England

Please tell us where you live so that we can provide you with the most relevant information as you use this website.
If you are at a BFPO address please choose the country or region in which you would ordinarily be resident.
Accessibility statement
An image to illustrate Understanding financial statements short course
The aim of this CPD course is to help you understand and interpret three key types of financial statements. The first summarises an organisation’s financial activity over a specific period. The second provides a snapshot of what the organisation owns and owes at the end of that period. The third explains how the organisation generates and uses cash. While the preparation and auditing of financial statements may vary between types of organisations, the core structure remains the same. All organisations produce these three statements, and this course will guide you through understanding their purpose and how to interpret them.
This Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course will help you develop a general understanding of financial reports and comprises of four units:
Unit 1: General purpose financial reports
This is a foundation for the course as it covers some basic accounting concepts so you can understand what the main financial statements produced by businesses and government organisations are intended to do.
Unit 2: The income statement
This unit looks at revenue and expenses and how a profit or a loss is the result of many judgements.
Unit 3: The balance sheet (statement of financial position)
This is a snapshot of an organisation’s financial position at a point in time. You'll learn about assets, liabilities and the net worth of an organisation. It also includes a brief explanation of the statement of changes in equity.
Unit 4: Statement of cash flows
The statement of cash flows explains where an organisation gets its cash and what it spends it on. The income statement explains the change from one balance sheet to the next in terms of resources; the cash flow statement explains it in terms of cash received and spent.
By studying this CPD course, you will be able to:
This course was designed to be independently studied with no tutor support. StudentHome is a dedicated website that provides general study support and there is a computing helpdesk.
There an end-of-course quiz to test your knowledge and understanding. Once completed and successfully passed you will receive a digital badge and a course completion certificate which you can download as a record of your learning.
The course will require around 10 hours to complete.
You can begin at any time during the life of the course and study at your own pace. The course will be open to you for a time period of between 6 and 18 months, depending on your course registration date, and you will be advised of the specific time limitations upon enrolment.
All learning materials, exercises, study support and end of course quiz are delivered entirely online.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
There are no formal academic requirements.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact us.
The course is delivered online and makes use of a variety of online resources. If you use specialist hardware or software to assist you in using a computer or the internet you are advised to contact us about support which can be given to meet your needs.
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying BGXS006 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
StartEngland fee
At anytime before 31/07/2026£150
We accept American Express, Mastercard, Visa and Visa Electron.
If this course is geared towards your job or developing your career, you could ask your employer to sponsor you by paying some or all of the fees. Your sponsor just needs to complete a simple form to confirm how much they will be paying and we will invoice them.
The fee information provided here is valid for short courses starting in the 2026/27 academic year. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
You can start this course anytime.
You can start this course anytime.
Level info