Explains how to interpret a client's financial statements, liquidity, debt position, savings capacity, and time-value-of-money needs before making planning recommendations.
This chapter moves from discovery into financial assessment. Once the advisor understands who the client is, the next task is to determine what the client’s balance sheet, cash flow, savings behaviour, and debt obligations reveal about planning capacity and planning gaps.
For exam purposes, this chapter is about interpretation as much as calculation. Students should be able to read a personal financial statement, identify the most important strength or weakness in the client’s position, and connect that finding to an appropriate next planning action.
The main themes are:
interpreting assets, liabilities, net worth, and cash flow
assessing liquidity, emergency reserves, and debt-service pressure
distinguishing a savings problem from an investment-return problem
applying basic time value of money concepts to present value, future value, compounding, and goal funding
Learn how to interpret personal financial statements, calculate net worth, assess liquidity and debt pressure, and identify the planning issues that matter most.
Learn how present value, future value, compounding, discounting, and simple annuity logic help advisors compare current resources with future financial goals.