Financial Accounting Course

Build, interpret, and analyze financial statements to drive business decision-making

This course will teach you the fundamentals of financial accounting. Starting with the basics of recording transactions as journal entries and posting them to T accounts, you will learn how to prepare a balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.

Equipped with an understanding of the building blocks of financial statements, you will learn how to analyze them and calculate and interpret critical ratios. The course concludes with an introduction to forecasting and valuation where you will learn to prepare forecasted financial statements and make capital budgeting decisions using tools such as Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return calculations.

Participating in Financial Accounting will allow you to:

• Understand where the information in financial statements originates by recording transactions
• Construct balance sheets and income statements
• Use the statement of cash flows to evaluate the financial health of a business
• Analyze ratios and use the DuPont Framework to evaluate a business
• Prepare and evaluate financial forecasts used to make strategic decisions
• Learn how to value a venture, project, or investment opportunity and perform a sensitivity analysis

The HBS Online Advantage

• World-class faculty
• Edge-of-your-seat online learning
• Global peer collaboration and networking
• Real-world, case-based learning

Harvard Business School Online offers a unique and highly engaging way to learn vital business concepts. Immerse yourself in real challenges faced by a diverse group of finance experts, including Rick Childs, Managing Member of 625 Ground Lessor LLC; Mike Even, former Global CIO for Citigroup Asset Management; Chris Hohn, founder of the Children’s Investment Fund; Henrik Poulsen, Chief Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of PFA Asset Management; Dwight Scott, President of GSO Capital; Nikos Stathopoulos, Partner at BC Partners and Member of the BC Partners Executive Committee; and Matt Wilson, Co-Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of Oaktree Capital Management. Step into their shoes and wrestle with the same issues they faced, while engaging with fellow learners from around the world.