Common-Size Financial Analysis (Course Id 2396)

• Who is this course for?
  This course is intended for anyone needing Continuing Professional Education (CPE), including CPAs, accountants, and financial professionals seeking to enhance their analytical skills.

• What is this course about or what problem does this course solve?
  This course teaches how to conduct common-size financial analysis to better compare companies of different sizes, identify financial trends, and improve financial projections.

• How can the knowledge from this course be used?
  Learners can use this knowledge to build common-size financial statements, analyze financial data across companies or over time, and create quicker and more insightful financial projections.

• Why is this course important to a CPA, Accountant, or IRS Enrolled Agent?
  It enhances the ability to perform in-depth financial analysis and benchmarking, which are crucial skills for advising clients, making financial decisions, and supporting strategic planning.

• When is this course relevant or timely?
  Released in 2024 and updated in November 2024, this course is current and relevant for professionals needing up-to-date methods for financial analysis.

• How is a course like this consumed or used?
  Delivered as a QAS Self Study course, it includes 26 pages of content, review questions, and a final exam, all accessible online without the need for additional materials.

Common-size analysis is a powerful tool for financial analysis and decision-making. Common-size analysis is a form of ratio or metric analysis that states financial statement amounts as percentages of a base amount.

Common-size analysis is useful for comparing the financial performance and position of different companies, especially those of different sizes. It also helps to identify trends and patterns over time within a company and across entities. This is very useful for business environmental analysis, peer benchmarking, and building financial projections.

You may already do some forms of common-size analysis, but may not know all the ways it can provide insights and improve projections.

You'll learn:

• How to build common-size financial statements
• Ways to perform common-size financial analysis
• Sources for common-size financial statements
• How to build fast and easy financial projections with common-size analysis

You'll see examples of analysis and methods I've used in my career, as well as ideas on other ways you may be able to use common-size analysis.

NASBA QAS - NASBA Registry - 2396

Course Learning Objectives

• Identify the two types of common-size analysis
• Recall the formulas for common-size analysis
• Recall how to build projections with common-size analysis

Chapter 1 - Common-Size Financial Analysis

1. What is Common-Size Financial Analysis?

2. Common-Size Financial Statements

3. Internal and External Analysis

Review Questions #1

4. Sources for Common-Size Financial Statements

5. Benefits and Users of Common-Size Analysis

6. Benefits and Users of Common-Size Analysis

7. Key Takeaways

Review Questions #2

Glossary