This course is ideal for those with no prior knowledge of accounting and finance. It deals with the source and meaning of financial information. Financial information influences your business decisions. It’s critical, therefore, that you understand where any figures come from, and know how to make sense of them. The main source of financial information is your organisation’s accounting system.
This course will help you gain a working knowledge of what is involved and how to ‘read’ the documentation – known as the financial statements – in ways that will support your business activities. This course focuses on those areas which are common to all organisations. Whether you work in a government department, a not-for-profit or a for-profit organisation, this course will be relevant for you.
Key topics:
- What is accounting?
- Accounting for what?
- Financial statements – outputs from the accounting system and process
- Introducing cash versus accrual accounting approaches
- Accrual accounting in large organisations
- Accrual accounting at the micro level
- A deeper look at the income statement
- The relationship between the income statement and individual activity centres
- Cost centre management
- Understanding cost behaviour for better budgeting and management
- Understanding budget processes
- Different approaches to budgeting
- Monitoring and control processes
This course consists of one online course and one online assessment.
Learning objectives
- Describe a typical accounting process
- Interpret the three core financial statements
- Recognise the difference between cash and accrual accounting, and assess its impact on the financial statements, large organisations and individual cost centre managers
- Identify cost centre management imperatives
- Investigate budget processes and evaluate alternative approaches to building budgets
- Assess monitoring and control mechanisms
Audience
This course is designed for those who have little to no prior experience in accounting and finance.
