Introduction

Most law students believe that accounting is a whole different branch of knowledge and that it is therefore not necessary to understand it if you have decided to take up law. If you wanted to get into accounts, you would take up chartered accountancy, isn't it?

True, it is a different branch of knowledge. However, in reality, you wouldn't be able to function efficiently as a lawyer if you completely lacked an understanding of accounting and financial statements. Imagine you are a solo lawyer having your own practice. You still have your receipts and expenses to account for! At the initial stage you won't be able to afford another person to do this for you and if you grow bigger, you will need to manage the person handling accounts. In both cases you will need at least a basic understanding of how accounts are written. You will also need to understand how financial statements of your firm or company are written since you will have to sign them.

If you are an employee it becomes all the more crucial to understand accounting and financial statements since you can be asked some legal questions which you wouldn't be able to answer fully unless you have been coordinating with the accounts department and keeping track of certain items.

If you are not a lawyer and also not an accounting professional, but simply looking to invest in equity, what would be the basis of your investment decision? Would it rather be a 'tip’ from a broker or would it rather be the latest audited financial statements showing the concrete figures?

We have gathered together three things: how knowledge about accounts and financial statements can be useful to you, where and how you can find financial statements of companies and how you can locate certain items from the statements. Further, we also list the items you need to track continuously.

Who should take this course

• Law students and lawyers looking to work in corporate law firms or in-house legal teams in companies.
• Non accounting professionals looking to gain a basic understanding of accounts and reading financial statements.
• Investors looking to make an informed investment in equity.

What is the career potential after doing this course

This course is not for helping you have a career out of accounting or financial statements. However it will surely help you become more effective in your career as any non accounting professional and develop interest in analysing financial statements.

Knowing how to secure financial statements and read them will help you avoid taking random investment decisions and base these on solid figures.

What is unique about this course

• The course trains you in how to obtain financial statements even of unlisted companies.
• It doesn't deal with the technical elements of accounting, but explains basics which a non accounting professional can use.
• It explains how to locate specific items in the financial statements rather than deal with what is included in financial statements and their format.
• It deals with items which can be used to compare financial statements of two peer companies in the same sector.
• Screenshare videos discussing real financial statements of companies rather than ones provided as example. 
• It guides on which items in financial statements should be kept track of by legal professionals.

Training Methodology

Online 24/7 access

Access to basic study material through online learning management system, Android and iOS app

Live Doubt Clearing

You can ask questions, get your doubt cleared live as well as through online forums

Specific Learning Objectives

• How to find financial statements of listed and unlisted companies explained with the help of screenshot guides
• How to know about the profitability of a company
• How to find out about the borrowings of a company, its cash flow and its share capital
• What is the relevance of balance sheet items in investment transactions 
• How to compare financial statements of companies in similar sector