Financial Reporting Courses

Introduction to Accounting

• This introductory course provides a foundation for the learning of financial reporting. The course provides input on how to prepare accounting reports and use them. Students also learn how managers use accounting reports to make decisions and manage their business operations. In a business school setting, the focus is on the internal uses of accounting input. This introduction to accounting course is typically spread out over a couple of introductory courses.

Financial Statement Analysis

• Courses in financial statement analysis are the cornerstone to learn about financial reporting. This course provides students with the skills to analyze a company's financial statements so as to evaluate the company. Students learn how to extract important information from a company's financial statements and other required disclosures in order to get an idea about its strategy and financial health. This course will enable you to assess the risk of a firm and its profitability.

Financial Reporting and Corporate Governance

• Following the early 2000s financial reporting scandals relating to various public companies, some business schools, such as Stanford University's business school, saw a need for courses dealing with financial reporting and corporate governance. These courses provide input on how important it is for a company to have an adequate corporate governance set up so that it provides credible financial reporting. The Stanford course, which was introduced in 2003, featured input from law school professors as well as business school professors on aspects such as securities law.

Financial Accounting

• Financial accounting courses provide an input on the principles and processes involved in accounting for the assets, liabilities and shareholders' equity of a public company. They deal with how to find out the value of assets and liabilities, and measuring the income of a company. All these factors have an impact on the company's market valuation. These courses stress the application of accounting theory in the recording and reporting of financial data. Students learn how to collect such data, summarize it and report it in accordance with GAAP.