The Development Center for Finance (DCF) successfully conducted another run of the Financial Statement Analysis Seminar on September 9, 16, 23, and 30, 2023, and was attended by 39 participants from various companies and industries.

In Day 1, Ma’am Pamela Lloren-Alcantara opened the seminar and did an expectations setting session with the participants. A roadmap of the four-day FS Analysis seminar was presented and started with the discussion of the different asset and liability components of the statement of financial position or balance sheet. Different examples and real-life financial statements were discussed to illustrate the effects of common asset and liability transactions.

Sir Kevin Dela Cruz then continued with the equity components of the balance sheet in Day 2, and thoroughly discussed the income statement and the cash flow statement. Illustrative exercises and examples from local corporations were presented to provide real-world context to the discussion. The preparation of financial statements and how they are related to one another was also demonstrated.

Sir Lester Aratea then took over Day 3 to discuss the different techniques used in financial statement analysis, including ratios related to profitability, efficiency, liquidity, solvency, and cash flows. Qualitative considerations were also discussed, including the various company information that should be carefully considered. A subject company was then presented to apply these different FS analysis techniques.

During the last day of the seminar, Dr. Arthur Cayanan started the session with a review of the discussions in the past three (3) Saturdays, then introduced other FS analysis techniques, including common-size, trend, and break-even analysis. Cases of Philippine-listed companies were then presented and discussed to apply all the learnings during the seminar, taking different perspectives, as lenders, financial analysts, and even as investors.

Some of the feedback from the participants about the 4-day seminar were as follows:

“I found Ma’am Pam very engaging and easy to understand as she simplified how each of the FS items are used. The examples she gave were also very useful. While the total duration of the lecture was long, the pace was just right and the way she ran the session made time run faster (because it was engaging).”

“Day 2 was a little bit more complex but I appreciate the exercises and Sir Kevin taking his time in explaining why certain fields are filled a specific way.”

“Excellent lecture today! I appreciated Sir Lester’s pace and the way he always took the time to give examples and stay patient with queries. I applaud the lecturer so much for keeping us engaged and not intimidated with reading between the lines and behind the numbers.”

“Sir Art is very well-versed on his discussion topics and has been very accommodating with all the students’ queries.”