Financial Statements: Balance Sheet, Income Stmt, Cash Flow (Udemy.com)
How To Quickly Read & Understand The Big 3 Financial Statements: Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement
Created by: Steve Ballinger, MBA
Last updated February 2026
What you will learn
- How To Evaluate Companies Using The Core Financial Statements
- Balance Sheet: Evaluate A Companies Current Financial Strength
- Income Statement: Is The Company Profitable Or On The Path To Profitability
- Cash Flow: Cash Is King Thus Important To See If Cash Is Rising Or Falling And Why
Course Description
To fully understand a business you need to understand their financial statements. Perfect for investors and those who wish to fully understand a companies performance...including the one they may work for!
You will quickly learn step x step through screen sharing of real financial statements how to read each financial statement and evaluate how well that business is performing and are there any red flags or concerns.
There are 3 big financial statements that everyone should understand.
1. The Balance Sheet (Company Report Card)
A balance sheet is a financial statement that reports a company's assets, liabilities, and shareholder equity.
It provides a snapshot of a company's finances (what it owns and owes).
The balance sheet adheres to an equation that equates assets with the sum of liabilities and shareholder equity.
Fundamental analysts use balance sheets to calculate financial ratios.
2. The Income Statement (Did We Make Money?)
Reports a company's financial performance over a specific accounting period.
Net Income = (Total Revenue + Gains) – (Total Expenses + Losses)
An income statement provides valuable insights into a company’s operations, the efficiency of its management, under-performing sectors and its performance relative to industry peers.
3. Cash Flow Statement (What Does Our Cash Position Look Like)
A cash flow statement is a financial statement that summarizes the amount of cash and cash equivalents entering and leaving a company.
The Cash Flow Statement measures how well a company manages its cash position, meaning how well the company generates cash.
The main components of the CFS are cash from three areas: operating activities, investing activities, and financing activities.
I will share my screen and show you step x step, line x line, as we evaluate a company together.
Thanks for your interest in the course and all you need to do now is click the button to enroll and get started.
Many thanks and I look forward to seeing you in your first lesson!
Steve Ballinger
Disclaimer Note: This course is for educational and informational purposes only. There will be no recommending of any particular investments such as a particular stock or mutual fund as only you know what is right for your portfolio and your comfort with risk and volatility. Consult with a Professional for specific advice. Course is for education purposes only and instructor will have no liability related directly or indirectly to any loss or damage.
Instructor Details
- 4.5 Rating
3,291 Reviews
Steve Ballinger, MBA
A VIP Udemy Instructor Partner who has helped more than 1 million learners in 220+ countries build practical skills for work.
My focus is helping professionals use ChatGPT and AI with more confidence, clarity, and practical purpose. I’m also in the top 3% of ChatGPT users worldwide (According to OpenAI) which means I spend a lot of hands-on time testing what actually works in real use and not just chasing the latest AI hype.
Many people know AI is important, but they feel overwhelmed by the constant updates, confusing features, and pressure to keep up. They wonder: What should I actually use AI for? Am I prompting it correctly? How do I avoid generic answers? What is safe to put into AI? How do I avoid losing my own judgment?
That is where I can help.
My style is friendly, practical, and engaging. I like to make complex topics feel simple, useful, and even fun. Instead of flooding you with theory or buzzwords, I focus on real workplace problems turning scattered thoughts into useful next steps.
My courses are designed to be clear, practical, and easy to apply. Instead of overwhelming you with theory or technical jargon, I focus on examples, prompts, workflows, and step-by-step demonstrations you can actually use.
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Reviews
By MAMTA Gupta on 6/1/2026
the explanation of balance sheet and income statement, cash flow is amazing i really liked
By Salve Gamora- Temblor on 5/21/2026
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR EXPERTISE AND WELL PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE 3 BIG FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
By Jaquelyn P. Mendoza on 3/27/2026
Understanding balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow is very useful in real life. It builds financial literacy, help in decision making and avoid failures. The discussion is clear.
By Maribel L. Rapanan on 3/23/2026
Financial statements, serve as a formal reports to show a business financial performance and position over a specific learning. This is to show, how to apply them easily, or even help create step-by-step.
By Iapix Beraud on 3/13/2026
This course was greate. I am new to the finance world and I am barely learning about the 3 statmente concepts. This was a great introduction to them as it tells me in simple words what these statements are and helped me to understand why the are very helpful and how to read them.
By Ma. Sheina B. Soliman on 3/3/2026
The course was a good match for my goals. It challenged me enough to grow, but it was also structured in a way that made learning manageable and rewarding.
By Logeshwaran G on 3/1/2026
It's really helpful to understand complex balance sheet, cash flow statement and income statement
By Anonymized User on 2/25/2026
It went to fast at some points, if you are a complete beginner, you should go back to some of the things being explained. I liked that it was a real example, and the AI at the end,
By Anonymized User on 10/2/2025
The instructor should explain terms in simple forms, considering everyone is not from finance background. Rest is good so far.
By Ariana Papazian on 9/21/2025
It was nice! I liked the AI roleplay, as it helped to summarize the material. I also like how everything was shown and explained. It was nice and to the point.
Quality Score
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Overall Score : 90 / 100












