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

4.8
stars
2,793 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

CI

May 22, 2023

I come from untraditional background but I find this course is very helpful! The course is very well-structured, allowing me to simply and easily understand finance foundation.

GL

Sep 25, 2022

V​ery good course and materials. Learned a lot. The pace was very fast for me and had to watch some classes more than once, but they provide all the information needed for this subject,

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226 - 250 of 609 Reviews for Finance for Non-Finance Professionals

By Kiran J

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Mar 13, 2024

It was great to know the basic fundamentals on company finances and accounting processes

By Federico B

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Apr 20, 2018

A really great course, every notion is explaine in a very simple and understandable way.

By Prakash G S

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Aug 26, 2017

Excellent course for Non-finance professionals to learn about important financial terms.

By Kaixiang S

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Oct 16, 2019

That course is completely suitable for the beginner, very easy to understand, recommend

By Ibrahim a

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Feb 14, 2017

Very informative course, flows smoothly and enjoyed the presentations and discussions.

By Suhail A

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Dec 30, 2021

Very effective content, turned a complex subject to simple and easier to understand.

By KALAIARASI A

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May 28, 2025

Mr. James has guided so well in simple terms for us to follow the course. Thank you

By Ali F U

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Aug 28, 2019

The videos explained the topics very clearly, it was a great experience, thank you!

By Greg C

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Mar 11, 2023

Very good information which was presented in a very clear and straightforward way.

By Shubham S

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Apr 26, 2021

This course is a blessing for people who want to have gist of the financial world.

By YAKUP K

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Aug 27, 2019

I am glad to graduate such a good program ,Thanks Turkcell&Riceuniversity&Coursera

By Carol R

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Sep 19, 2023

great overview of finance concepts especially those used for capital evaluations.

By Gomathy P

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Dec 2, 2016

I enjoyed the course a lot and is very inspiring to pursue my degree in finance.

By Dorothy F

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Feb 22, 2021

This course is very easy to understand, but it is not what I intended to take.

By Sofiane B

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Dec 1, 2020

Great course, great teacher it helped me a lot to improve my financial skills.

By Daniel O

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Mar 13, 2020

Great course for people with little knowledge of finance. Highly recommended!

By Carlo A

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Feb 23, 2025

Props to Prof. Weston, he's a patient, eager, and wonderful finance teacher!

By Hasandeep S

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Aug 29, 2019

very basics were covered and it helped me to grab at my own pace. Thank you!

By Nikolaos P

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Jan 11, 2018

Excellent course! High quality content and very nice presentation. Thank you

By Ingrid H P

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Jun 17, 2021

Me encanto el curso. Logré conocer y aplicar temas relacionados a finanzas.

By Michael F

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May 25, 2021

Great course that offers a general overview to Finance. Very well laid out!

By Aravind N

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Jul 30, 2019

Easy to understand and well presented. I acquired new knowledge on finance.

By Saqib N M

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Jul 12, 2019

A good concise refresher course to sharpen the financial management skills.

By himanshu k

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Dec 3, 2018

Very well explained and heads down to Rice University for making the course

By Lavanya C

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Apr 30, 2023

It is a great course to learn finance for non-professional people like me.