One real balance sheet
Read one organisation’s financial position all the way through.
Monarch Management Institute · Micro Course
Decoding the Balance Sheet
Look beyond reported profit and judge where an organisation actually stands. Build the financial confidence to assess resources, obligations, liquidity and solvency—and contribute more credibly to management, investment and advisory decisions.
Registration and course delivery take place in the MMI LMS.
Course introduction
See what this course makes possible.
Meet the course lead and explore the practical focus, learning experience, and professional value of this course.
Course overview
About This Course
Managers, founders and investors often lean heavily on the profit line because it is one number, it is reported first and it feels like the verdict. The balance sheet is therefore frequently skipped or misread: equity is mistaken for what a firm is worth, a healthy current ratio is trusted while cash is locked in slow-moving inventory, and a profitable organisation is assumed to be solvent. Yet profit measures performance over a period, while the balance sheet measures financial position at a particular date—and a firm can be profitable while still being unable to meet its obligations.
This course closes the gap between repeating phrases such as “strong balance sheet” and being able to support that judgement with evidence. Participants read one real balance sheet from beginning to end. Each stage explains a part of the analysis, demonstrates it through a running managerial case and then transfers the work to the participant’s chosen organisation, supported by a model and a clear assessment rubric.
By the conclusion, participants hold a reasoned assessment of financial position: the resources and claims they have classified, the liquidity and solvency they have measured against a relevant benchmark, the position they have judged and an honest statement of what the balance sheet cannot reveal. The course develops the financial confidence required to question assumptions and contribute more credibly to management, investment and advisory decisions.
Why this course is different
A balance sheet becomes useful when it supports a defensible judgement about financial position rather than a mechanical calculation of ratios. This course guides participants through one real balance sheet from beginning to end, connecting the accounting equation, asset quality, liquidity and solvency in a repeatable method. Participants learn what the numbers indicate, where the analysis has limits, and how to communicate a responsible assessment with professional confidence.
A repeatable analysis
Use a method you can run again—not accounting theory to admire.
Taught with its limits
Assess financial position without mistaking book equity for valuation.
Learning objectives
- Distinguish financial position from financial performance.
- Apply the accounting equation to confirm balance-sheet integrity.
- Classify assets by type and liquidity.
- Interpret liabilities and equity as competing claims.
- Assess working capital, liquidity and solvency.
- Recognise historical-cost and single-date limitations.
Practical outcomes
- A structured reading of a real balance sheet.
- A confirmed accounting-equation check.
- A clear classification of assets and claims.
- A working-capital and liquidity assessment.
- A defensible solvency judgment.
- An explicit statement of analytical limitations.
Modules at a glance
Module 01Decoding the Balance SheetDuration = 1 Week
Read one real balance sheet from beginning to end: distinguish position from performance, confirm the accounting equation, classify assets and claims, assess liquidity and solvency, and state the limits of the analysis.
Principal themes
- Financial position versus performance
- Accounting equation and double entry
- Asset classification and liquidity
- Liabilities, equity and claims
- Working capital, liquidity and solvency
- Historical-cost and single-date limitations
Intended outcomes
- Distinguish financial position from financial performance.
- Classify assets, liabilities and equity.
- Confirm the accounting equation.
- Assess working capital and liquidity.
- Judge solvency and financial resilience.
- Defend an assessment of financial position and its limits.
Prof. Sean Foley
Prof of Applied Finance
Prof. Sean Foley is a finance executive and adviser with more than 25 years of experience across public companies, global financial institutions, and professional services firms. As founder and CEO of AltFi Services Group, he supports businesses through accounting, treasury management, and fractional CFO services. His leadership experience includes financial reporting, governance, audit, regulatory oversight, and public-company readiness. He brings MMI participants a practical perspective on interpreting financial information, strengthening financial judgement, and communicating credible management decisions.