Financial Statements Unlocked: How to Understand Corporate Finance and Financial Management

901 enrolled on this course

2 weeks
5 hours per week
Digital certificate when eligible
Intermediate level

Find out more about how to join this course

Every company maintains financial records that help you to understand how well it’s doing. How can you make sense of this information and use it to the strategic advantage of your business?

On this course, you’ll have the chance to find out everything you need to know about reading and making sense of financial statements.

You’ll have the opportunity to explore a range of financial statements – focusing on income statements, statements of financial position and cash flow statements. You’ll look at their qualitative characteristics and learn about the relevance and reliability of financial statements.

You’ll also get to know who else in the business uses this accounting information by investigating the different branches of accounting.

Learn how to prepare cash flow statements

This course will introduce you to the importance of the cash flow statement – one of the three key financial statements that report the cash generated and spent during a specific period of time.

You’ll look at how these statements break down into three sections: operating, investment and financing activities.

Discover the statement of financial position

A statement of financial position, or balance sheet, will reveal if a company is thriving – and if it’s worth investing in.

You’ll get to grips with the key terms of a balance sheet, learn the importance of balancing the books and carry out exercises to increase your knowledge of, and familiarity with, these statements.

Syllabus

Week 1
The purpose of accounting and financial statements
- Getting started
  Welcome to Understanding Financial Statements. Find out what we'll cover this week and share your initial thoughts on our big question.
- Introduction to accounting
  Let's begin our learning journey by introducing what accounting is and its different branches. You'll also identify different users of accounting information and their requirements.
- Financial statements
  You'll now explore what financial statements are and their qualitative characteristics. You'll also look at a case study and focus on reliability and relevance, two core characteristics of financial statements.
- Income statement
  We'll move on to examine the income statement, one of the major financial statements. You'll explore its content and purpose and discuss the key principles and issues when interpreting the information it contains.
- Weekly wrap
  Reflect on what you've learned this week and find out what's coming up next week. This is also your chance to ask any questions you might have.
Week 2
The statement of financial position and the cash flow statement
- Welcome to Week 2
  Welcome to Week 2 of Understanding Financial Statements. Find out what we'll explore this week.
- Statement of financial position
  We'll now look at the statement of financial position, the second major financial statement in this course. You'll explore its content and purpose. You'll also have the opportunity to produce a statement of financial position.
- Cash flow statement
  In this activity, we'll focus on the cash flow statement, the third financial statement. You'll get familiar with its items and purpose. You'll reflect on financial statements and compare them to draw conclusions on their role.
- Bringing them all together
  Let's now combine and practise all the financial statements and new accounting concepts we explored in this course through a final exercise.
- Closing thoughts
  As we bring this short course to a close, you now have the opportunity to reflect upon your learning experience and check your understanding through a quiz. What are your key takeaways?

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

Available now

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...

Investigate the different branches of accounting
Explain the purpose of financial statements (income statement, statement of financial position and cash flow statement)
Interpret financial statements for decision-making purposes
Identify the main users of accounting information and their requirements
Explore items typically included in each of the financial statements and their meaning

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone looking to build their financial data analysis and interested in using data for business decision making.

It will be of particular interest to people in senior management and leadership roles who lack an accounting background, especially if you wish to learn the skills to help you make better decisions and advance your career.

You can enhance your learning experience by following related courses, designed by Coventry University:

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


Ways to learn	Buy this course	Subscribe & save	Limited access
Choose the best way to learn for you!	$54/one-off payment	$39.99 For your first month. Automatically renews	Free
	Fulfill your current learning need	Develop skills to further your career	Sample the course materials
Access to this course	tick	tick	Access expires 26 Dec 2024
Access to 1,000+ courses	cross	tick	cross
Learn at your own pace	tick	tick	cross
Discuss your learning in comments	tick	tick	tick
Tests to check your learning	tick	tick	cross
Certificate when you're eligible	Printed and digital	Digital only	cross
	Continue & Upgrade
		Cancel for free anytime

Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$39.99

For your first month. Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

Access to this course
Access to 1,000+ courses
Learn at your own pace
Discuss your learning in comments
Tests to boost your learning
Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$54/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

Access to this course
Learn at your own pace
Discuss your learning in comments
Tests to boost your learning
Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Continue & Upgrade

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

Access expires 26 Dec 2024

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 29 December 2024 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 29 December 2024 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

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
Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn