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Accounting: Principles of Financial Accounting

Approx. 12 hours to complete

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Course Summary

This course provides an introduction to financial accounting, covering the basics of financial statements, bookkeeping, and analyzing financial data. Students will learn how to prepare and interpret financial statements, as well as how to use financial data to make business decisions.

Key Learning Points

Gain a solid understanding of financial accounting principles and concepts
Learn how to prepare and interpret financial statements
Develop the skills to analyze financial data and make informed business decisions

Learning Outcomes

Understand and apply financial accounting principles and concepts
Prepare and interpret financial statements
Analyze financial data to make informed business decisions

Prerequisites or good to have knowledge before taking this course

Basic math skills
Familiarity with Excel

Course Difficulty Level

Beginner

Course Format

Online
Self-paced
Video Lectures

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Introduction to Corporate Finance
Financial Markets
Financial Modeling and Valuation

Related Education Paths

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Description

Financial Accounting is often called the language of business; it is the language that managers use to communicate the firm's financial and economic information to external parties such as shareholders and creditors. Nobody working in business can afford financial illiteracy. Whether you run your own business, work as a manager or are just starting your career, you want to understand financial information and be able to interact with accountants, controllers, and financial managers. You want to talk business!

This course will provide you with the accounting language's essentials. Upon completion, you should be able to read and interpret financial statements for business diagnosis and decision-making. More importantly, you will possess the conceptual base to keep learning more sophisticated accounting and finance on your own. Do not forget that, as with any other language, becoming proficient with accounting requires constant practice.

Outline

Course Overview & Week 1: Introduction to Accounting - The Balance Sheet
Introduction - Welcome to the Course
1. Accounting: The Language of Business
2. Practice Case: The Campus Bookstore I
3. Practice Case: The Campus Bookstore II
4. Accounting for our First Transactions
5. Accounting for More Transactions
6. Explaining the Balance Sheet
7. Defining an Asset
8. Defining a Liability
9. Recap
Course Overview & Syllabus
Reminder of Coursera's Honor Code
About Week 1
Transactions Week 1
Required Reading Week 1: "The Balance Sheet"
Required Reading Week 1: "Introduction to Financial Accounting"
Quiz 1 with Solutions
Quiz Week 1

Week 2: The Income Statement
1. Introduction to Week 2
2. Recap of Week 1
3. Purchasing More Inventory
4. Sales and Cost of Goods Sold
5. Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
6. Some Collections and Payments of Cash
7. Depreciation and Amortization
8. Interest from Bank Loan and Taxes
9. Preparing the Balance Sheet
10. Introducing the Income Statement
11. Recap of Week 2 and Conclusions
About Week 2
Transactions Week 2
Required Reading Week 2: "The Income Statement"
Required Reading Week 2: "Introduction to Financial Accounting"
Quiz 2 with Solutions
Quiz Week 2

Week 3: The Cash Flow Statement
1. Introduction to Week 3
2. Recap of Week 2
3. T-Accounts and Journal Entries
4. Setting up T-Accounts for the Campus Bookstore
5. Sales, Cost of Goods Sold, Collections from Customers and Payment to Suppliers
6. Other Operating Costs
7. Transactions with Non-Current Assets
8. Bank Loans and Interest
9. Taxes, Closing Entries and Payments of Dividends
10. Preparing the Balance Sheet
11. Preparing the Income Statement
12. Introducing the Cash Flow Statement I
13. Introducing the Cash Flow Statement II
14. Recap of Week 3 and Conclusions
About Week 3
Transactions Week 3
Required Reading Week 3: "The Statement of Cash Flows"
Quiz 3 with Solutions
Quiz Week 3

Week 4: Accrual Accounting
1. Introduction to Week 4
2. Recap of Week 3
3. Accrual accounting vs. cash accounting
4. Measuring performance with accrual accounting
5. A few examples: prepaid insurance, accrued interest and advances from customers
6. Performance evolution of the Campus Bookstore I
7. Performance evolution of the Campus Bookstore II
8. Reading and interpreting real financial statements I
9. Reading and interpreting real financial statements II
10. Advanced topics you can explore on your own
11. Conclusions
About Week 4
Transactions Week 4
Quiz 4 Part I with Solutions
Quiz Week 4 Background Information for Reference
Recommended Reading
Prompt
Solutions
Quiz Week 4 - Part 1
New Quiz

Summary of User Reviews

The Financial Accounting course on Coursera has received high praise from many users. It is considered a comprehensive and informative course that provides a great foundation in financial accounting. Many users found the course helpful in understanding the basics of financial accounting and how to apply it to real-life scenarios.

Key Aspect Users Liked About This Course

The course is highly informative and provides a great foundation in financial accounting.

Pros from User Reviews

Comprehensive and informative course
Great foundation in financial accounting
Helpful in understanding the basics of financial accounting
Easy to follow and well-structured course material

Cons from User Reviews

Some users found the course to be too basic and not challenging enough
The course can be time-consuming
Some users found the quizzes to be too difficult
The course may not be suitable for those with prior accounting experience

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