Detecting Accounting Tricks and Traps

About the Course:

Emerging company analysts must be prepared to assess the integrity of early-stage companies' financial statements. You must understand how the relationship that a company has with its accounting firm and the reputation of the accounting firm will affect the quality of the related financial statements. You should become familiar with the steps you can take to reduce the risk of being misled while reviewing a company's financial statements.

The course leader shares more than 10 years of experience in valuing companies. Case studies of companies misstating their results are discussed and more than 20 financial ratios are explained.

If you don't know the answers to questions such as these, you really should listen to this webinar:

  • What is the relationship between a business valuation and an audit?
  • What are the levels of financial statements?
  • What kinds of conflicts should an emerging company analyst be aware of that may exist between a company and its accounting firm?
  • What are some red flags about the relationship between a subject company and its accounting firms?
  • What is common size analysis? What is its usefulness?
  • What is the difference between a forecast and a projection?
  • What should the relationship between a subject company's operating cash flow and pre-tax net income be?
  • How and why should expenses be normalized?
  • How can construction firms manipulate their costs of goods sold?
  • How can car dealers misstate their earnings by taking loans?
  • How can physicians underreport revenues?
  • How can the analyst detect related party transactions?
  • How should non-operating cash be handled when valuing an emerging company?
  • What is the risk of an emerging company "growing itself out of business"?
  • What are the risks of creditors to emerging companies providing notice when conducting inventory audits?
  • Should emerging company analysts be more concerned about the inventory of a subject company being stored at a company owned or third-party owned warehouse?
  • What are some of the sources for comparing a subject company's financial performance against that of its peers?

Course Leader: John E. Barrett, Jr., CPA, ABV, CBA, CVA, Barrett Valuation Services, Inc.

John Barrett has approximately ten years of business valuation experience. He has completed approximately two hundred and fifty business valuation engagements. Has published articles and taught seminars for the Rhode Island Society of CPA's. Has published articles in The Rhode Island Bar Journal, The Value Examiner, (published by the NACVA) and The Family Advocate (published by the American Bar Association) and The American Journal of Family Law (published by Aspen Law and Business). Former Adjunct Professor at Community College of Rhode Island and Johnson and Wales University Graduate School of Business.

John has been qualified as an expert witness in Massachusetts Superior Court and Rhode Island Family Court.

Course Length: Approx. 2.0 hours

$345 PER USER

Purchase Now:

Need help purchasing this course? Please contact Neomi Barazani at 609-919-1895 ext. 100 or at info@bdacademy.com.