Reading between the lines
Reading accounts and spotting warning signs.
- Level
- Bitesize
- Learning time
- 1 hour 15 minutes
- Where
- Finance for Non Finance Professionals
- Price
- £39
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion
Overview and Outcomes.
Overview
This module shows how companies, charities, councils, housing associations and NHS bodies report under different rulebooks while answering the same core questions. It compares company and charity accounts, sets out what Charities SORP 2026 changes, walks through the four core council statements and the gap between accounting deficit and budget position, and explains the four ingredients of housing association finance. It closes with a forty five minute route through any annual report. This module treats a ratio as a question, not an answer. It covers four families of ratios: liquidity, solvency, resilience and performance, comparing the current ratio with days cash on hand and reading gearing alongside interest cover. It sets out a five-step discipline for ratio packs, a warning signs check for suppliers' accounts, and the Carillion collapse, where the parliamentary inquiry found the signals sat in plain view.
What you'll develop
In this Bitesize, you will develop the ability to:
- Compare the rulebooks and main statements used by companies, charities, councils, housing associations and NHS bodies, and translate between them.
- Explain why a council's CIES deficit differs from its budget position, and what Charities SORP 2026 changes for trustees.
- Apply a structured route through an annual report, testing the narrative front half against the audit report, statements and key notes.
- Explain the four families of ratios and what the current ratio, days cash on hand, gearing, interest cover, reserves cover and operating margin each reveal.
- Apply a five-step discipline of define, trend, compare, set limits and ask to turn a ratio pack into board questions.
The Modules.
1 hour 15 minutes of learning.
- 06Reading the Accounts in Your SectorThis module shows how companies, charities, councils, housing associations and NHS bodies report under different rulebooks while answering the same core questions. It compares company and charity accounts, sets out what Charities SORP 2026 changes, walks through the four core council statements and the gap between accounting deficit and budget position, and explains the four ingredients of housing association finance. It closes with a forty five minute route through any annual report.40 min
- 07Ratios and Warning SignsThis module treats a ratio as a question, not an answer. It covers four families of ratios: liquidity, solvency, resilience and performance, comparing the current ratio with days cash on hand and reading gearing alongside interest cover. It sets out a five-step discipline for ratio packs, a warning signs check for suppliers' accounts, and the Carillion collapse, where the parliamentary inquiry found the signals sat in plain view.38 min
Keep going.
Part of the Finance for Non Finance Professionals topic, also sold whole as Follow the money.
Go deeper, and pay only the difference
- You are hereBitesize, 1 hour 15 minutes, £39
- Next stepFocus, Numbers that tell the truth, 4 hours, £69. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £30.
- Explore, Financial literacy for leaders, 6 hours, £129. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £90.
- The whole topicImmerse, Follow the money, 11 hours, £249. Already own the Bitesize? You pay £210.
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Prices per person. Read the full terms
Also part of: Ready for the boardroom, Governing the money
Other Bitesize in the Finance for Non Finance Professionals topic
- Did we live within our means?The language of finance and the income statement2 hours£39
- Reserves and cashThe balance sheet, reserves and cash flow1 hour 15 minutes£39
- When the numbers misleadCreative accounting and external audit1 hour 15 minutes£39
- What things really costCost behaviour, overheads and activity-based costing1 hour 15 minutes£39
- Value for money, budgets that workInvestment appraisal and budgeting approaches1 hour 15 minutes£39
- Keeping the budget honestBudget monitoring, capital and borrowing1 hour 15 minutes£39
