In this course you will learn  the fundamentals of accounting, reading and analyzing financial statements. You will also learn the relationship between accounting and finance and understand the use of debits and credits. Finally, this course will help you to record financial transactions accurately and summarize them in financial statements.

You will learn how to

• Define accounting and the accounting cycle
• Identify the major rules and principles of accounting under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
• Demonstrate knowledge of the basic accounting equation, double-entry bookkeeping, and the new automated accounting systems
• List the key financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flow statement) and their components
• Practice financial statements’ adjustments at month and year-end

Course Outline

• Definition of accounting
• Users of accounting information
• Basic financial statements
• The corporation defined
• Presentation of accounting information by different business entities

International financial reporting standards

• The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
• Introduction to IFRS
• Main differences between IFRS and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)

Double-entry accounting

• The accounting equation
• Traditional double-entry bookkeeping
• Your asset is his liability
• The chart of accounts
• The general journal
• The general ledger
• The trial balance
• Modern bookkeeping: automating transactions

Income statements

• Defining the income statement
• Defining revenue and its recognition
• Defining expenditures and their classifications
• Calculating profit
• Gross profit
• Operating profit
• Net profit
• The income statement illustrated

Net equity

• Defining capital stock
• Dividends are not an expense
• Cash dividends, stock dividends and stock split
• Definition of treasury stock
• Retained earnings – not the same as cash

The balance sheet and its components

• Defining the balance sheet
• Assets
• Liabilities
• Equity
• Current versus non-current assets and liabilities
• The balance sheet illustrated

Cash flow statement

• Defining the statement of cash flows
• Cash and cash equivalents
• Classification of cash flows
  • Operating activities
  • Investing activities
  • Financing activities
• The cash flow statement illustrated

Adjustments to financial statements

• The accrual concepts
• Accruals and prepayments
• Depreciation
• Bad debts
• Provisions for contingencies