Understanding the Balance Sheet: Balance Sheet Analysis

Stop relying solely on the profit line. Learn to read a balance sheet and judge where any organization actually stands— its resources, its claims, and the limits of what the statement can tell you
  • Author: Prof. Foley
  • Level: Foundational
  • Study Mode: Self-paced
  • Recommended Period: 1 Week
  • Estimated Learning Time: ~6 Hours
  • Proficiency: 1 Graded Assessment
  • Award: 1 Certificate
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To ensure the best continuity in your learning, we recommend completing the course within the recommended completion period. The course is self-paced, so you can adapt your learning schedule around work and other commitments.
Course overview
Decoding the Balance Sheet is a one-week, applied micro-course in Balance Sheet Analysis. It trains one practical skill: reading an organization's statement of financial position to judge its true position, not just the profit line. You select a real organization's balance sheet in the opening lesson and follow it through six lessons, learning to read and classify assets, liabilities, and equity, confirm the accounting equation, and compute and interpret working capital, liquidity, and solvency against a benchmark. It also shows what the balance sheet omits: historical cost, off-balance-sheet value, and a single-date snapshot. By week’s end, you will have a defensible assessment of the organization’s financial position.
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  • Financial Analysis
  • Balance Sheet Analysis
  • Financial Statements
  • Finance

Your Instructor

Taught by a practitioner. Moderated by the same.
PROFESSOR OF APPLIED FINANCE
Prof. Sean Foley is a finance executive and adviser with more than 25 years of experience across public companies, global financial institutions and professional services firms. As founder and CEO of AltFi Services Group, he supports businesses through accounting, treasury management and fractional CFO services. His leadership experience includes financial reporting, governance, audit, regulatory oversight and public-company readiness. He brings MMI participants a practical perspective on interpreting financial information, strengthening financial judgment, and communicating credible management decisions.