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Accounting & Finance for Beginners
New
Rating: 5.0 out of 5(2 ratings)
7 students

Accounting & Finance for Beginners

Master the fundamentals of accounting and finance, understand financial statements, and make smarter business decisions.
Created byIrina Kim
Last updated 8/2026
English

What you'll learn

  • Understand the purpose and structure of the three core financial statements: the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement.
  • Read and interpret financial statements with confidence, even without a finance background.
  • Understand how business decisions affect profits, cash flow, and financial position.
  • Learn the most important financial ratios and know what they reveal about a company's performance.
  • Build simple financial forecasts using practical, step-by-step methods.
  • Understand the fundamentals of business valuation and what drives a company's value.
  • Develop the financial mindset used by managers, investors, entrepreneurs, and finance professionals.
  • Analyze real-world business examples and apply concepts immediately.
  • Gain the confidence to discuss financial information in meetings and everyday business situations.
  • Build a solid foundation for more advanced accounting, finance, investing, or MBA-level studies.

Course content

8 sections • 62 lectures • 3h 5m total length

  • Welcome and How to Take This Course5:58

    Exercise Workbook — Available in 3 Formats


    This lecture includes a text exercise workbook. Pick whichever format works best for you — you only need one, not all three.


    Option 1: Excel (.xlsx) — Editable, download required

    Download the attached file below and open it in Microsoft Excel (or a compatible app like Numbers or LibreOffice Calc). Best if you already have Excel installed.

    How to use it: Download → open the file → fill in your answers directly → save your changes on your own computer.


    Option 2: Google Sheets — Editable, free, no installation needed

    Don't have Excel? Google Sheets is a free, browser-based alternative that works the same way. You'll need a free Google account (the same one used for Gmail) to save your own copy.

    How to use it, step by step:

    1. Click this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/127MMnoq0_O1_eIZLv9eOJcgAvcue0M9P/copy?usp=drive_link&ouid=116312160408199832202&rtpof=true&sd=true

    2. Google will ask "Make a copy?" — click Make a copy. This creates your own personal, editable version in your Google Drive. (You're not editing my original — everyone automatically gets their own copy.)

    3. If you're not signed into a Google account, it'll ask you to sign in first. That's normal — it's free to create one if you don't have it.

    4. Fill in your answers directly in the sheet, just like Excel. Google Sheets auto-saves as you go — no need to manually save.

    5. Access your copy anytime later from sheets.google.com or your Google Drive, on any device.


    Option 3: PDF — Downloadable, for printing or reference

    A static copy of the workbook. Great if you want to print it out or just browse the structure. Note: unlike the Excel/Sheets versions, you can't type answers directly into the PDF the way you would in a spreadsheet — download it and fill it in by hand, or use a PDF annotation app if you prefer to write on it digitally.


    Which one should I choose?

    • Already use Excel? → Option 1.

    • New to spreadsheets, using a phone/tablet, or don't want to install anything? → Option 2 (Google Sheets).

    • Just want to print it out or browse it as reference? → Option 3 (PDF).

    If you get stuck at any step, drop a question in the Q&A section and I'll help you out.


  • What are the 3 Financial Statements and Why Do We Need them?4:52

Requirements

  • No finance and accounting experience is required to take this course
  • A willingness to learn and practice using real business examples.
  • Basic arithmetic skills (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).
  • A calculator or spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets is recommended for the practical exercises.
  • Curiosity about how businesses make money and create value.

Description

Most people think accounting is about memorizing rules and finance is all about complicated formulas.

It's not.

Accounting and finance are simply the language of business. Once you understand that language, you stop guessing and start making smarter decisions.

Whether you're a complete beginner, an entrepreneur, a manager, a student, or someone who has always felt intimidated by financial statements, this course will give you a practical foundation you can use immediately. This course doesn't assume you have a finance background—it assumes you want to understand finance, and that's exactly where we'll start.

Together, we'll break down the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement, financial ratios, forecasting, and valuation using clear explanations, practical exercises, and real-world examples—without unnecessary jargon or overwhelming theory.

By the end of this course, you won't just know what the numbers are. You'll understand what they mean, how they connect, and how to use them to evaluate a business with confidence.

This course is designed to help you think like a business professional, not just memorize accounting concepts. Every lesson builds on the previous one, making it easy to follow even if you've never studied finance before. I'll explain complex ideas step by step, using practical examples that show how accounting and finance are used in real businesses every day.

Whether your goal is to advance your career, run your own business, prepare for interviews, understand company performance, or simply become more financially confident, the knowledge you gain in this course will give you a strong foundation that you can continue building on for years to come.

If you've ever looked at a financial report and thought, "I wish I understood this," you're in the right place.

Let's make finance simple—together.

Who this course is for:

  • Anyone who wants to learn finance and accounting from scratchComplete beginners who want to finally understand accounting and finance.
  • Entrepreneurs and small business owners who want to make better financial decisions.
  • Managers and team leaders who regularly work with budgets or financial reports.
  • Professionals from non-finance departments who want to speak the language of finance.
  • University students looking for a practical introduction to accounting and finance.
  • Job seekers preparing for interviews where financial knowledge is an advantage.
  • Investors who want to understand what financial statements reveal before making investment decisions.
  • Anyone who has always found accounting confusing and wants a clear, practical explanation.

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