Financial Analysis Fundamentals
Most people think financial analysis is about complex formulas and endless spreadsheets. But here's what nobody tells you: it starts with understanding the story numbers are trying to tell you.
We've spent years working with small business owners who felt overwhelmed by their own financial data. They had the numbers but couldn't make sense of them. That's exactly why we built this program – not as another academic course, but as a practical toolkit you can use immediately.
What makes this different? You'll learn the same frameworks our instructors use with their consulting clients. Real methods that helped a Newcastle café owner identify a 23% margin leak, or the Sydney retail shop that discovered their most profitable product line wasn't what they expected.
What You'll Actually Learn
Six focused modules that build on each other. Each one tackles a specific skill you can apply to your business or career the same week you learn it.
Reading Financial Statements
Balance sheets and income statements don't have to feel like a foreign language. We break them down line by line, showing you what matters and what's just noise.
- Understanding asset versus liability patterns
- Cash flow versus profitability reality
- Common reporting tricks to watch for
- Industry-specific benchmarks that matter
Ratio Analysis That Works
Ratios only help if you know which ones to track. We focus on the five that actually predict business health, not the twenty that business schools teach.
- Liquidity ratios for daily operations
- Efficiency metrics that reveal bottlenecks
- Profitability measures beyond net margin
- Debt ratios and what they really mean
Cost Behavior Analysis
Fixed versus variable costs sounds simple until you try applying it to a real business. This module shows you how costs actually behave when revenue changes.
- Breaking down mixed cost structures
- Break-even analysis for decision making
- Contribution margin in practice
- Pricing decisions based on cost behavior
Budget Building Basics
Budgets fail when they're too rigid or too vague. Learn to build forecasts that adapt to reality while keeping you accountable to targets.
- Revenue forecasting from historical data
- Expense planning that accounts for seasonality
- Cash flow timing and working capital needs
- Variance analysis and course corrections
Investment Evaluation
Should you buy that equipment? Hire that person? Expand to a new location? These decisions need more than gut feeling – they need proper financial evaluation.
- Payback period calculations
- Net present value for bigger decisions
- Return on investment measurement
- Risk assessment frameworks
Dashboard Creation
The final module brings everything together. You'll build a financial dashboard that gives you the insights you need at a glance, updated weekly or monthly depending on your business rhythm.
- Selecting your key performance indicators
- Visual design for quick comprehension
- Automated data connections
- Trend spotting and early warnings
Who's Teaching This
Two practitioners who've been doing this work for over a decade. They're not academic theorists – they're people who've helped hundreds of Australian businesses make better financial decisions.
Reginald Thorne
Lead Financial InstructorReginald worked in corporate finance for eight years before switching to small business consulting. He discovered most business owners don't need complex analysis – they need clarity. That insight shapes how he teaches.
Cordelia Waverly
Financial Systems SpecialistCordelia specializes in turning financial chaos into organized systems. She's built dashboards for everyone from solo consultants to fifty-person teams, always focusing on what information actually drives better decisions.
Our Teaching Style
This isn't a lecture series where you watch someone click through slides for hours. Every session combines short instruction with hands-on practice using realistic scenarios.
You'll work with anonymized data from actual businesses – a retail shop dealing with inventory costs, a service business managing project profitability, a manufacturer analyzing production efficiency. These aren't textbook problems. They're messy, real-world situations.
- Weekly live sessions with immediate question answering
- Practice exercises based on your industry when possible
- Templates and tools you can adapt to your situation
- Small group feedback on your analysis work
Program Details
The complete program runs for twelve weeks, with two hours of live instruction each week plus roughly three hours of practice work on your own time. Most participants complete it while working full time.
Time Commitment
12 weeks total, approximately 5 hours per week including live sessions and independent work
Class Size
Limited to 18 participants to ensure everyone gets personalized feedback and attention
Format
Live online sessions via video conferencing, recorded for later review if you miss a session