What is Financial Accounting? (Coursera)

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.

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

Course 1 of 3 in the Introduction to Financial Accounting: The Accounting Cycle Specialization

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Introduction to Financial Accounting
Welcome to the first module of the course! We will start our introduction to the field of financial accounting by discussing practical applications of accounting information. Additionally we will identify who uses accounting information, address ethical considerations relevant to accounting, and define the three main forms of business ownership.

WEEK 2
The Accounting Equation & Financial Statements
In this module we are introduced to the accounting equation and the four basic financial statements. We will start by breaking down the components of the accounting equation: assets, liabilities, and equity. We will then take a look at three out of the four basic financial statements: the income statement, the retained earnings statement, and the balance sheet. In this module's activity we will introduce you to the sum function in Excel, which will be used in the remaining activities for this course.

WEEK 3
The Accounting Cycle & Analyzing Transactions
In this module we introduce the first step in the accounting cycle: “Analyze Transactions”. By the end of this module you will be able to analyze and record service business transactions within the fundamental accounting equation. First, we will walk through examples of recording business transitions in the video lesson. Then you will complete an activity to practice recording transactions on your own.

WEEK 4
Analyzing Transactions using the Debit & Credit Rules
In this module we will analyze and record service business transactions using the debit and credit rules. We will also cover the function of T accounts within the accounting cycle and how to calculate the balances of each account at the end of an accounting period. In this module's activity you will have the opportunity to practice recording transactions in T accounts on your own in Excel.

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

Related Courses

New Models of Business in Society (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

New Models of Business in Society (Coursera)

In this course, developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and taught by top-ranked faculty, we will be discussing the emergence of a new story about business. This new story locates business within a societal framework. Almost every business creates or destroys value for customers, suppliers, employees, communities and society, in addition to shareholders and other financiers. A number of new models of business can be built on this idea such as corporate responsibility, philanthropy, shared value and sustainability. Profits and stakeholder value go together, and this course explains how. The final session explores the idea of how to become a stakeholder entrepreneur and create a business that makes money and makes the world a better place.

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
The Power of Markets II: Market Structure and Firm Behaviour (Coursera) Coursera
University of Rochester

The Power of Markets II: Market Structure and Firm Behaviour (Coursera)

In order to maximize profits, firms must ensure that any given output level is produced at least cost and then select the price-output combination that results in total revenue exceeding total cost by the greatest amount possible. With this in mind, this second module of the Power of Markets course addresses how firms can most effectively convert inputs into final output and then covers determining the best price-output combination for a firm and how this varies depending on whether the firm is operating in a perfectly competitive or imperfectly competitive market setting.

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
The Role of Global Capital Markets (Coursera) Coursera
University of Melbourne

The Role of Global Capital Markets (Coursera)

In this course, participants will learn about how different markets around the world can interact to create value for, and effectively manage the risk of, corporations and their stakeholders. This is part of a Specialization in corporate finance created in partnership between the University of Melbourne and Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon).

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
Grow to Greatness: Smart Growth for Private Businesses, Part I (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Grow to Greatness: Smart Growth for Private Businesses, Part I (Coursera)

This course focuses on the common growth challenges faced by existing private businesses when they attempt to grow substantially. What you will learn: common myths and truths about growth in business; growth readiness assessment; the 4 P's of growing a business: planning, prioritization, pace and process; four ways to grow your business: scale and CVP, innovating, outsourcing and strategic acquisitions.

Jun 8th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Foundations of Professional Identity (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Foundations of Professional Identity (Coursera)

Many find themselves frustrated in their careers by lack of preparation for dealing with predictable dilemmas that regularly arise in the world of work. Two in five professionals fired in their jobs after college are terminated for lying, or misuse of technology. Easy to avoid! Or is it? What if you find you have to compromise your values to keep your job? What if they ask you to lie or cheat, even though you know if you are found out you will be fired? What if you find out the company is breaking the law?

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
¿Cómo financiar mi empresa? (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad de los Andes

¿Cómo financiar mi empresa? (Coursera)

Este curso está estructurado para desarrollar la capacidad de entender el proceso de financiamiento de tu emprendimiento, es decir, la financiación de tu empresa para su creación, puesta en marcha y posterior crecimiento. Durante el curso podrás entender los elementos y la estructura de la financiación de tu proyecto, los recursos requeridos para llevarlo a cabo, y finalmente los métodos de identificación y obtención de dichos recursos.

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
Understanding Financial Statements: Company Position (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Understanding Financial Statements: Company Position (Coursera)

This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of financial statements with an emphasis on the balance sheet. However, to understand accounting driven financial statements, it is important to recognize that accounting is less about counting and more about measuring. “What is it that is being measured?” Well, as the course unfolds, you will learn about the three measurement questions and how the balance sheet helps to answer the first two of these questions.

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
Design Thinking for Innovation (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Design Thinking for Innovation (Coursera)

Today innovation is everyone's business. Whether you are a manager in a global corporation, an entrepreneur starting up, in a government role, or a teacher in an elementary school, everyone is expected to get lean – to do better with less. And that is why we all need design thinking. At every level in every kind of organization, design thinking provides the tools you need to become an innovative thinker and uncover creative opportunities that are there – you're just not seeing them yet.

Jun 8th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Applying Data Analytics in Marketing (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Applying Data Analytics in Marketing (Coursera)

This course introduces students to the science of business analytics while casting a keen eye toward the artful use of numbers found in the digital space. The goal is to provide businesses and managers with the foundation needed to apply data analytics to real-world challenges they confront daily in their professional lives.

Jun 13th 2026
4 Weeks
The Search for Great Ideas: Harnessing creativity to empower innovation (Coursera) Coursera
Michigan State University

The Search for Great Ideas: Harnessing creativity to empower innovation (Coursera)

Where do great business ideas come from? We all have compelling business concepts that we've been thinking about for years. In this course we will explore how to use observational tools and other techniques for idea generation and we will talk about how to evaluate the good ideas from the bad. The goal is to settle on a business idea that you are not only passionate about but also has real market application.

Jun 8th 2026
3 Weeks
Introduction to Spreadsheets and Models (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Introduction to Spreadsheets and Models (Coursera)

The simple spreadsheet is one of the most powerful data analysis tools that exists, and it’s available to almost anyone. Major corporations and small businesses alike use spreadsheet models to determine where key measures of their success are now, and where they are likely to be in the future. But in order to get the most out of a spreadsheet, you have know how to use it. This course is designed to give you an introduction to basic spreadsheet tools and formulas so that you can begin harness the power of spreadsheets to map the data you have now and to predict the data you may have in the future.

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
How to Finance and Grow Your Startup – Without VC (Coursera) Coursera
University of London,London Business School

How to Finance and Grow Your Startup – Without VC (Coursera)

Who? If you’re an entrepreneur at any stage of your journey, or even an aspiring one, and you need money to start or grow your business, this course is for you. What? This course will introduce, and help you put to use in your startup, the five models through which your customers can – and will, if you ask them! – fund your business. These five time-tested models have been put to use by entrepreneurial superstars like Michael Dell, Bill Gates, Richard Branson and more. Sadly, though, the five models are rarely talked about and not widely understood. Until now! The five models will be brought to life by the real-world stories of an inspiring collection of incredibly creative entrepreneurs from around the world – including successes and failures – through a series of captivating no-holds-barred interviews with founders and others, and investors, too.

Jun 9th 2026
5-12 Weeks