7 Best Online Accounting Courses

1- Introduction to Financial Accounting

2- Finance for Non-Financial Professionals

3- Introduction to Corporate Finance

4- Introduction to Marketing

5- Introduction to Finance, Accounting, Modeling and Valuation

6- The Complete Financial Analyst Course 2019

7- Accounting & Financial Statement Analysis: Complete Training

7 BEST ACCOUNTING COURSES

Course #1: Introduction to Financial Accounting

This is the second online accounting course out of six. And those six courses lead to a specialization in business. So, become an expert in technical skills. Skills that are used to analyze financial statements. Gain an understanding of contracts used in financial analyses. And learn how accounting incentives affect financial reporting. This course teaches learners how to read three common financial statements. Income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement. Use these skills at a real-world business challenge. A challenge that is part of the Wharton Business Foundations Specialization. To conclude, this is a very informative course.

Offered by: University of Pennsylvania via Coursera

Instructed by: Brian J Bushee (The Geoffrey T. Boisi professor of accounting)

Price: free

Skills and Knowledge Imparted: 

  1. Financial accounting
  2. Working with financial statements.

Difficulty Level: beginner

Duration and Total Lectures:  4 weeks and 17 hours

Average User Rating: 4.7 (4,889 ratings)

Review:

42% of the learners went on to start a whole new career after completing this free online accounting course. Also, its instructor has a knack for simplifying complex theories. This course covers more basics and defining concepts than other courses of its kind do. If you have found other accounting courses difficult to study, this is the course for you. Because it is like a walk in the park when it comes to learning accounting basics.

Course #2: Finance for Non-Financial Professionals

It is important to be able to make important financial decisions. And to learn how to improve performance of your team and organization. So, this online accounting course will get you there. Because it will provide you a basic understanding of finance and accounting concepts. Those concepts are important to make those decisions. And to drive growth of your organization. Your decisions have an impact outside your functional area. So, after completing this accounting course, you will have better understanding of those impacts.
 
Because this online accounting course analyzes financial aspects from non-financial perspectives. Perspectives put forward by specialists. And those aspects include financial analysis as well as planning. But they also revolve around strategic financing and cash flow. Classes here are interactive. And they need an active involvement of participants in finance-related activities. This is the third course out of 10. They are all part of Career Success Specialization. 

Offered by: University of California, Irvine via Coursera

Instructed by: David Standen, MBA (instructor at University of California)

Price: free

Skills and Knowledge Imparted: 

  1. Understanding the importance of finance. And financial information.
  2. Applying the concepts of accounting to analyze financial documents.
  3. Learning important terms in accounting.
  4. Explaining the importance of budgeting.
  5. Learning small tips and tricks to increase profits.

Difficulty Level: beginner

Duration and Total Lectures: 7 hours 

Average User Rating: 4.5 (2,405 ratings)

Review:

27% learners launched a new career after completing this free online accounting course. Its instructor provides very basic yet very clear concepts. In fact, learners who took this course wished they had taken it earlier. Because it benefits everyone in unexpected ways. So, it will come in very handy for choosing the right career pathways.

 

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Course #3: Introduction to Corporate Finance

This is the third from a total of six course series. They are all part of a business foundation specialization. It provides a brief introduction to fundamentals of finance. And it highlights their application to a range of real-world situations. Those situations span corporate decision-making and personal finance. There are many concepts covered in this free accounting course. Such as interest rates and capital cost. They also include discounted cash flow analysis. Furthermore, get to learn about finance fundamentals from an expert. To conclude, this is one of the ultimate go-to online accounting courses. 

Offered by: University of Pennsylvania via Coursera

Instructed by: William H. Lawrence (professor, The Wharton School)

Price: free

Skills and Knowledge Imparted: 

  1. Decision making about complex financial matters.
  2. Corporate finance
  3. Analyzing cash flow.

Difficulty Level: beginner

Duration and Total Lectures: 10 hours

Average User Rating: 4.6 (3,200 ratings)

Review:

Ever felt some concepts and calculations in accounting don’t make any sense? If so then this is the course for you. Because it makes all those things easy to understand and memorize. Thus, 33% participants of this course found themselves starting a new career. And the same percentage of students received major career benefits. And it was all made possible thanks to practical skills gained from this online accounting course.

Course #4: Introduction to Marketing

Wharton’s top 3 marketing faculty members teach this course. So, it focuses on three core topics on customer loyalty. And those topics are branding and market strategies. Wharton-trained staff will check students’ top submissions. And leadership teams at Shazam will review the highest scoring projects. Projects that would have been prepared for companies. So, enroll in this course right away. And become a part of Wharton’s Business Foundation Specialization.

Additionally, it will provide you with an opportunity to take the Capstone Project. And prepare strategic analyses. Also, you will propose solutions to real business problems. Those problems will come from Wharton-governed companies. Companies such as Shazam. Overcome challenges faced by your own company or organization even. Let the tips and tricks from this course be your guide. When you finish this course, you wish you’d taken it sooner.

Offered by: University of Pennsylvania via Coursera 

Instructed by: Barbara E. Kahn (professor of marketing, The Wharton School). Peter Fader (professor and co-director of Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative). David Bell (president and co-founder at Idea Farm Ventures)

Price: free

Skills and Knowledge Imparted: 

  1. How to work with principles of branding.
  2. Market strategies. And how to use them to your advantage. 
  3. Creating customer satisfaction.

Difficulty Level: beginner

Duration and Total Lectures: 5 weeks (13 hours)

Average User Rating: 4.7 (6,912 ratings)

Review:

This course gives to its its students much-needed accounting skills. In fact, 36% of its learners received great rewards in their careers by applying those skills. And in less than 24 hours, you will have received what most spend a long time to learn. Through this course, you will get an understanding of applying common accounting principles. Common but important nonetheless, such as pricing. In conclusion, this is one of the fastest ways to learn a lot about accounting. 

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Course #5: Introduction to Finance, Accounting, Modeling and Valuation

Learn from this #1 best-selling online accounting course on Udemy. The instructor is an award-winning MBA professor. And they worked at Goldman. So, after this course, you will know accounting basics well. For instance, you will find out what and why of an income statement is. And you will also be able to work with balance sheet and cash flow statement. Learn how to value companies using several methodologies. Those methodologies will create target prices for the companies you are analyzing. Furthermore, learn how to analyze financial statements using many different financial formulas. Formulas used in hedge fund, Goldman Sachs and venture capital career. And of course, a whole lot more.

Offered by: Udemy

Instructed by: Chris Haroun (award-winning MBA professor and author)

Price: $19.99

Skills and Knowledge Imparted: 

  1. Using profitability formulas to study financial statements.
  2. Identifying and navigating free financial websites to build your own.
  3. Analyzing a market.
  4. Using methodologies of value to reach target prices.
  5. Analyzing financial statements using different formulas.
  6. Comparing and analyzing different companies. 

Difficulty Level: beginner/intermediate

Duration and Total Lectures: 4 hours, 61 lectures 

Average User Rating: 4.4 (8,758 ratings)

Review:

You need to have a basic understanding of Microsoft Excel for this course. Because this course teaches much of the examples and calculations through it. To conclude, it is a simple accounting course to follow through. Simple yet very informative and practical.

Course #6: The Complete Financial Analyst Course 2019

This online accounting course is the most practical course out there. It covers topics such as accounting, financial statements, and ratios. It makes sense out of debits and credits. And out of profit and loss statements. These and other accounting terms that baffle us if we have no clue what they are about.
 
Additionally, this accounting course enables learners to calculate a company’s sales using Excel. To register its bookkeeping entries. And produce useful financial statements. Learn how to calculate financial ratios and loans for a company’s debt. Analyze a company’s business performance. And create a PowerPoint presentation of those results. You will then receive personalized feedback and a gift, too! All in all, this online course is super helpful for accounting enthusiasts. 

Offered by: Udemy

Instructed by: 365 Careers

Price: $19.99

Skills and Knowledge Imparted: 

  1. Working with Microsoft Excel.
  2. Formatting spreadsheets in Excel.
  3. Creating professional charts in Microsoft Excel.
  4. Understanding accounting and record keeping principles.
  5. Analyzing financial statements.
  6. Understanding importance of timing for revenue.
  7. Calculating profit.
  8. Studying profits to analyze a company’s performance.
  9. Assessing the feasibility of a project.
  10. Calculating loan.
  11. Differentiating between different types of interest rates.
  12. Performing industry analysis.
  13. Understanding what drives a company’s value.
  14. Analyzing a business.
  15. Working with Microsoft PowerPoint.
  16. Creating professional presentations in PowerPoint for companies.

Difficulty Level: beginner/intermediate

Duration and Total Lectures: 316 lectures, 17 hours 

Average User Rating: 4.5 (21,483 ratings)

Review:

Even before finishing this online accounting course, learners will have learned a lot. So, imagine the increase in knowledge AFTER completing this. After all, it lives up to its name. But you will need Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint 2010, 2013 or 2016. To conclude, this course simplifies the world of accounting for everyone.

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Course #7: Accounting & Financial Statement Analysis: Complete Training

This is another one of the best online accounting courses. As such, this course lives up to its name. Because it is the ultimate guide to learn basics of accounting. Those basics and analyses will come handy for different fields. Fields such as financial analyst, accountant, auditor and a lot more. The course content takes you from basics to expert-level knowledge about accounting. It keeps you hooked. So, you will be able to perform complex accounting tasks on your fingertips.

Offered by: Udemy

Instructed by: 365 Careers

Price of the course: $149.99

Skills and Knowledge Imparted: 

  1. Understanding records of book keeping.
  2. Building an income statement.
  3. Differentiating between debits versus credits.
  4. Comparing income and cash.
  5. Navigating through financial reports.
  6. Analyzing a company’s performance based on its annual figures.

Difficulty Level: beginner

Duration and Total Lectures: 54 lectures, 3 hours 

Average User Rating: 4.6 (2,807 ratings)

Review:

An online accounting course that’s very easy to follow. It’s very efficient and effective. Furthermore, it is not time-consuming at all. You won’t need much effort to understand what the instructor is teaching. Not to mention the ease with which you can practice the content. That is all thanks to the material. Because it is arranged so well. And it contains a balance between theoretical and practical concepts. As a result, you will be able to understand and apply learned concepts. To conclude, this is a good online accounting course that covers important facts in a short time.