CREDIT ACADEMY

---

The Fundamentals of Financial Statement Analysis course equips learners with the core tools and frameworks used by credit and equity analysts to evaluate company performance and financial health. 

Through clear explanations and practical examples, participants gain a working understanding of how to read, interpret and analyze income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.  

Whether you’re new to financial analysis or looking to sharpen your skills, this course provides the essential foundation for making informed, analysis-driven credit and investment decisions. 

 At its core, this course tackles the most critical question in credit: Does the company have the ability to pay me?  

Through hands-on examples and interactive modeling, participants learn to interpret cash flow statements, evaluate revolver availability, and distinguish between routine cash cycles and early signs of liquidity stress.  

Using real-world case studies, this session equips you with the tools to anticipate liquidity shortfalls before they occur and safeguard your company from unnecessary financial risk. 

A Credit Professional’s Guide to Understanding & Navigating the Bankruptcy Process is a practical, scenario-driven course designed to prepare credit professionals for one of the most complex and high-stakes aspects of the job: managing customer bankruptcies. 

Led by experienced industry practitioners, the session walks participants through the common triggers that lead to bankruptcy, the differences between U.S. and Canadian proceedings, and the critical legal terms every credit professional should know.  The course also outlines best practices to minimize bad debt, from early warning indicators to the steps that should be taken in the months, weeks and days leading up to a filing. 

Combining real-world examples with actionable guidance, this session helps you confidently navigate the bankruptcy process, protect your company’s position, and maximize recoveries at every stage. 

Capital Structure & Debt Analysis explores how a company’s debt structure, covenants, and collateral directly influence credit risk and unsecured creditor recovery. 

Through real-world case studies, participants learn to identify warning signs in financing activity, covenant terms, and shifts from unsecured to secured borrowing. The course also includes a hands-on walkthrough of a liquidation waterfall analysis, illustrating how creditor recoveries are determined in both liquidation and reorganization scenarios. 

By the end, attendees will understand how to interpret capital structures and anticipate how changes in a customer's capital structure can ultimately impact the unsecured creditor's recovery.

Credit Risk Assessment & Scoring Models brings together the core analytical concepts introduced throughout the Credit Academy to show how they integrate into a unified, objective credit rating framework. 

This session demonstrates how operational performance, balance sheet strength, cash flow, and liquidity measures can be weighted and scored to produce consistent, data-driven assessments of financial health. Participants gain insight into how the Pulse Ratings model evaluates trends such as declining margins, rising leverage, and liquidity erosion, and how these indicators interact to shape overall credit outcomes. 

The course also explores forward-looking elements including covenant compliance, upcoming maturities, and liquidation analysis, providing a complete view of credit risk from stability to distress. 

By the end, attendees will understand how to apply a structured, repeatable scoring process that eliminates bias, enhances consistency, and improves visibility into shifting credit quality over time. 

How to Evaluate Credit & Set Appropriate Limits When Financials Are Not Available teaches credit professionals how to make informed and effective decisions when customers withhold financial statements. 

The course introduces a structured approach to credit evaluation built on alternative data sources such as credit applications, trade and bank references, UCC filings, and public records. Participants learn how to interpret payment trends, monitor changes in management or store activity, and use tools like debt pricing, and news alerts to identify emerging risk. 

The session also highlights the value of peer collaboration through credit groups and demonstrates how to apply a non-financial scorecard to maintain consistency in your credit decisions across your customer base. 

By the end, participants will understand how to piece together a complete credit story, establish appropriate credit limits, and strengthen their company’s decision making process in the absence of traditional financial disclosure. 

 The objective of this course is to ensure participants understand their responsibilities under antitrust law and maintain full compliance to protect themselves and their organizations from potential liability and other legal repercussions.  

The session will provide an overview of key antitrust laws and highlight the specific do’s and don’ts that credit professionals need to understand. Participants will learn how to recognize and avoid discussions or actions that could raise antitrust concerns, including the exchange of pricing information, credit terms, or other competitively sensitive information.

At the same time, the course will clarify what types of information can be appropriately shared among credit professionals to support informed and compliant credit decisions.