Real Projects From Real Students

We don't assign generic exercises. Students here tackle actual financial analyses, build working models, and solve problems that mirror what professionals face daily. It's messy sometimes, and that's the point.

Financial Ratio Analysis in Practice

Balance Sheet Deep Dives

Students pick companies from ASX listings and dissect their financial statements. No two analyses look the same because no two businesses operate identically. They learn to spot red flags in liquidity ratios and understand why context matters more than formulas.

Profitability Metrics

Calculating ROE is straightforward. Understanding why one retailer's 12% beats another's 18% takes actual thinking. Students compare competing firms and justify their interpretations with evidence from annual reports and market conditions.

Efficiency Ratios

Inventory turnover means different things for a fresh produce distributor versus a luxury furniture maker. Projects require students to explain these differences rather than just plug numbers into spreadsheets.

Leverage Analysis

Debt-to-equity ratios scare people until they understand industry norms. Students research sector benchmarks and present findings on when high leverage signals smart growth versus dangerous overextension.

Market Valuation

Price-to-earnings ratios fluctuate constantly. Projects involve tracking a company over several weeks, documenting P/E changes, and connecting those movements to news events or earnings releases.

Comparative Studies

Choosing three competitors and building a comprehensive ratio comparison teaches more than any textbook chapter. Students defend their methodology choices and present conflicting data without oversimplifying.

How Projects Actually Work

Students start with a brief that outlines the business problem but doesn't prescribe the solution. They're expected to research, make judgment calls, and sometimes hit dead ends.

Most projects span three to four weeks. That's enough time to go deep without dragging on forever. Students submit drafts, get feedback that's occasionally blunt, and revise their work.

The best projects often come from students who question the initial assumptions. We encourage that. If you think the brief misses something important, argue your case.

What Students Build

Projects vary based on student interests and current market conditions. Someone fascinated by tech startups might analyse cash burn rates and runway projections. Another person focused on property development would look at debt service coverage ratios.

Recent work includes a comparative analysis of retail banks during interest rate changes, a breakdown of mining company asset utilization ratios, and an investigation into how healthcare providers manage working capital differently than other sectors.

Financial health assessments using multiple ratio categories simultaneously
Trend analysis showing how key metrics evolved over five-year periods
Industry benchmark reports that required collecting data from dozens of sources
Investment recommendation briefs supported by ratio analysis and qualitative factors
Risk evaluation frameworks customized for specific business models

These aren't cookie-cutter assignments. Students choose their focus areas and defend their analytical approaches. Some prefer conservative, by-the-book methods. Others experiment with newer frameworks. Both approaches work if the reasoning is sound.

Sanna Mikkelsen

Financial Analysis Mentor

Spent twelve years in corporate finance before switching to education. Still consults occasionally because staying connected to actual business problems matters. Students appreciate straight talk about what works and what doesn't.

Recent Student Projects

Retail Sector Comparison

Completed February 2025

Evaluated current ratios, quick ratios, and inventory turnover for five Australian retailers. Discovered that traditional metrics didn't fully capture online-offline business model differences.

Liquidity Analysis Sector Research Excel Modeling

Energy Company Leverage

Completed January 2025

Analysed debt structures for renewable energy firms versus traditional providers. Found that high debt-to-equity ratios had different implications depending on asset base and revenue predictability.

Leverage Metrics Industry Context Risk Assessment

Tech Startup Valuation

Completed March 2025

Tackled the challenge of valuing pre-profit companies where traditional ratios break down. Combined ratio analysis with alternative metrics and comparable company research.

Valuation Methods Alternative Metrics Market Comps

Applications Open for September 2025

Our next intake begins in September 2025. The programme runs for twelve months with projects starting in the second month once foundational concepts are covered. Limited to twenty-four students per cohort.

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