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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Understanding Financial Statements: Company Position by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
1,372 ratings
About the Course
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. By touring a real company and interviewing real business people, the course describes the basic content of financial statements in a simple yet relevant context. The goal of the course is to leave a lasting impression about what balance sheet consists of and what it reveals. The next course in the Fundamentals of Accounting Specialization completes the conversation by addressing the remaining measurement question.
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
• Describe the purpose of a balance sheet.
• Define the three components of a balance sheet.
• Recognize and understand the meaning of several items typically presented on a balance sheet.
• 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 balance sheets.
If you enjoy this business course and are interested in an MBA, consider applying to the iMBA, a flexible, fully-accredited online MBA at an incredibly competitive price offered by the University of Illinois. For more information, please see the Resource page in this course and onlinemba.illinois.edu.
Top reviews
CD
Nov 21, 2017
Thanks for the awesome course. I understand more about the balance sheet and the basics of accounting and why it's necessary in the business world.
MH
May 23, 2016
Great course! Mr Jackson put a lot of effort into the construction of the class and explained everything in detail so that you get a solid understanding of the Balance Sheet
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