The Development Center for Finance (DCF) successfully conducted the first run of its Financial Statement Analysis Seminar on March 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2026, and was attended by 25 participants from various companies and industries.

Sir Lester Aratea opened the seminar with an expectations setting session with the participants. A roadmap of the four-day FS Analysis seminar followed and the seminar proper continued with the discussion of the different asset and liability components of the balance sheet. Different examples from actual financial statements (FS) were discussed to illustrate the effects of common asset and liability transactions.

Sir Remvert Placido then continued with the equity components of the balance sheet on the second day of the seminar, 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 basic FS and how they are related to one another was also demonstrated.

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

Sir Remvert Placido returned on Day 4 and took over the morning session of the last day of the seminar, starting with a review of the discussions in the past three (3) Saturdays, then introducing other FS analysis techniques including common-size, trend, and break-even analyses.

Dr. Art Cayanan culminated the training in the afternoon session of Day 4 with cases of several Philippine-listed companies. He illustrated how to apply all the learnings in the seminar through real companies, 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:

“Clear. Madali po masundan. The pacing of the discussion is manageable. Overall, the lessons were delivered simply.”

“I’d like to commend the speaker and the whole team for being able to accommodate all the questions by the participants. Also, given the different industries of the participants who raised questions, I was able to obtain fresh knowledge through the Q&A.”

“All good. Mr. Art is a great professor. Hoping to be his student again soon if given a chance.”