation Entries

Covers straight-line, declining-balance, and units-of-production methods. Connects asset aging to balance sheet carrying values and income statement charges.

Lesson 4 • Inventory Adjustments and Valuation

Addresses physical count reconciliation, write-downs, and cost flow assumptions. Demonstrates how inventory errors cascade into multi-period income distortions.

Lesson 1 • Income Statement Construction

Covers revenue recognition, cost of goods sold, and operating expense classification. Builds a multi-step income statement from raw account balances.

Lesson 2 • Statement of Financial Position Preparation

Explains current and non-current classification, asset valuation, and liability ordering. Links statement of financial position balances to the income statement and equity section.

Lesson 3 • Statement of Cash Flows

Distinguishes operating, investing, and financing activities and builds the statement using both direct and indirect methods. Highlights cash flow as a key solvency indicator.

Lesson 4 • Statement of Changes in Equity

Tracks movements in share capital, retained earnings, and other reserves across a reporting period. Connects dividend decisions and comprehensive income to equity balances.

Lesson 1 • Trend and Comparative Analysis

Applies horizontal and vertical analysis to detect performance shifts over time. Introduces peer benchmarking to contextualise ratio results.

Lesson 2 • Liquidity and Working Capital Ratios

Measures a company's ability to meet short-term obligations using current assets. Establishes baseline benchmarks for healthy working capital management.

Lesson 3 • Efficiency and Activity Ratios

Evaluates how effectively a company converts assets into revenue. Highlights operational bottlenecks in receivables, payables, and inventory cycles.

Lesson 4 • Leverage and Solvency Ratios

Assesses long-term financial risk through debt structure and coverage metrics. Connects capital structure decisions to creditor and investor risk perception.

Lesson 1 • Capital Expenditure Budgeting

Covers the identification, prioritisation, and approval of capital projects within budget constraints. Links capex decisions to depreciation schedules and cash flow projections.

Lesson 2 • Forecasting and Reforecast Cycles

Updates financial projections mid-period using actuals and revised assumptions. Distinguishes forecast accuracy from budget compliance as separate performance metrics.

Lesson 3 • Budget Types and Planning Frameworks

Distinguishes static, flexible, rolling, and zero-based budgets and their appropriate use cases. Frames budgeting as a strategic planning and resource allocation tool.

Lesson 4 • Variance Analysis Techniques

Decomposes budget-to-actual gaps into price, volume, and mix components. Provides a structured method for explaining variances to management.

Lesson 1 • Cost Classification and Behaviour

Distinguishes fixed, variable, semi-variable, and step costs and their behaviour at different output levels. Provides the cost structure foundation for all subsequent analysis.

Lesson 2 • Management Reporting and KPI Dashboards

Designs concise management reports that translate cost data into actionable insights. Selects and presents KPIs aligned with operational and strategic objectives.

Lesson 3 • Contribution Margin and CVP Analysis

Uses contribution margin to analyse breakeven, target profit, and margin of safety. Supports pricing and product mix decisions with quantitative evidence.

Lesson 4 • Activity-Based Costing

Assigns overhead using activity drivers rather than volume-based rates to improve cost accuracy. Reveals true product and customer profitability hidden by traditional allocation.

Lesson 1 • Revenue and Cost Drivers

Identifies the key operational variables that determine revenue and cost trajectories. Builds driver-based assumptions that make models transparent and easy to update.

Lesson 2 • Building the Three-Statement Model

Links income statement, statement of financial position, and cash flow statement into a dynamic, self-balancing model. Demonstrates how a single assumption change flows through all three statements.

Lesson 3 • Financial Modelling Best Practices

Establishes model architecture, formatting standards, and error-prevention conventions. Creates a disciplined modelling habit that supports auditability and collaboration.

Lesson 4 • Forecasting Techniques and Validation

Applies regression, time-series, and judgment-based methods to generate reliable forecasts. Validates model outputs against historical actuals and industry benchmarks.

Lesson 1 • Segregation of Duties and Access Controls

Identifies incompatible duties and designs compensating controls where full segregation is impractical. Connects access control design to fraud prevention and error detection.

Lesson 2 • Account Reconciliation Controls

Establishes standards for timely, documented reconciliations across key statement of financial position accounts. Links reconciliation quality to audit evidence and financial statement reliability.

Lesson 3 • Control Testing and Documentation

Covers walkthroughs, sample testing, and control effectiveness evaluation. Produces workpapers that meet audit documentation standards.

Lesson 4 • Audit Preparation and Evidence Management

Organises financial data, schedules, and support files to minimise audit disruption. Manages auditor requests efficiently through a structured evidence repository.