Business Finance and Data Analysis Fundamentals Specialization
Source: https://business.rice.edu/executive-education/online-programs/business-finance-and-data-analysis-fundamentals-specialization Parent: https://business.rice.edu/
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Michael Koenig
Associate Dean for Innovation Initiatives & Executive Director of Executive Education
Prepare for Your MBA with Our Comprehensive Quantitative Courses
Build a solid foundation in Business Finance, Accounting, and Data Analysis to confidently pursue an MBA program.
Upcoming Start Date
Enrollment is always open, begin anytime.
Length
Approximately 3 months
Effort
Approximately 5 hours/week
Tuition
Audit for free, or pay $49 per course, or pay $59/month subscription to access more practice and earn a certificate.
Learn more about Coursera subscription options.
Overview
This Specialization is designed to equip you with a basic understanding of business finance, accounting, and data analysis. We've put together these three courses with the explicit intent of helping people prepare for the rigors of a prestigious MBA program, as well as introducing and refreshing basic knowledge and skills for aspiring business leaders. Having taught at Rice for nearly a combined 40 years, professors James Weston and Brian Rountree have found that entering students often lack confidence in some fundamental quantitative skills, as well as struggling with accounting and finance mechanics and terminology. As a result we have put together a series of lectures, plenty of practice opportunities and video walk-throughs that will allow you to confidently take a seat at the leadership table.
Who Should Attend
- Individuals who are considering pursuing an MBA program and would like to brush up on their quantitative skills before beginning.
- Small business owners who want to better manage their finances and understand their financial statements.
- Individuals who want to improve their personal financial management skills, such as budgeting and investing.
- Non-finance professionals who want to enhance their understanding of financial concepts and terminology to communicate more effectively with finance teams or make better business decisions.
- Students in other disciplines, such as engineering or science, who may need to understand financial and accounting principles in their future careers.
- Anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of the financial world and how it impacts our daily lives.
Program Takeaways
- Demonstrate an understanding of the major conceptual levers that push and pull on financial decision making and how they relate to other areas of business
- Describe the basic differences and similarities of the four financial statements
- Develop a basic facility for using spreadsheets to solve quantitative business problems
- Apply top level math and statistics concepts that will be used throughout the MBA curriculum at any school.
Course Curriculum
Accounting for Non-Finance Professionals
- Basic Principles of Financial Valuation Discounting
- How to Spend Money
- Measuring Cash Creation and Flow
- How Much Does Money Cost?
- Capstone: Putting it all together From Main Street to Wall Street
Finance for Non-Finance Professionals
- Introduction to Accounting
- Double entry accounting, debits and credits, journal entries, and T accounts
- Cash flow statements
- Statements of stockholders’ equity
Data Analysis for Managerial Decision-Making
- Getting started with basic math
- A little more math and getting started with data
- Getting started with basic statistics
- Putting it all together with some practical examples
Hear From Our Faculty
Before you start the program, get to know some of our faculty on the award-winning Rice Business podcast, Owl Have You Know.
Meet Your Professor
Brian Rountree
Associate Professor of Accounting\ Accounting Area Coordinator
Department Faculty
Office
McNair Hall 340
Contact 713-348-5328 Email
James P. Weston
Senior Associate Dean for Degree Programs\ Harmon Whittington Professor of Finance
Departments Leadership, Faculty, Dean's Suite
Office
McNair Hall 339
Contact 713-348-4480 Email
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Have a Question?
Michael Koenig
Associate Dean for Innovation Initiatives & Executive Director of Executive Education