WORKSHOP PROPOSAL

 

Assisting Students with Basic Financial Statement Analysis: Simplifying Data Access with FactSet

 

 

This interactive workshop presents pedagogical techniques that can be applied in connection with student-developed financial statement analysis (FSA).  In the hands-on session proposed, we will explore the extraordinary benefit of teaching students how to access the comprehensive and robust dataset that is delivered by FactSet.  We do this as a pre-condition to teaching the actual methods involved in quantitative analysis.  Our experience has been that once students grasp the need for FSA, and its variety of applications in the firm, authentic knowledge is enabled by enhancing students’ proficiency at selecting and acquiring data in advance of learning how to use various analytic tools.  Data acquisition should not be an impediment to applying analytics; the FactSet software removes data-collection obstacles.

We document course-tested methods for introducing the immense collection of financial data that is assembled for electronic dissemination without charge to students and faculty by FactSet Research Systems Inc.  Learning to use this delivery system facilitates data acquisition, demystifies accounting and finance terminology, and enables students to progress more rapidly toward competent analysis of financial information.