Reconstructing financial analysis courses in higher vocational education in China: a factor analysis approach

Abstract

Background: The development of information technology has had a significant impact on traditional financial analysis. For large amounts of data and complex business environments, financial analysts are required to use technical analysis tools to process mass data and deeply integrate financial analysis and enterprise value to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises. This requires the reconstruction of the financial analysis courses in higher vocational education in China. This manuscript studies the problems existing in traditional financial analysis courses and reconstructs these. Methods: A factor analysis approach is adopted to reconstruct the financial analysis courses. We study these courses from three perspectives — coursebooks, teachers, and teaching methods. We collected the data of relevant courses from online platforms in China and used content analysis to find the problems existing in the three areas. Results: The authors found that the content of the coursebooks were incomplete and outdated, the teachers lacked practical ability and were unaware of data analysis tools. Furthermore, their teaching methods were inefficient. Conclusions: The study reconstructs the financial analysis courses based on three aspects. First, the contents are supplemented with enterprise strategy, macro-environment analysis, industry analysis, business analysis, and the application of data analysis tools. Second, the teachers can work in the company to develop their vocational skills, and participate in training programs to learn data analysis tools. Third, the teaching methods can be dynamic and dual-purpose by cooperating with enterprises to enrich practical teaching. Furthermore, colleges and enterprises can make enterprise work a teaching task, develop simulation training platforms, and provide vocational skill grade certificates.