Introduction to Finance and Accounting Specialization

Learn the basics of finance and accounting. Build a foundation of core business skills in finance and accounting

Instructors: Michael R Roberts +2 more

What you'll learn

  •   Discounting and compounding arbitrary cash flow streams in order to value different claims and make better financial decisions.
  •   Difference between NPV and Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
  •   Classification of cash flows into operating, investing, and financing activities
  •   How companies account for investments in debt and equity securities

    • Skills you'll gain

  •   Accounting
  •   Financial Accounting
  •   Financial Reporting
  •   Finance
  •   Income Statement
  •   Corporate Finance
  •   Financial Statements
  •   Cash Flows
  •   Business Valuation
  •   Capital Budgeting
  •   Financial Statement Analysis
  •   Accrual Accounting

    • Specialization - 4 course series

    This specialization uses a series of homework, quizzes and an optional Excel spreadsheet to help learners gain a more comprehensive understanding of essential concepts of corporate finance and accounting. The coursework introduces bookkeeping fundamentals, accrual accounting, cash flow analysis, and more! From valuing claims and making financing decisions, to elements of a basic financial model, the coursework provides a solid foundation to corporate finance.

    In this course, you’ll learn the basic fundamentals of corporate finance. Based on the pre-term qualifying courses for Wharton MBA students, Professor Jessica Wachter has designed this course for learners who need a refresher in financial concepts, or for those who are learning about corporate finance for the first time. You’ll identify foundational concepts in corporate finance, such as NPV, Compound and Simple Interest, and Annuities versus Perpetuities. You’ll also learn how to apply the NPV framework to calculating fixed-income valuation and Equity, using hypothetical examples of corporate projects. By the end of this course, you’ll have honed your skills in calculating risk and returns to optimize investments, and be able to assess the right set of financial information to achieve better returns for your firm.

    This course provides a brief introduction to the fundamentals of finance, emphasizing their application to a wide variety of real-world situations spanning personal finance, corporate decision-making, and financial intermediation. Key concepts and applications include: time value of money, risk-return tradeoff, cost of capital, interest rates, retirement savings, mortgage financing, auto leasing, capital budgeting, asset valuation, discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis, net present value, internal rate of return, hurdle rate, payback period.

    Master the technical skills needed to analyze financial statements and disclosures for use in financial analysis, and learn how accounting standards and managerial incentives affect the financial reporting process. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to read the three most common financial statements: the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows. Then you can apply these skills to a real-world business challenge as part of the Wharton Business Foundations Specialization.

    The course builds on my Introduction to Financial Accounting course, which you should complete first. In this course, you will learn how to read, understand, and analyze most of the information provided by companies in their financial statements. These skills will help you make more informed decisions using financial information.

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