Interpreting the Financial Statements of a Mining Company

Summary

This course will enable you to develop an awareness of the relevant financial information you can discover about a mining corporation from its audited financial statements. You will also have an appreciation for how accountants are challenged with exercising professional judgment on qualitative issues involving alternative or new accounting standards (IAS, IFRS), balanced with a need for numerical precision. You will recognize that professional judgments included in financial assessments are similar to those made in demonstrating probable and proven mineral reserves.

"Interpreting the Financial Statements of a Mining Company" uses the business environment in the mining industry as a relevant context for understanding the financial statements of mining corporations. It isolates select accounting aspects as being fundamental to your becoming an informed reader of audited financial statements . . . including balance sheets, income statements, cash flows statements, statements of shareholders' equity and the audited notes. Current examples of financial statements of both large and small mining companies are used and analyzed to illustrate these fundamentals.

The course draws on credible sources to highlight relevant characteristics of accounting for mining. The objective of this material is to identify some prominent aspects of financing the corporate mining strategy, delve into the distinct areas where there are issues in accounting for the mining industry, and summarize the risks that are currently inherent in understanding the financial statements of those involved in mining. The course provides the tools to establish a profile of a company's overall financial status and identifies the attributes that contribute to financial health and flexibility.

Participants are advised to bring a laptop computer (with MS Excel).

Pre-Course e-Learning

Prior to the course, registered delegates have access to the online e-learning material consisting of an introductory course titled Understanding Financial Statements of Mining Companies Under IASB and FASB Regulations.

UBC Certificate in Mining Studies

This course qualifies for two days of short course credit for the UBC Certificate in Mining Studies, a continuing education initiative by the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining at the University of British Columbia. more details »

Simon Fraser University Credit for Custom Corporate Graduate Diploma in Business Administration

Participants who successfully complete the EduMine certification exam, meet Simon Fraser University requirements for admission to graduate studies in the Faculty of Business Administration, and complete all pre- and post-course assignments may receive credit for Bus550: "Financial Accounting for Mining" in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Graduate Diploma in Business Administration. more details »

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

This course meets the requirements for formal CPD activity for most Canadian provincial associations and US state boards and may contribute the equivalent in hours towards your CPD requirement. more details »

Who Should Attend

This course will be of interest to those in the mining financial and investment sectors who do not have a strong accounting background. It is a requirement for those seeking certification through the UBC Mining Certificate program or the Simon Fraser University Graduate Diploma in Business Administration.