More Introduction to Financial Accounting

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-financial-accounting

Introduction

### Course Review: More Introduction to Financial Accounting on Coursera **Overview** The "More Introduction to Financial Accounting" course, offered on Coursera, is a comprehensive second step for learners who have already completed the introductory course in Financial Accounting. This course is critical for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of financial statements and improving their decision-making ability based on this vital information. By building on the foundational knowledge acquired in the introductory course, this offering delves deep into the intricacies of financial statements, asset and liability management, and the nuanced challenges companies face in reporting their financial health. **Syllabus Breakdown** **Week 5: Introduction and Working Capital Assets** The course kicks off with a clear examination of Balance Sheets, focusing on Assets, Liabilities, and Stockholders' Equity. You'll learn about Accounts Receivable and "Bad Debts," introducing real-world challenges listed companies encounter. The week also touches on inventory accounting methods, offering a glimpse into the distinct approaches used in retail versus manufacturing, particularly emphasizing the controversial LIFO (Last In, First Out) method. **Week 6: Long-lived Assets and Marketable Securities** Diving deeper into financial statements, this week covers Property, Plant, and Equipment, and explores depreciation and impairment. Intangible assets, especially Goodwill, are discussed in detail, clarifying how they impact a company's valuation. Furthermore, investment accounting for equity and debt securities is handled with clarity—essential knowledge for understanding corporate financial health. **Week 7: Liabilities and Long-term Debt** The focus shifts to the right-hand side of the Balance Sheet, where the course tackles the time-value of money—a crucial concept for accounting. You'll explore various types of liabilities, including bank debt and bonds and learn about off-balance-sheet liabilities relating to leases. This section is particularly valuable for those looking to analyze debt structures within companies. **Week 8: Deferred Taxes** This week addresses the complexities surrounding taxation and financial reporting. The course clarifies the concept of "two sets of books" that companies maintain due to different accounting standards and tax regulations. You'll learn to identify permanent and temporary differences leading to deferred taxes—a critical topic for anyone involved in financial accounting or strategic tax planning. **Week 9: Shareholders' Equity** As the course comes to a close, it examines the bottom section of the Balance Sheet—Shareholders' Equity. Students will explore various processes involving stock issuance, buybacks, and stock dividends. The week culminates with an overview of the Statement of Stockholders' Equity, rounding out your understanding of a company's equity situation. **Week 10: Financial Statement Analysis** In the final week, the course shifts to real-world application through systematic financial statement analysis of a company. Although this material is optional regarding exams, it equips learners with the skills to apply their knowledge practically, ensuring you're ready to analyze financial data confidently. **Conclusion and Recommendations** The "More Introduction to Financial Accounting" course is a meticulously structured program that builds on prior knowledge while introducing essential concepts that every business professional should understand. The lectures are engaging and practical, making the complexities of financial accounting approachable. I highly recommend this course to anyone who has completed the introductory course and is looking to elevate their financial analysis skills. It’s especially beneficial for students, budding accountants, and business professionals who wish to harness financial data in decision-making processes. By the end of this course, you will not only have the tools to navigate financial statements but also the confidence to impress your peers with your expansive knowledge in financial accounting. Enroll now, and take the next step in your financial education journey!

Syllabus

Week 5: Introduction and Working Capital Assets

Now that we have a solid grasp of the foundations from the Introduction to Financial Accounting course, we are going to work our way around the Balance Sheet to discuss various types of Assets, Liabilities, and Stockholders' Equity (along with their associated Revenues and Expenses) in more detail. We kick off with Accounts Receivable and the problem that some customers that buy goods on credit will not actually pay us. We will look at the computation, disclosure, and analysis of such "Bad Debts". We will also briefly discuss other Accounts Receivable issues such as Factoring and Securitization. Then, we will move on to Inventory. We will discuss how Inventory accounting differs between retail and manufacturing firms. We will see how companies figure out the cost of the inventory they sold, which requires assumptions about cost flows. This discussion will lead us into covering one of the most infamous accounting topics: LIFO.

This week, we will cover assets that represent longer-term investments. We will start with Property, Plant, and Equipment, covering questions like: What gets included in these accounts? How are they depreciated? What happens if their value is impaired? Then, we will cover similar questions for Intangible Assets, including Goodwill. Finally, we will discuss how companies account for investments in debt and equity securities and how the treatment for equity investments in other companies is determined by how much of the other company is owned.

We move to the right-hand side of the Balance Sheet this week with a look at Liabilities. We will start by covering time-value of money, which is the idea that $1 today is not worth the same as $1 in the future. Almost all liabilities involve a consideration of the time-value of money, so this will be an important foundation piece for you to understand. Then, we will cover accounting for bank debt, mortgages, and bonds. Next, we will move into the topic of "off-balance-sheet" liabilities with a discussion of Leases.

There are two certainties in life, and we will cover one of them this week (the other is beyond the scope of the course). We will NOT teach you how to prepare your own tax return. Instead, we will discuss how companies have to prepare "two sets of books": their financial statements and their tax returns. The rules are different for these two sets of books, leading to permanent differences and to temporary differences. We will cover both types of differences, with a main focus on "deferred taxes", which are the byproduct of temporary or timing differences between tax reporting and financial reporting. Finally, we will touch on other tax issues, such as Net Operating Loss Carryforwards and the rule that requires companies to disclose how much they are trying to cheat on their taxes (sorry, that should say "use tax planning strategies to manage their taxable income").

Our final week of new material ends at the bottom of the Balance Sheet: Shareholders' Equity. We will talk about issuing stock, repurchasing stock, Treasury Stock, stock dividends and splits, Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, and stock-based compensation. We will also finally cover the fourth required financial statement: The Statement of Stockholders' Equity.

In the videos this week, I go through a systematic financial statement analysis for a company. There is no homework assignment for this material and it will not be explicitly covered on the exam (although some of the concepts are a review of material we have covered previously). Thus, if you don't have time before the final exam, you can enjoy these videos after completing the exam without adversely affecting your performance. The final exam will cover material in weeks 5 through 9. The only thing left to do after this exam is to impress your family, friends, and co-workers with your vast knowledge of Financial Accounting!