Sherlock Holmes in finance: Methodology of development and solution of the case on company identification based on financial statements

Abstract

In this work we represent a methodology for development and solution of a study case for the courses “Financial Accounting and Analysis” and “Financial Statement Analysis” that are part of the curriculum of different study programmes in Russian Universities. The main goal of the study case is identification of companies based on their financial statements. This kind of a case helps students to develop skills that reflect application of financial statement analysis instruments to identify industry differences between companies and also differences between companies within one industry that have different business models. These skills may be useful for further career development as they are needed both for work of an external financial analyst and a company’s management while evaluating its financial position. The main novelty of the developed methodology is that faculty members can apply it for further development of study cases of different levels depending on the differences between participants’ knowledge levels and programmes it is used at: bachelor, master or Executive MBA. The work also contains an example of a study case with its solution that is developed on the basis of the methodology described.