4.7
stars
4,218 ratings

117,816 already enrolled

Offered By

Want to earn credit towards a degree? Find out how

You can earn credits from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that count towards a Master of Business Administration (iMBA)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

About this Course

236,141 recent views

In this course, you will learn foundations of financial accounting information. You will start your journey with a general overview of what financial accounting information is and the main financial statements. You will then learn how to code financial transactions in financial accounting language. In the meantime, you will learn about the most important concept in contemporary financial accounting: accrual accounting. You will then critically analyze how firms recognize revenues. Finally, you will finish the course with an analysis of accounting for short-term assets where you will go into detail on how firms account for accounts receivables and inventories. 
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

•	Understand main financial statements and the financial information they provide
•	Write a financial transaction in financial accounting language and understand how this impacts main financial statements
•	Understand how accrual accounting and fundamental accounting concepts work
•	Understand revenue recognition principles and how they impact main financial statements
•	Account for accounts receivables and inventories.  

This course is part of the iMBA offered by the University of Illinois, a flexible, fully-accredited online MBA at an incredibly competitive price. For more information, please see the Resource page in this course and onlinemba.illinois.edu.

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Approx. 14 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Skills you will gain

Financial Accounting
Accounting
Accrual
Financial Statement

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Approx. 14 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.6/5 (861 Ratings)

Oktay Urcan

Professor of Accountancy

Department of Accountancy, College of Business

134,370 Learners

5 Courses

Offered by

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Start working towards your degree

This Course is part of an online degree program offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When you apply for a for-credit non-degree course through the university and complete it online, it counts as credit hours towards a degree at Illinois. All you have to do is apply through the university.

Master of Business Administration (iMBA)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Apply for credit

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(17,072 ratings)

Week

Week 1

2 hours to complete

Course Orientation

2 hours to complete

2 videos (Total 2 min), 5 readings, 1 quiz

3 hours to complete

Module 1: Introduction to Financial Accounting

Accounting is the language of business. Managers communicate the results of operations within a firm through accounting to various financial information users including investors and creditors. In this module, you will explore various users of accounting information and the main financial statements they use to acquire accounting information. You will develop an understanding of the particular type of information provided by each financial statement and how financial statements are related to each other.

3 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 60 min), 4 readings, 5 quizzes

10 videos

M1L1V1: Introduction39s

M1L1V2: What Is Accounting?1m

M1L1V3: Components of Annual Reports3m

M1L2V1: Balance Sheet Overview2m

M1L2V2: Balance Sheet: Assets5m

M1L2V3: Balance Sheet: Liabilities5m

M1L2V4: Balance Sheet: Shareholders’ Equity3m

M1L3V1: Income Statement5m

M1L4V1: Cash Flow Statement6m

Module 1 Case Video25m

4 readings

Module 1 Overview10m

Module 1 Readings10m

Module 1 Example Case Questions10m

Module 1 Example Case Solutions10m

5 practice exercises

Lesson 1-1 Practice Quiz10m

Lesson 1-2 Practice Quiz14m

Lesson 1-3 Practice Quiz8m

Lesson 1-4 Practice Quiz6m

Introduction to Financial Accounting Quiz14m

Week

Week 2

3 hours to complete

Module 2: Recording Transactions and Financial Statement Preparation

3 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 75 min), 5 readings, 5 quizzes

5 videos

M2L1V1: Overview8m

M2L2V1: Example: Illinois Supermarket22m

M2L3V1: Individual Accounts2m

M2L4V1: Accrual Accounting5m

Module 2 Case Video37m

5 readings

Module 2 Overview10m

Module 2 Readings10m

Module 2 Example Case Questions10m

Module 2 Example Case Solutions10m

Additional Resources10m

5 practice exercises

Lesson 2-1 Practice Quiz8m

Lesson 2-2 Practice Quiz4m

Lesson 2-3 Practice Quiz4m

Lesson 2-4 Practice Quiz10m

Recording Transactions and Financial Statement Preparation Quiz16m

Week

Week 3

4 hours to complete

Module 3: Fundamental Accounting Concepts and Revenue Recognition

Fundamental accounting concepts and revenue recognition principles are at the heart of coding financial transactions in accounting language as well as preparation of financial statements from these coded financial transactions. Real life transactions are reflected in financial statements through the lens of these concepts and principles. A good understanding of these concepts and principles will help you understand the type and the nature of information you can learn from financial statements.

4 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 57 min), 4 readings, 6 quizzes

6 videos

M3L1V1: Overview42s

M3L2V1: Fundamental Accounting Concepts4m

M3L3V1: Accruals Concept11m

M3L4V1: Conservatism Concept5m

M3L5V1: Revenue Recognition10m

Module 3 Case Video25m

4 readings

Module 3 Overview10m

Module 3 Readings10m

Module 3 Example Case Questions10m

Module 3 Example Case Solutions10m

5 practice exercises

Lesson 3-2 Practice Quiz10m

Lesson 3-3 Practice Quiz10m

Lesson 3-4 Practice Quiz8m

Lesson 3-5 Practice Quiz10m

Fundamental Accounting Concepts and Revenue Recognition Quiz20m

Week

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Module 4: Short-Term Assets

4 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 77 min), 6 readings, 8 quizzes

11 videos

M4L1V1: Overview49s

M4L2V1: Accounts Receivables: Cash Discounts3m

M4L3V1: Accounts Receivables: Sales Returns3m

M4L4V1: Accounts Receivables: Bad Debts5m

M4L5V1: Accounts Receivables of Walmart4m

M4L6V1: Inventories2m

M4L7V1: Cost Flow Assumptions8m

M4L8V1: Inventories of Walmart2m

M4L9V1: Appendix 1: LIFO - FIFO Conversion12m

Module 4 Case Video30m

Gies Online Programs3m

6 readings

Module 4 Overview10m

Module 4 Readings10m

Module 4 Example Case Questions10m

Module 4 Example Case Solutions10m

Congratulations!10m

Get Your Course Certificate10m

8 practice exercises

Lesson 4-2 Practice Quiz8m

Lesson 4-3 Practice Quiz8m

Lesson 4-4 Practice Quiz8m

Lesson 4-5 Practice Quiz8m

Lesson 4-6 Practice Quiz6m

Lesson 4-7 Practice Quiz10m

Appendix 1 Practice Quiz

Short-Term Assets Quiz20m

Reviews

4.7

972 reviews

5 stars
78.83%
4 stars
17.41%
3 stars
2.39%
2 stars
0.71%
1 star
0.63%

TOP REVIEWS FROM FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING: FOUNDATIONS

by TMar 17, 2019

This course is worth taking for those who don't know much about accounting. I learned a lot through this course how to work on financial statements. Highly recommend it for everyone

by MFMay 27, 2020

Thank you so much for providing this comprehensive course. Topics and examples provided are very extensive and challenging; these motivated me to study the concepts further.

by SCDec 19, 2020

It is a very interesting course with an excellent instructor who explores real and created scenarios making the subjects easy to understand and compare with real-life BS and NIS.

by CSMay 19, 2020

It could be easier for students to have acces to a link with the support material (laws, USGAAP/IFRS, text books) in each video in order to verify and save the documentary support of the class

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Build employee skills, drive business results

Discover Coursera for Business

Financial Accounting: Foundations

About this Course

Skills you will gain