This course is aimed at helping those who wish to read and interpret the financial statements of mining companies. It assumes the reader has no formal training or background in accounting but does have a general interest in business with a leaning towards mining. Furthermore, this course assumes a managerial or investor approach rather than that of accountant or bookkeeper. We look at financial statements for their organization, information content and limitations. In short, you will not learn any bookkeeping or debits and credits but rather you will see numerical data and narrative-based descriptions prepared by mining companies.

You will learn to use various analytical tools. Simplified fictional examples and actual published reports are used to illustrate various concepts. A brief glossary and a source of further information appear in an Appendix.

The course has six primary topics as follows, separated into three parts.

This course was formerly entitled Understanding Financial Statements of Mining Companies Under IASB and FASB Regulations.

Part 1

• Introduction to Accounting and Financial Reports

• The Statement of Financial Position

Part 2

• The Statement of Income

Part 3

• The Cash Flow Statement

• The Statement of Changes in Equity

• Notes and Analytical Tools

Accounting Standards

Financial reporting today is governed by essentially two sets of accounting regulations—those of the United States, through its Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and those of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). In this course, both sets of regulations are treated as one agreed-upon set of concepts, principles and guidelines where appropriate. Differences are highlighted wherever they occur. Where there is agreement or the differences are minimal, the common term GAAP is used, which stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Authors

• Alain Duncan

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