Which 3 groups of people should take this course?

<text variant="body1">This targets 3 groups of people: <text variant="body1">1) New college graduates: get smart quickly on business essentials quickly, prepare for interviews, start strong with new jobs <text variant="body1">2) Corporate managers: develop a broader, more executive view of the business challenges, make better decisions; persuade with data, influence others (departments / leaders), get more done with same resources <text variant="body1">3) Entrepreneurs: find a gap in the market for your product/service, acquire customers and drive word-of-mouth, drive business profits

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To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

Mastering Business Essentials: Finance

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Mastering Business Essentials: Finance

This course is part of MBE Mastering Business Essentials Specialization

Instructor: John Kim

Top Instructor

Included with

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5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

No prior experience required

6 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

No prior experience required

6 hours to complete

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

2 assignments¹

AI Graded see disclaimer

Taught in English

91%

of learners achieved a positive career outcome

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the MBE Mastering Business Essentials Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 5 modules in this course

Finance makes the world go around. It helps to raise money for new companies, allocate capital to projects, and provide loans to credit-worthy industries. Finance is also the glue that holds companies together - in charge of the annual budgeting and forecasting processes; when the FP&A department sends you an email, you should respond. Finance is way to assess projects by factoring in the estimates of future cash flows, the risks, timeframe, alternatives, and making smart decisions about money.

Any competent executive - whether in Marketing, Sales, Technology, or HR - needs to know that finance basics. Learn the top 20 concepts simply: Time value of money, NPV, DCF, IRR, Comps, discount rate, WACC. Even if you are not a finance-major, you need to know the basics. You need to be able to hold a conversation about finance without losing your cool. Finally, learn the basics of personal finance. Earn money, save, invest, and enjoy.

Module details

When someone says "I work in finance", that can mean many different things. It may mean they work in financial services - banking, insurance, payments, or investments. It may mean they work in a company in the Finance department: FP&A, Treasury, Corporate Finance, Accounting, Tax, Accounts payables etc. Find out the different "buckets" of finance.

What's included

4 videos2 readings

4 videosTotal 43 minutes

5.1 What is finance?5 minutes
5.2 Financial services: banking, payments, insurance, VC, private equity17 minutes
5.3 Finance department: planning, budget, costing, payroll, ERP12 minutes
5.4 FP&A: orchestrator and score keeper10 minutes

2 readingsTotal 25 minutes

Optional: Beginner's Guide to FP&A (13 min)15 minutes
Optional: Finance department of 2030 (McKinsey)10 minutes

Corporate finance helps us make smart money decisions about raising capital, allocating capital, keeping liquidity. It's all based on the simple observation that there is opportunity cost with our time and money. Money today is worth money in 3 years because of a) opportunity cost b) inflation c) repayment risk. Some inflation is expected because it comes with economic growth, you don’t want too much. We need to "discount" future cash flows back to the present time; think of the future value of money like a bucket full of water, where the "discount rate" is a hole where the water leaks out.

What's included

5 videos1 assignment

5 videosTotal 38 minutes

5.5 Corporate finance: finding, allocating, and keeping money8 minutes
5.6 Opportunity cost: what you COULD have done instead7 minutes
5.7 Inflation and interest rates: what's the relationship?10 minutes
5.8 Time value of money: money is worth more today9 minutes
5.9 Lottery ticket: one-time payment or over 10 years?5 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Required Quiz: Financial services, FP&A, Time value of money, 30 minutes

Valuations = determining the worth of something. This is super important to companies (e.g., investment banking, technology startups) and also individual decision-makers (e.g., buying a house, comparing job offers). It's an art AND a science. It requires lots of assumptions, potential ranges of outcomes, and good excel modeling practices. Three big ways to triangulate a valuation range are a) discounted cash flows b) comparables analysis c) multiples analysis.

What's included

4 videos1 reading

Investments are a huge industry (think: mutual funds, ETF, investment advisors, sovereign wealth funds, venture capital, private equity, commercial banking, investment banking). It's also a competitive market where vendors are continually telling you how they can GET BETTER RETURNS. One key takeaway is "there is not free lunch." If you want better-than-average returns (e.g., alpha), then you need to aware of, and willing to deal with the risks too.

What's included

3 videos1 assignment

Personal finance is incredibly important because it directly affects your quality of living NOW (as you save, and don't spend) and quality of living LATER (retiring early, don't need an alarm clock). Generally, financial advisors strongly recommend that you invest steadily (dollar cost averaging), start investing early (get the power of compounding), and remain diversified across asset classes (don't put all your eggs in the same basket). If you can earn a lot, save a lot, invest consistently, and manage your spending expectations = you will retire early and enjoy it. Trust me.