Investment Banking: Financial Analysis and Valuation (Coursera)

The course has two major parts. The first focuses on the foundational elements of financial statement and ratio analysis. The second applies the financial statements and forecasts within the context of company valuation, utilizing common industry valuation techniques.

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Course Introduction and Module 1: Financial Spreads & Adjustments

In this module you will explore the concept of comparability of company financial information, a key building block of valuation. The primary application of that concept is the development of the financial spread template, which is used to standardize the presentation of company financial and market information within accounting periods and across companies. Also addressed in this module is the calculation of fully diluted shares and adjusting financial statements to consider the impact of one-time, non-recurring and unusual items.

WEEK 2

Module 2: Introduction to Valuation Analysis and Comparable Public Companies Analysis

What determines a company's stock price? Placing a value on companies is a key tool for M&A analysis. This module will present the main techniques available to estimate a company's value, including multiples-based and cash flow-based valuation methods. These valuation tools will be presented using the most up-to-date Finance theory, and real-world examples.

WEEK 3

Module 3: Comparable Precedent Transaction Analysis

Valuation analysis is a major part of the work that investment banks do when advising companies involved in M&A deals. This module will dive deeper into using comparable precedent M&A transactions to establish another perspective on a company’s expected valuation in an M&A context. The similarities and differences between comparable public companies analysis and transactions comparables analysis will be presented, as well as how to correctly calculate transaction valuation statistics. Lastly, we will take what we have learned about public company and transaction comparables to begin to develop a valuation summary for an existing public company.

WEEK 4

Module 4: Discounted Cash Flows

This module will present how to build a discounted cash flow analysis, a fundamental valuation technique, as well as the concepts of financial forecasting, free cash flow, weighted average cost of capital, terminal value and present value.

Course Conclusion

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