Understanding Financial Statements: Company Performance (Coursera)

Understanding Financial Statements: Company Performance (Coursera)

This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of financial statements with an emphasis on the income statement. Building on the foundation formed in the first course, you will learn about the third of our three measurement questions and how the income statement helps to answer this final measurement question. Returning to the real business people introduced in the first course, this second course describes the basic content of income statement in a simple yet relevant context.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

The course ends by summarizing many of the lessons learned in both courses to leave you with a lasting impression about what financial statements are and how accounting can work for you. We all know that accounting is “the language of business”; let’s make learning this language engaging, and perhaps even fun!
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
• Describe the purpose of an income statement.
• Define the basic components of an income statement.
• Recognize and understand the meaning of several items typically presented on an income statement.
• Explain the broader purpose of financial statements and the role of accounting in producing the financial statements.
• Read and, to some extent, interpret real-world income statements.
Course 2 of 5 in the Fundamentals of Accounting Specialization

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Course Orientation
You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course.
How Did You Perform? Introducing the Income Statement
This module introduces you to the primary components of the income statement by focusing on the concepts of revenue and cost of goods sold.

WEEK 2
Finishing Out the Income Statement and Managing Cash
This module discusses examples of other income and expenses included in a typical income statement and introduces you to the statement of cash flows.

WEEK 3
Final Elements of Financial Statements
This module highlights common notes to the financial statements and provides insights from an expert.

WEEK 4
Wrapping Up Financial Statements and What Lies Ahead
This module revisits what the first two courses of the Fundamentals of Accounting Specialization have covered and examines how ratio analyses can help you evaluate a company.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Machine Learning for Accounting with Python (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Machine Learning for Accounting with Python (Coursera)

This course, Machine Learning for Accounting with Python, introduces machine learning algorithms (models) and their applications in accounting problems. It covers classification, regression, clustering, text analysis, time series analysis. It also discusses model evaluation and model optimization. This course provides an entry point for students to be able to apply proper machine learning models on business related datasets with Python to solve various problems.

Sep 21st 2026
5-12 Weeks
Making the Case for Robotic Process Automation (Coursera) Coursera
Association of International Certified Professional Accountants - AICPA

Making the Case for Robotic Process Automation (Coursera)

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is reshaping the accounting and finance profession. 40% of transactional accounting work is expected to be automated by 2020 and predicted to touch 230 million knowledge workers, 9% of the global workforce, according to McKinsey Research. Driven by the need to stay competitive, decrease costs and increase efficiency, RPA is quickly making a significant impact on the profession. Companies no longer think about "if" but "when" to implement RPA.

Oct 5th 2026
2 Weeks
Accounting for Business Decision Making: Measurement and Operational Decisions (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Accounting for Business Decision Making: Measurement and Operational Decisions (Coursera)

Accounting information is the lifeblood of the organization as it facilitates and influences operational and strategic decisions intended to achieve organizational goals. Organizations benefit from three decision-oriented roles of accounting: measurement, control, and communication. This course provides an introduction to accounting’s measurement role inside of an organization and how accountants communicate information that helps managers and employees make operational decisions. In particular, you will learn how cost information is created and organized to help managers and employees conduct profitability analyses, develop and choose products, make pricing decisions, and make common business decisions.

Sep 21st 2026
4 Weeks
Introduction to Financial Accounting (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Introduction to Financial Accounting (Coursera)

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.

Sep 21st 2026
4 Weeks
Accounting for Mergers and Acquisitions: Advanced Topics (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Accounting for Mergers and Acquisitions: Advanced Topics (Coursera)

This course aims at assisting you in interpreting financial accounting information related to advanced issues in inter-corporate investments. The course will cover four main topics over four modules: (i) accounting for spinoffs and equity carveouts, (ii) accounting for leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations, (iii) tax considerations in inter-corporate investments, and (iv) financial statement analysis in the presence of inter-corporate investments.

Sep 28th 2026
4 Weeks
Fundamentos de los Aspectos Financieros del Negocio con Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women (Coursera) Coursera
Goldman Sachs

Fundamentos de los Aspectos Financieros del Negocio con Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women (Coursera)

Este curso gratuito es uno de los 10 cursos disponibles en la colección Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women, diseñado para emprendedoras listas para llevar su negocio al siguiente nivel. Este curso te presentará la terminología financiera y te mostrará cómo utilizar los estados financieros para comprender y controlar la posición financiera de tu empresa para poder tomar decisiones comerciales clave.

Sep 21st 2026
1 Week
Accounting for Mergers and Acquisitions: Foundations (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Accounting for Mergers and Acquisitions: Foundations (Coursera)

This course aims at assisting you in interpreting financial accounting information related to inter-corporate investments. The course will cover three main topics over four modules: (i) accounting for passive, significant influence, and control type of inter-corporate investments, (ii) special issues and considerations in inter-corporate investments, and (iii) special types of inter-corporate investments.

Sep 28th 2026
4 Weeks
Formal Financial Accounting (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Formal Financial Accounting (Coursera)

This course builds upon what you learned in Financial Accounting: Foundations and Financial Accounting: Advanced Topics and introduces you to formal foundations of financial accounting. The main purpose of the course is to familiarize you with technical terms in financial accounting, such as debit, credit and T-account. While knowledge on technical aspects of financial accounting is not necessary to understand and interpret financial statements, this knowledge is critical to be able to understand advanced topics in accounting. Formal Financial Accounting is a prerequisite course for the University of Illinois' iMSA program and the terminology we will cover will be used throughout the courses in iMSA program.

Sep 28th 2026
4 Weeks
Financial Reporting Capstone (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Financial Reporting Capstone (Coursera)

The Capstone is the culminating project in the Financial Reporting Specialization. You will have the opportunity to combine the concepts and techniques obtained through all the courses in this specialization (Accounting Analysis I: The Role of Accounting as an Information System, Accounting Analysis I: Measurement and Disclosure of Assets, Accounting Analysis II: Measurement and Disclosure of Liabilities, and Accounting Analysis II: Accounting for Liabilities and Equity) and apply them to a real world accounting project.

Sep 21st 2026
3 Weeks
What is Financial Accounting? (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Irvine

What is Financial Accounting? (Coursera)

Students are introduced to the field of financial accounting through defining the foundational activities, tools, and users of financial accounting. Students learn to use the accounting equation and are introduced to the four major financial statements. Additional topics include ethical considerations, recording business transactions, and the application of credit/debit rules.

Sep 21st 2026
4 Weeks
Financial Acumen for Non-Financial Managers (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Financial Acumen for Non-Financial Managers (Coursera)

In this course, you’ll explore how financial statement data and non-financial metrics can be linked to financial performance. Professors Rick Lambert and Chris Ittner of the Wharton School have designed this course to help you gain a practical understanding of how data is used to assess what drives financial performance and forecast future financial scenarios. You’ll learn more about the frameworks of financial reporting, income statements, and cash reporting, and apply different approaches to analyzing financial performance using real-life examples to see the concepts in action.

Sep 21st 2026
4 Weeks