MLD-401M: Financial Analysis of Public and Nonprofit Organizations

Financial Analysis of Public and Nonprofit Organizations (MLD-401M) is an introductory course intended for a general audience of students with no background in accounting or financial analysis. By the end of the course, students should be able to: 1) Understand commonly-used accounting and financial analysis terminology, concepts, tools and processes; 2) Evaluate financial statements in order to ask probing questions, identify risks and/or opportunities, and think critically about financial performance; 3) Recommend and justify courses of action based on analyses of accounting and other financial data; and 4) Successfully move on to higher-level MLD courses.The course will be taught using a combination of lectures, case studies, problem sets and exams.  Specific topics covered will include an overview of the financial reporting landscape and governance; accounting principles and concepts; a detailed review of the major financial statements; and the analysis of major financial topics such as organizational liquidity, solvency, operations, funding, and benchmarking.  Students will be exposed to the unique features of public and nonprofit accounting, but many of the topics covered are applicable to all types of organizations.