Unlocking financial statements: Online, July 19-23

Jimmy Gentry

The free, weeklong “Understanding Financial Statements” online seminar covers income statements, balance sheets, cash flows and writing about numbers.

As one past participant said, “This course really revolutionized my reporting. I felt much more confident writing my last earnings story.”

Space is limited for these seminars, and registration will operate on a first-come, first-serve, basis.

During the week of the online seminar, participants will be asked to:

• Spend between 1- 1 ½ hours each day working on the online seminar. Ideally, most of this would be done during the live session, at either Noon or 4 p.m. EDT. Attending either daily interactive session is highly recommended, but you may also listen to recordings of the sessions to work through the seminar on your own. During after-hours, instructor involvement and feedback will be limited.
• Adhere to the discussion leader’s deadlines for any work to be completed and submitted.
• Engage in discussion within the appropriate discussion forum concerning the readings and assignments.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR

This seminar will be led by James Gentry, a professor and former dean at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas. He has presented workshops on understanding the numbers of business to thousands of journalists and corporate communicators. He received the Barry Sherman Teaching Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2008. The award recognizes excellence and innovation in the teaching of media management and economics. Prior to joining KU, he was journalism dean at the University of Nevada, Reno, and associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism.

Those who successfully complete three regional workshops or online seminars presented by the Reynolds Center are eligible to receive a “Circle of Achievement” award certificate.

AGENDA

• Day One: Introduction to financial statements
• Day Two: The income statement
• Day Three: Balance sheets
• Day Four: Cash flows
• Day Five: Writing stories based on what you’ve learned

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

This free seminar is sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism.

The Reynolds Center is funded by a grant from the Las Vegas, Nevada-based Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Besides its workshops, the center runs BusinessJournalism.org, offering tips, training and resources for those who want to do a better job of covering business.

Please do not register unless you are sincere about participating in this online seminar and can do so for each day of the designated week. Please receive approval from your editor prior to signing up for the seminar.