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Fundamentals of financial and management accounting

Approx. 12 hours to complete

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Course Summary

Learn the basics of financial accounting and how to read financial statements in this course offered by Politecnico di Milano. Gain insights on accounting principles and how to use them to evaluate a company's performance.

Key Learning Points

Understand the basics of financial accounting
Learn how to read financial statements
Gain insights on accounting principles
Learn how to evaluate a company's performance

Learning Outcomes

Understand financial accounting concepts and principles
Read and interpret financial statements
Evaluate a company's performance using accounting metrics

Prerequisites or good to have knowledge before taking this course

Basic math skills
Basic knowledge of accounting principles

Course Difficulty Level

Beginner

Course Format

Online Course
Self-Paced

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Description

This is an introductory course on financial and management accounting.

The first part of this course will introduce the basic accounting principles and accounting terminology to understand how a company keeps control of financial events and provides information on how it is performing. These basic concepts will support the analysis of financial reports companies prepare. We will go through balance sheet, income statement, financial statement, learning how to read and analyze them. The course will also provide the basis of management accounting introducing some techniques (e.g. break- even analysis or NPV) to support managers in making short-term and long-term decisions, such as "Is it convenient to dispose a production machine and buy a new one?" or "How many products should the company sell in order to break-even?" The course will bring examples and case studies that will help students better understand the practical applications of the basic accounting principles and techniques. At the end of the course, students will be able to read, understand and analyze financial documents and to apply simple techniques to analyse costs and evaluate capital investment decisions.

Outline

Week 1 - Introduction to accounting
What is a company: shareholders and stakeholders
NPV Calculation
What is accounting
Introduction to financial accounting
Accrual and cash principles
Week 1 - Quiz 1
Week 1 - Quiz 2

Financial reports
Balance sheet: general overview
Non current assets and depreciation
Example on recognition of non current assets
Inventories
Equity and liabilities
Income statement: general overview
The impact of inventories on profit
Solution to the inventories exercise
Cash flow statement
Exercise on inventories
Week 2 - Quiz 1
Week 2 - Quiz 2

Management accounting
What are costs
Costs classification
Costs configuration: direct vs full costs
Cost tracing vs cost allocation
JOC
Solution to the JOC exercise
ABC
Solution to the ABC exercise
Exercise on JOC
Exercise on ABC
Week 3 - Quiz 1
Week 3 - Quiz 2

Long-term decision making
What is an investment decision
Steps to investment appraisal
NPV method: general formula
NPV calculation: taxes
NPV calculation: external financing
Solution to the Investment appraisal exercise
New Reading
Week 4 - Quiz 1
Week 4 - Quiz 2

Short term decision making
What are short-term decisions
Evaluating short-term decisions
Solution to the Contribution Margin exercise
Break even point
Solution to the Break Even Point exercise
Production mix
Solution to the Production Mix exercise
Evaluating alternatives
Solution to the alternatives evaluation exercise
Exercise on calculation of Contribution Margin
Exercise on Break Even Point
Exercise on production mix
New Reading
Week 5 - Quiz 1
Week 5 - Quiz 2
Final Quiz

Summary of User Reviews

This financial accounting course offered by Polimi on Coursera has received positive reviews from learners. Many users praised the course for its comprehensive and engaging content, making it easy for them to understand the concepts of financial accounting.

Key Aspect Users Liked About This Course

Comprehensive and engaging content

Pros from User Reviews

Easy to understand concepts
Engaging content
Well-structured course
Great for beginners
Good balance of theory and practical applications

Cons from User Reviews

Some users found the course to be too basic
Lack of interaction with instructors
Limited practical exercises
Not enough real-world examples
Some technical issues with the platform

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