Analisi di bilancio - Corso progredito - ENG

FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS Advanced course

Prof. Luigi Borré

Course Code: EC0012
Subject code - P/07
8 ECTS – 64 hours
Location: Novara

Educational aims

The subject of the course is an advanced approach to financial statement analysis, from a professional analyst perspective.
A full knowledge of financial statement analysis basics and most traditional indicators are assumed; this course is a completion of that knowledge with an advanced approach and the study of "second level" indicators and indicators based on market values.
Main topics are: industry and competitors analysis (with a specific area of the course devoted to the analysis of companies operating in not for profit industries), groups performance analysis, distortion of the analysis due to possible data biases, construction of financial business plans in order to evaluate possible critical perspectives in business activity developments.
The last part of the course tackles the financial reporting due, in particular, by the Public Administration (PA), with the following specific goals: (i) to understand the technicalities and the critical issues of the process of budgeting and reporting by the PA; (ii) to be able to read, analyze and construe the financial reporting of the PA (both estimated and final); (iii) to evaluate the current developments of financial reporting for the PA.
In this sense, the course compares the traditional reporting of the PA (the so called “contabilità finanziaria”, namely the accounting approach based on cash inflows and outflows) with the recently-adopted “contabilità economico-patrimoniale (namely, the accounting system based on the accruals principle, with the preparation of both the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement) and it addresses some techniques of analysis.

Basic notions of financial statement analysis are strongly required for an active attendance of the course.



Content of the course

After a review of FSA basics, the following sessions examine Second level topics sessions will follow an FSA basics review. Among the former:
-    earnings management and FSA distortions and biases;
-    fundamental analysis of the consolidated financial statements of listed companies;
-    stock market ratios;
-    equity reports and market analysts opinions;
-    industry and competitors analysis, with a specific focus to the analysis of commercial banks and investment banks;
-    financial planning techniques;
-    analysis of the financial reporting by the PA:
o    accounting systems in the PA: frameworks, principles, documents and recent developments;
o    analysis of the financial reporting by the PA prepared  by cash approach (“contabilità finanziaria”);
o    analysis of the financial reporting by the PA prepared by accruals approach (“contabilità economico-patrimoniale”);


Cases and incidents taken from real situations will be discussed. A strong students involvement is required. They are called to an active participation to lessons, sometimes analyzing cases and elaborating material provided by the teacher in advance or collected by themselves.

Prerequisites

Financial Accounting
Financial statement analysis


Course Texts

-    Learning material published by the teacher on the Moodle Platform: https://eco.dir.unipmn.it/.
-    Case studies


Teaching methods

Frontal lessons, exercises, case studies, with handouts to be read in advance by the students.


Attendance

Lesson attendance is not compulsory, but strongly recommended.


Examination

Written examination, which could be integrated via an oral discussion.
Examination will include the contents of learning material and the theoretical and practical topics discussed during lessons.