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Break-even Analysis (IBM)

Explore how to use this integral financial tool to predict business profitability.

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  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    8 hours

Delve into how companies work out how to cover their costs

Every company runs different financial analyses before making investment decisions.

How do you know when a business will start to make a profit? Can you ever predict the risk of loss? Break-even analysis assures that, in the short term, the company can survive.

This course provides you with the opportunity to become familiar with different classifications of cost, and their relationship with business stability. You will have the chance to learn how to calculate the break-even point, and how its application can help evaluate the feasibility of business ideas and their potential for success.

What topics will you cover?

  • The definitions of cost and their relationship with business sustainability.
  • Break-even analysis and its method.
  • How to calculate the break-even point.
  • Introduction to the concept of margin of safety and its importance.
  • Operational gearing and what this means for a business.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Calculate and apply break-even point, margin of safety and profit
  • Explain the difference between fixed, variable and semi variable costs
  • Describe contribution and explain its importance
  • Explore the concept of operational gearing and explain its importance
  • Evaluate the effect of operational gearing on risk and profit

Who is the course for?

This course would suit anyone looking for additional basic accounting skills. These are skills that can help you make better decisions and advance in your career. It may be of particular interest to people in senior management and leadership roles, who lack an accounting background.

Please note that the individuals detailed in the ‘Who will you learn with?’ section below, are current staff members and may be subject to change.

Who developed the course?

Coventry University

Coventry secured 5 QS Stars for Teaching and Online Learning in the QS World University Ranking 2020 and has received No. 1 in the world for Massive Open Online Courses in MoocLab’s World University Ranking 2021.

  • Established

    1992
  • Location

    Coventry

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control

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