Understanding Accounts is a "finance for non-financial" multimedia CD-ROM to help you read and understand an Annual Report and Accounts, including the Balance Sheet, Income Statement / Profit and Loss Account and Cash Flow Statement.  It also explains the concepts of Assets and Liabilities, Liquidity, Depreciation, Equity and Loan Capital and Gearing, and shows how to use Accounting Ratios to identify trends in a company's financial performance.

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• Introductory quiz: Why do we need published accounts?
• Sources of capital: distinguish between equity and loan capital
• Calculating return on capital employed
• Calculating return available to shareholders
• Creating a balance sheet - making assets and liabilities balance
• Depreciation - depreciate assets over how long a period?
• Depreciation - do you pay more or less tax?
• Balance sheet exercise based on caravan park start-up case history
• Balance sheet - identify strengths and causes for concern, manufacturer case history
• What is profit?  Profit, loss or break-even?  Click for demonstration (4,142KB Flash file)
• Measuring sales
• Measuring the cost of sales
• The matching principle
• Construct profit and loss account - based on caravan park case history
• Interpreting profit and loss account - based on manufacturer case history
• Cash flow statement - identifying strengths and weaknesses
• Resolving a cash flow problem
• Accounting ratios - matching ratios to different types of business

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