Course Overview

RMA’s Lending Decision Process offers a sound foundation in the basics of commercial lending and credit. Through web-based, audiovisual features, these 17 courses (or six separate series) present the analytical and decision-making techniques needed to make sound credit decisions using financial accounting, financial statement analysis, and cash flow analysis. They take between 35 and 50 hours to complete. 

     

Duration

35 to 50 hours

Delivery

Self-Directed Online

Program Level

Foundational

 

Prerequisites

Assumes basic knowledge of financial accounting and credit analysis.*

 

 

Who Will Benefit?

The Lending Decision Process was designed as the foundation of a strong core credit curriculum for loan trainees, credit analysts, and anyone with commercial lending authority.

   

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Courses

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Series 1: Industry, Management, and Economic Influences 

• Industry and Economic Influences 
• Understanding the Business 

Series 2: Interpreting Quality of Financial Reports and Accounts 

• Interpreting Reliability and Comparability of Financial Statements 
• Interpreting Quality and Consistency of Balance Sheet and Income Statement 

Series 3: Analyzing the Company's Financial Performance and Condition

• Spreading Financial Statements 
• Analyzing the Balance Sheet 
• Analyzing the Income Statement 
• Analyzing Combined Balance Sheets and Income Statements 

Series 4: The Cash Cycle, Seasonality, and Discovering Borrowing Causes and Repayment Sources

• Business Cash Cycles 
• Seasonality 
• Discovering Borrowing Causes and Repayment Sources 

Series 5: Analyzing Cash Flow Statements to Measure Long-term Repayment Ability

• Cash Flow Statements and Their Formats 
• Analyzing Cash Flow 
• Debt Service Coverage Measures 

Series 6: Using Financial Projections to Fine Tune the Credit Analysis 

• Assessing Short-term Repayment Ability Using Monthly Pro Formats 
• Preparing and Interpreting Annual Financial Projections 
• Using Projections to Help Determine Appropriate Loan Type 

Methodology:

Each series in the curriculum details a step or steps in The Lending Decision Process. The series helps learners recognize how qualitative factors influence a company's ability to repay debt, to form an opinion about the accuracy and reliability of the financial statements, and then to perform analytical steps so they can assess a company's creditworthiness.