Fundamentals of Accounting

Hours: 140 / Access Length: 12 Months / Delivery: Online, Self-Paced

Course Overview:

This course provides an introduction to the basic topics in financial accounting. We will learn about receivables, liabilities, and basic accounting systems. We will also learn the basics of financial statements, review stakeholder equity, and learn about long-term assets. 

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the role of accounting in business. 
• Describe basic accounting systems. 
• Distinguish financial accounting in retail businesses from those in service industries. 
• Describe accounting practices for cash, receivables, and inventories. 
• Describe accounting for fixed and long-term assets. 
• Explain how stockholders make money from their shares. 
• Describe methods for analyzing various financial statements.

Course Outline:

Lesson 1: Introduction to Basic Accounting Systems

This lesson focuses on an introduction to the role of accounting in business. Basic accounting, an overview of financial accounting, and elements of an accounting system are covered. We will also learn the differences between cash and accrual accounting. 

Lesson 2: Accounting for Retail Businesses and Internal Controls

In this lesson, we will explore the application of financial accounting in retail businesses. We will also learn about internal cash controls. Purchase and sales transactions, bank reconciliations, and important laws that govern financial accounting will be covered. 

Lesson 3: Receivables and Inventories

The focus of this lesson is on receivables and inventory. Types of receivables and inventories will be covered, along with write-offs, balance sheet reporting, and inventory costing methods and reporting.  

Lesson 4: Long-Term Assets and Liabilities

In this lesson, we will focus on fixed assets and financial liabilities. Topics in this lesson include the disposal of assets, financial reporting, bonds, and the reporting of liabilities. 

Lesson 5: Equity and Financial Statements

In this final lesson, we will learn about stockholders, cash flow statements, and metric-based analysis of financial statements. Dividends, stock splits, various cash flows, and global analysis will all be covered. 

All necessary course materials are included.

System Requirements:

Internet Connectivity Requirements:

• Cable, Fiber, DSL, or LEO Satellite (i.e. Starlink) internet with speeds of at least 10mb/sec download and 5mb/sec upload are recommended for the best experience.

NOTE: While cellular hotspots may allow access to our courses, users may experience connectivity issues by trying to access our learning management system.  This is due to the potential high download and upload latency of cellular connections.   Therefore, it is not recommended that students use a cellular hotspot as their primary way of accessing their courses.

Hardware Requirements:

• CPU: 1 GHz or higher
• RAM: 4 GB or higher
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher.  1920x1080 resolution is recommended for the best experience.
• Speakers / Headphones
• Microphone for Webinar or Live Online sessions.

Operating System Requirements:

• Windows 7 or higher.
• Mac OSX 10 or higher.
• Latest Chrome OS
• Latest Linux Distributions
  

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

Web Browser Requirements:

• Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
• Latest Mozilla FireFox
• Latest Microsoft Edge
• Latest Apple Safari

Basic Software Requirements (These are recommendations of software to use):

• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
• PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
• Courses may require other software that is described in the above course outline.