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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Finance for Non-Finance Professionals by Rice University

4.8
stars
2,677 ratings

About the Course

This short course surveys all the major topics covered in a full semester MBA level finance course, but with a more intuitive approach on a very high conceptual level. The goal here is give you a roadmap and framework for how financial professional make decisions. We will cover the basics of financial valuation, the time value of money, compounding returns, and discounting the future. You will understand discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation and how it compares to other methods. We also step inside the mind of a corporate financial manager and develop the basic tools of capital budgeting. We will survey the how, when, and where to spend money, make tradeoffs about investment, growth, dividends, and how to ensure sound fiscal discipline. Our journey then turns to a Wall Street or capital markets perspective of investments as we discuss the fundamental tradeoff between risk and return. We then synthesize our discussion of risk with our valuation framework and incorporate it into series of direct applications to practice. This course requires no prior familiarity with finance. Rather, it is intended to be a first step for anyone who is curious about understanding stock markets, valuation, or corporate finance. We will walk through all of the tools and quantitative analysis together and develop a guide for understanding the seemingly complex decisions that finance professionals make. By the end of the course, you will develop an understanding of the major conceptual levers that push and pull on financial decision making and how they relate to other areas of business. The course should also serve as a roadmap for where to further your finance education and it would be an excellent introduction of any students contemplating an MBA or Finance concentration, but who has little background in the area....

Top reviews

KH

Mar 27, 2020

Great Course, Very solid start for those who are trying to enter Finance world.

It makes you love this field if you are not familiar with it and have no previous experience.

Great Job Professor.

RM

Aug 16, 2020

This is a very well designed course. Taking you through basics and in the end puts you in a real business scenario where you are expected to take a decision based on the tools and concepts you learnt.

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126 - 150 of 594 Reviews for Finance for Non-Finance Professionals

By Sandra M

Feb 23, 2021

I highly recommend this course. I've always thought that I could never be a "numbers" person and the instructor did such a great job explaining things. So glad I took it!

By Maggie S

Jan 24, 2020

I really enjoyed the instructor's recordings. He made things very clear and his enthusiasim was infectious. I only wish he was one of my professors when I went to college!

By Mahammad I

Dec 13, 2021

Although I never took a course on Finance before, it was very enjoyable and easy to comprehend lectures. Thank you everyone who have an effort in creating this course!

By Sandra T

Nov 30, 2020

Really good course, explains things well and assessments are challenging to make sure you really have understood everything thoroughtly. Thanks for making this course!

By Sherile C

Feb 13, 2021

I really appreciate this course. It's a great help to me. I would like to enroll in other courses under RICE in the future. Thank you so much Sir James Weston.

By Alex G

Jul 18, 2021

Excellent introduction to the world of finance. The professor explains the topics wery well and there are a good amount of examples and exercises to practice.

By Pawel P

Dec 11, 2016

This is a full of content, very focused and well thought-out course. Mr Weston stays on topic and presents the material in a very coherent, logical, clear way.

By Aaron J

Dec 11, 2016

I really enjoyed this course as a non-Finance professional. This is enabling me to better communicate with Finance resources on my team - on their terms.

By Wit W

Dec 18, 2019

Great material. The instructor made a very boring subject somewhat fun. I still think bankers are evil but at least I appreciate their work a bit more :)

By Mayank P

Jun 15, 2017

very informative and well designed course that will provide you all the necessary finance info necessary if you are of an engineering or arts background.

By Rani R

Jan 12, 2018

Solid class and a great teacher that breaks this down into easily digestible classes with practice quizzes that test your understanding of the material.

By antonio b

May 20, 2020

The professor is very prepared and enthusiast. He makes the learning very effective and enjoyable. Good topic, clearly explained with great experience.

By Santosh R

Apr 5, 2017

Great course, learned a lot about reading financial statements and basics of conducting business valuation and investment assessment, very nicely done!

By Rogelio C G

Dec 2, 2020

The best course of them all. The professor was clear, charismatic, and with the ability to put high-level concepts into very understandable terms.

By Matthew T

Jun 26, 2020

Excellent lecturer, keeps the content compelling. Good worked examples and helpful quizzes to apply your knowledge. Video length seems just right.

By Richard S I S

Nov 29, 2020

Provides useful understanding of key Financial Metrics employed in running a profitable Business. I highly recommend this course!!

By Victor R G

Sep 7, 2017

It is a very interesting course and I have learnt a lot of new concepts about every day finance which will be useful for my career in the future.

By Deep S

Jun 8, 2020

One of the best finance course I have done up until now, I would recommend this course who have an interest in finance and want to learn basics.

By Nkechi L O

Jan 30, 2024

Perfect course for my needs. It gave me a good perspective on some of the knowledge I had and gave me a real-life application of the knowledge.

By Rajaa

Oct 23, 2020

Very good online course. The content of the videos if clear and valuable, and the teacher easy to understand and making finance easy to access.

By Tan C M

Dec 9, 2019

Definitely ithe course provided knowledge & informations to the learner!I had learn somethings new & hopefully,this may make my work smoothly !

By Samin Y A

Sep 12, 2020

I had no prior knowledge on Finance. The course helped me a lot. The Instructor was very good. He explained everything precisely and clearly.

By oops c

Apr 16, 2022

Very, very informative about financing accounting and analyze business and can apply in real life when you consider to join financial field.

By Neelakanteswaraswamy B

Aug 19, 2020

Thanks for the wonderful teaching from James Weston.Best for Non Finance professionals.I appreciate the support given throughout the course.

By Will K

Feb 13, 2020

Professor Weston was a terrific instructor... I related to the way he explained things and his walkthroughs of problems were very thorough