Go beyond basic accounting to analyze cost behavior, operational risk, and true cash flow efficiency.
This course examines advanced financial metrics that provide deeper insight into organizational performance and risk management. It covers the mechanics of cost behavior, including the distinction between fixed and variable costs, and how these structures influence breakeven points and margin of safety. Participants will explore the degree of operating leverage to understand how sales fluctuations impact profitability, as well as the importance of asset turnover and the cash conversion cycle in managing liquidity. The content also addresses the use of free cash flow yield as a tool for assessing company valuation and financial health from an investor perspective.
Topics Covered:
2 activities • 1 videos • duration: 50m
Dr. Eric Knight is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with a career that bridges professional accounting and academia. He earned a B.S. in Accounting from Louisiana State University, an M.S. in Accounting from the University of North Texas, and a Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) from Baker College, where his research focused on student perceptions of accounting education. With more than 25 years of combined professional and academic experience, he brings both practical expertise and scholarly perspective to my work. My professional career includes roles as a tax accountant and positions in corporate finance, where he specialized in financial analysis, reporting, and compliance. He also managed budgets, contracts, and fiscal operations across multiple departments in higher education. Dr. Knight was invited to speak at the 2025 Fall Continuing Professional Development Conference for CPA New Brunswick. Since 2008, he has dedicated himself to teaching and mentoring future professionals. Dr. Knight teaches courses in financial accounting, managerial accounting, and taxation, with a focus on clarity, engagement, and real-world application. His goal is to bridge the gap between theory and practice, equipping students with the knowledge and confidence to succeed in today’s dynamic business environment. Dr. Eric Knight’s areas of expertise include Managerial Accounting and Financial Statement Analysis, with research examining the challenges business majors face in accounting courses.
Provincial regulators of CPAs in Canada do not require that independent providers of CPD be approved to offer courses. Instead, individual CPAs are responsible for assessing whether a CPD activity meets their requirements, and may take activities from any source provided those requirements are met.
Every course offered on LearnFormula is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, and advances learning objectives that are relevant to the responsibilities or professional competencies of Canadian CPAs. All activities on LearnFormula are quantifiable in terms of hours, and are also verifiable, in that users receive documented evidence of their attendance via a certificate of completion after finishing a course (and this certificate is stored by LearnFormula indefinitely). Nearly 100,000 Canadian CPAs successfully satisfy their CPD requirements via LearnFormula on an annual basis.
