IFRS Foundations: Practical Application for New Hires in Finance
Accounting and Reporting Skills Applied Immediately at Work
Live‑Online | Practical & Intensive | Weekly Modules
Over five weekly, full-day modules, participants learn carrying out tasks in practice: recording real-life transactions, completing full double-entry accounting, posting journals, and preparing a complete set of single-entity IFRS financial statements.
The aim of the first part of the course, first two days, is to give participants a clear understanding of the basic accounting principles and concepts in a practical way. It will act as a booster to bring all candidates to the same level before embarking on the more advanced accounting techniques and analysis.
The rest of the course will enhance participants’ knowledge and significantly improve their skills in selected topics up to Intermediate level.
Throughout the course, we will be going beyond the technical accounting technique and look at the Reporting Process from the point of view of the auditor and how to be careful in identifying misjudgements exercised by management.
Enriching the participants’ Financial and Business English skills, is one of the skills acquired.
This programme is designed for new hires, graduates, and early-career finance professionals who need a practical, hands-on foundation in accounting and financial reporting.
It is ideal for those with little or no prior IFRS knowledge, as well as individuals transitioning into finance roles who want to build confidence in preparing and understanding financial statements in a real-world context.
This 5-day training programme aims to:
- Introduce Financial Accounting under IFRS at an elementary level assuming no previous knowledge, and to bring these skills and knowledge to an Intermediate/Higher Intermediate level including Financial Statement Analysis.
- Introduce Financial Statements Analysis with application of Intermediate Ratio Analysis.
- Practise, in detail, the concepts and techniques as found in IAS 2, IAS 8, IAS 10, IAS 16, IAS 37, IAS 40, but also introduce some more advanced concepts as found in IFRS 15, IAS 36 and IFRS 9.
- Improve Business English Skills to enable fluency in communicating with senior staff and clients. We note that this is not a Writing Skills course which requires smaller groups.
Methodology
This will be an intensive and interactive course based entirely on practical and real-life examples, exercises, illustrations and case studies. Progress tests between modules and at the start of each day will enable the tutor to identify weaknesses and ensure success in the two-hour online exam taken at the end of the programme.
Participants will receive specially designed and comprehensive course notes for self-study, including summaries of the key elements of accounting under IFRS, together with exercises, illustrations and case studies along with their solutions.
Participants will be taking 20-minute online progress tests on Days 2, 3, 4 and 5 and receive feedback immediately.
A tutor hot-line will be available, enabling candidates to obtain support between modules and ensure success at the final examination.
Equipment and other items required during the course:
- Laptops and strong internet so that the participants can attend comfortably via Zoom.
- A quiet room where you can spend the day focusing on the course and interacting with trainers and participants.
- Lots of paper, one pen, one pencil and eraser, to solve case studies and make notes, unless participants prefer to make notes electronically e.g. on Excel or on OneNote. From our experience it is strongly recommended to make paper notes.
- You are expected to have your camera on and interact with the group and the trainer
This intensive five-day programme is designed to build a strong foundation in financial accounting under IFRS, taking participants from core principles through to intermediate-level application and analysis.
Structured as a practical, hands-on learning experience, each day focuses on key accounting concepts, real-life scenarios and case studies, enabling participants to apply their knowledge immediately in a business context. The programme progresses logically from fundamentals to more advanced topics, culminating in full financial statement preparation, analysis and exam readiness.
Day 1 – Accounting Fundamentals
- Role and purpose of financial reporting
- Users and key components of financial statements
- The accounting equation and introduction to the balance sheet
- Operating cycle and current vs non-current classification
- Core accounting principles (accruals, matching, prudence, neutrality, materiality, substance over form)
- Introduction to double-entry bookkeeping
- Ledgers, journals and the accounting cycle
- Recording transactions across key accounts
Day 2 – Financial Statements & Analysis
- Year-end adjustments and correcting errors
- Preparation of income statement and statement of financial position
- Bank reconciliations and control processes
- Introduction to financial statement analysis
- Key ratios: profitability, liquidity, solvency and efficiency
- Interpreting financial performance and identifying risks
- Case study: multi-year financial analysis and business insights
Day 3 – Non-current Assets & IFRS Framework
- Recap of accounting fundamentals and systems
- Non-current assets: recognition and measurement (IAS 16)
- Depreciation methods and accounting treatment
- Asset disposals and introduction to impairment (IAS 36)
- IFRS conceptual framework and standard-setting process
- Equity, share capital and reserves
- Statement of changes in equity and dividends
Day 4 – Working Capital, Reporting & Audit
- Inventory accounting and valuation (IAS 2)
- Receivables, bad debts and allowances
- Preparation of full financial statements from trial balance
- The Ernst Case Study: from transactions to financial statements
- Introduction to audit, materiality and risk-based approach
Day 5 – Advanced Topics & Integration
- Statement of cash flows (IAS 7) – direct and indirect methods
- Provisions and contingencies (IAS 37)
- Revenue recognition overview (IFRS 15)
- Introduction to financial instruments (IFRS 9)
- Final case practice, revision and exam preparation
- Course wrap-up and key takeaways
Brian Connolly - Brian has been providing ACCA exam preparation training courses since 1996. He is also the author of many training programmes, including a 12-day programme that leads to the EY Diploma in IFRS. Since 2001, he has been a trainer of courses on US GAAP.
Martinos Martoudes - Martinos provides training courses in the basics of financial (IFRS) and managerial accounting, subjects related to strategic management, as well as selected topics of the ACCA Qualification programme.
George Skordis - an experienced professional, currently a Group CFO of 15 companies and conducting Finance projects for the EY Academy’s clients. For specific projects in Advisory and Training, George collaborates with EY Academy to serve key clients.
Georgia Sophocleous - distinguished and highly experienced professional delivering comprehensive training in financial and managerial accounting as well as in strategic business leadership, for the ACCA Qualification and Postgraduate Studies in Poland and internationally.
