Learn to Read Financial Statements
What’s the most important thing to learn as an aspiring financial analyst or investor? In my opinion, it’s the three-statement framework and how the three primary financial statements relate to each other.
It’s the foundation of most every important financial decision, and ultimately it determines how most people are compensated. If you understand it thoroughly, you have a clear advantage in this world.
Master Foundational Knowledge with Financial Models
I studied some accounting in college, but there was a problem. Accounting was introduced as the language of business, but the approach made it difficult to see the forest for the trees. It wasn’t until I built my first three-statement model as an investment banker that I felt I truly grasped the big picture. It was a lightbulb moment, which is why I choose to teach it this way on ASM.
Testimonials
Can you explain how the financial statements work together in under 60 seconds?
This has been one of my favorite interview questions since I started working in private equity (except I don’t normally apply a time limit, that was included for internet attention spans). The confidence and detail with which candidates answer it exposes a lot about their knowledge and how they think.