Accounting for Decision Making

Published learning objectives:

Prepare key financial statements, such as balance sheets and income statements.

Gain an understanding of the steps and purpose of each step in the accounting cycle.

Explain how accounting relates to economic reality.

Published course description:

Through this course, you will start by addressing the two “big questions” of accounting: “What do I have?” and “How did I do over time?” You will see how the two key financial statements – the balance sheet and the income statement - are designed to answer these questions and then move on to consider how individual transactions aggregate to make up these financial statements.

After developing a broad understanding of accounting and financial statements, you will begin to develop a more nuanced understanding of individual components of doing business, such as making a sale or building inventory.

By considering many of the more common actions of a company, you will build your understanding of accounting, and explore these concepts by applying them across various types of transactions.

Once you understand these individual concepts better, you will be ready to return to the overall financial statements and use them as informational tools, including building ratios.

You can do this course standalone or to qualify for the residential component of the Finance for Strategic Decision-Making Executive Education program. For more information, see the FAQ below.