Core Financial Analysis

This course is part of AI-powered Financial Research with Perplexity Specialization

Instructor: Perplexity Coursera

Included with Learn more

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

1 week to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

Recommended experience

1 week to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Extract and summarize key financial figures from income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
Calculate profitability, liquidity, solvency, and efficiency ratios from Perplexity-sourced financial data.
Use historical company data and management guidance to forecast revenue, profit, and cash flow trends.
Assess financial performance drivers and draft a preliminary positive, neutral, or negative performance view.

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the AI-powered Financial Research with Perplexity Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 5 modules in this course

Core financial analysis teaches you to review company statements, calculate ratios, forecast trends, and assess performance. You will use Perplexity-retrieved research and spreadsheet workflows to connect financial data with business context and prepare a beginner financial snapshot and evidence-based performance view.

By the end of this course, you will be able to: - Extract and summarize revenue, margins, assets, liabilities, and cash flow figures from Perplexity-sourced statements. - Compute profitability, liquidity, solvency, and efficiency ratios for a single reporting period. - Apply simple projection methods to forecast revenue, operating profit, and cash flow using historical data. - Draft a structured financial analysis linking performance drivers, market commentary, and preliminary view. This course is for learners building foundational financial analysis skills. It is useful for early-career analysts, finance interns, and business professionals who need to interpret company results.

Learners build a foundational understanding of the three core financial statements, their structure, key line items, and their role in AI-assisted company research.

What's included

5 videos7 readings6 assignments

5 videosTotal 21 minutes

Why Financial Statements Are the Foundation of Analysis3 minutes
The Three Core Financial Statements5 minutes
Line-Item Extraction and Summarization Workflow5 minutes
Why Cross-Statement Analysis Reveals the Full Picture2 minutes
How Financial Statements Connect6 minutes

7 readingsTotal 28 minutes

Financial Statement Structure Reference4 minutes
Navigate a Financial Statement in an AI-Retrieved Filing4 minutes
From Raw Filings to Actionable Snapshots3 minutes
Extraction Targets by Statement Type3 minutes
Extract Key Figures from a Perplexity-Retrieved Filing5 minutes
Cross-Statement Relationship Reference4 minutes
Trace Cross-Statement Relationships in Company Data5 minutes

6 assignmentsTotal 180 minutes

Graded Quiz: Analyze Financial Statements Aligned30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Financial Statement Structure30 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Build a Financial Snapshot from Retrieved Materials 30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Line-Item Extraction30 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Analyze Cross-Statement Relationships30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Cross-Statement Relationships30 minutes

Introduces the formulas and interpretation boundaries for core financial ratios across four categories: profitability, liquidity, solvency, and efficiency, so learners can recognize what each ratio measures and when values signal strength or concern.

What's included

3 videos4 readings4 assignments

3 videosTotal 13 minutes

Core Financial Ratios: Formulas and Meaning5 minutes
From Extracted Figures to Calculated Ratios2 minutes
Ratio Calculation Workflow: From Statement to Spreadsheet7 minutes

4 readingsTotal 14 minutes

Why Ratios Turn Numbers into Insight2 minutes
Financial Ratio Reference Card4 minutes
Ratio Calculation Examples with Data3 minutes
Compute Profitability Ratios from a Perplexity-Sourced Income Statement5 minutes

4 assignmentsTotal 105 minutes

Graded Quiz: Calculate Key Ratios30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Ratio Formulas and Interpretation15 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Calculate Ratios for a Company30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Ratio Calculations30 minutes

Learners discover the conceptual foundations of financial forecasting, including how assumptions, historical trends, management guidance, and model structure combine to produce a beginner-level financial projection.

What's included

3 videos5 readings4 assignments

3 videosTotal 14 minutes

Why Forecasting Is a Core Analyst Skill2 minutes
Building Blocks of a Financial Forecast6 minutes
Simple Projection Methods for Revenue, Profit, and Cash Flow6 minutes

5 readingsTotal 18 minutes

Forecasting Components in Detail4 minutes
Review Historical Data and Define Forecasting Assumptions4 minutes
From Assumptions to Projected Numbers2 minutes
Projection Method Reference3 minutes
Build a Three-Line Forecast in a Spreadsheet5 minutes

4 assignmentsTotal 90 minutes

Graded Quiz: Forecast Financial Trends30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Forecasting Foundations15 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Forecast Next Quarter's Financials30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Financial Projections15 minutes

Learn to apply a structured workflow that connects company financial data, market context, and management commentary into a cohesive analysis framework.

What's included

4 videos7 readings7 assignments

4 videosTotal 20 minutes

The Financial Analysis Workflow5 minutes
How to Identify Financial Performance Drivers6 minutes
Why Forming a View Is the Goal of Analysis 2 minutes
The Evidence-Based Preliminary View Framework 7 minutes

7 readingsTotal 28 minutes

Analysis Workflow Checklist3 minutes
Compile a Structured Analysis Outline5 minutes
Analysts Explain Why the Numbers Change2 minutes
Common Performance Driver Categories4 minutes
Trace Cost Variations in a Semi-Annual Review5 minutes
Preliminary View Categories and Evidence Standards4 minutes
Draft a Preliminary Performance Categorization5 minutes

7 assignmentsTotal 150 minutes

Graded Quiz: Assess Financial Performance30 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Build an Integrated Analysis Outline15 minutes
Knowledge Check: Structured Analysis Workflow15 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Identify Drivers of Performance Change30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Performance Drivers15 minutes
Hands-on Activity: Categorize Company Earnings Performance30 minutes
Knowledge Check: Preliminary Views15 minutes

Produce a comprehensive financial performance snapshot for a single company by integrating financial statement extraction, ratio analysis, a simple forecast, performance driver identification, and an evidence-based preliminary view into a single end-to-end deliverable.

What's included

2 readings1 assignment

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Instructor

Perplexity Coursera

Perplexity

7 Courses2 learners

Offered by

Perplexity

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Frequently asked questions

To access course materials, assignments, and earn a Certificate, you'll need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. Eligible learners may also have the option to start with a Free Trial. Some courses may also offer a Full Course, No Certificate option. This lets you access course materials, submit required assessments, and receive a final grade, but you won't be able to earn or purchase a Certificate.

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