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Introduction to Finance: The Basics

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign via Coursera

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Details

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Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Paid Course
Languages

English
Certificate

Certificate Available
Effort

4 weeks, 9 hours a week
Sessions

Self-Paced
Level

Beginner
Subtitles

Arabic, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian, English, Spanish, Thai, Indonesian, Kazakh, Hindi, Swedish, Korean, Greek, Chinese, Ukrainian, Japanese, Polish, Dutch, Turkish, Hungarian, Bengali, Pashto, Urdu, Azerbaijani, Farsi, Vietnamese

Found in

Part of

Master of Science in Management

Overview

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**Notice: This course was recently revised. A new version will be launched in Fall 2026. Once launched, you will be given the choice to stay in the current version or to continue the course in the new version. If you are enrolling for credit, you should wait and take the new version to ensure you receive credit for any progress made in the course.** In the Introduction to Finance I: The Basics course, you will be introduced to the basic concepts needed to understand the financial manager’s decision-making process. To achieve that, you will learn about the basic forms a business can take and the goal of the financial manager. You will also learn the fundamentals of financial statements and how to measure a company’s financial health using financial ratios. In addition, you will explore how to allocate capital across time to create value. After learning the course, you should be familiar with major topics in modern finance and communicate with others within and outside of the business world. With a deep understanding of the financial side of the business, you will be in a better position to make informed decisions and plan for the financial future.

Syllabus

Course Orientation and Module 1: Business Foundations, Governance, and Agency
- In this module, you will explore the major legal forms of business organization and how each structure affects liability, taxation, and financing needs. You will examine how a firm’s strategic purpose and competitive positioning influence financial decisions, and you will learn how organizational structures shape the allocation of executive roles and decision rights. The module also introduces the fundamentals of corporate governance, including the role of the board of directors, fiduciary duties, and internal controls. Finally, you will identify agency conflicts among managers, shareholders, and debtholders, and evaluate governance mechanisms designed to reduce these conflicts.
Module 2: Financial Markets and Corporate Financing Strategies
- In this module, you will examine how financial markets support price discovery, capital allocation, and the flow of information across the economy. You will learn the differences between primary and secondary markets, including how new securities are issued and traded, and you will explore the roles of key financial institutions such as commercial banks, investment banks, institutional investors, and rating agencies. The module also introduces the major trade-offs between debt and equity financing in terms of cost, control, risk, and WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital), along with the main features of debt and equity instruments, including the IPO (Initial Public Offering) and seasoned equity offering processes. Finally, you will evaluate strategic financing considerations such as signaling effects, market timing, and long-term capital planning.
Module 3: Financial Statements, Cash Flows, and Performance Analysis
- In this module, you will explore the core financial statements and the analytical tools used to evaluate a firm’s performance and financial health. Students will learn the purpose and structure of the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows, and how to reconcile net income to operating cash flow using the indirect method. The module also develops the ability to calculate and interpret key profitability ratios, including margins, ROA (Return on Assets), and ROE (Return on Equity), as well as liquidity and solvency measures such as the current ratio, quick ratio, and coverage ratios. In addition, students will apply trend analysis, common-size analysis, and industry benchmarking to assess performance over time and compare a firm against its peers.
Module 4: Time Value of Money and the Value of Cash Flows
- In this module, you will learn the core principles of time value of money and why money available today is worth more than the same amount received in the future. You will compute present and future values for single cash flows, annuities, annuities due, and growing perpetuities, and you will construct loan amortization schedules to better understand how loans are repaid over time. The module also shows how time value of money concepts are applied to capital allocation decisions and the valuation of future obligations.