Financial Reporting

This course is the first course in a five-course Financial Reporting Specialization that covers the collection, processing, and communication of accounting information (via financial reports) about economic entities to interested parties (i.e., managers and external stakeholders such as stockholders and creditors). To gain the most relevant knowledge from these courses, learners should have taken a basic accounting course prior to this Specialization (which can be done through Coursera courses, such as any accounting course from the Fundamentals of Accounting Specialization: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/accounting-fundamentals). This Specialization focuses on accounting concepts, principles and theory with an emphasis on problems that arise in applying these concepts for external reporting purposes. Specific emphasis is placed on measurement of assets, liabilities, equities and income, as well as disclosure of additional information that may assist users understand the financial reports. After a brief introduction to the course, we will spend time understanding the overall financial accounting structure and standards as well as review the fundamental accounting process used to prepare the financial statements, which will establish a framework for the study of the concepts in the remaining courses in the Financial Reporting Specialization. In this course, we will begin our review of key information included in the Balance Sheet and Income Statement and their related financial disclosures. The Statement of Cash Flows will be introduced briefly with more discussion to follow in later courses of the Specialization. Also, we will provide a cursory review of key concepts involving time value of money as we will finish this course with focus on revenue recognition, including discussion of the new revenue standard. We will review the general approach for recognizing revenue, special issues affecting revenue recognition including long-term construction contracts. In addition, we will discuss and review common ratios used in profitability analysis. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, consistently ranked as one of the nation's top three accounting programs, now offers a master’s in accounting at a very affordable tuition rate and is completely online. The iMSA is a full Master of Accountancy program and students graduate with an MS that is highly recognized. Try an open course or two, then apply for admission into the credit-bearing version as you may be eligible to take credit-bearing courses during the application process. If you are missing any prerequisites for the full degree, you can complete Coursera courses to demonstrate readiness and strengthen your application for the iMSA. For more information on this exciting iMSA online program, refer to this link: https://www.coursera.org/degrees/imsa

**NOTE: You should complete the Accounting Analysis I: The Role of Accounting as an Information System course or be familiar with the concepts taught there before beginning this course.** This course is the second course in a five-course Financial Reporting Specialization that covers the collection, processing, and communication of accounting information (via financial reports) about economic entities to interested parties (i.e., managers and external stakeholders such as stockholders and creditors). To gain the most relevant knowledge from these courses, learners should have taken a basic accounting course prior to this Specialization (which can be done through Coursera courses, such as any accounting course from the Fundamentals of Accounting Specialization: https://www.coursera.org/specializations/accounting-fundamentals). This Specialization focuses on accounting concepts, principles and theory with an emphasis on problems that arise in applying these concepts for external reporting purposes. Specific emphasis is placed on measurement of assets, liabilities, equities and income, as well as disclosure of additional information that may assist users understand the financial reports. In this course, we will begin our review of key asset categories underlying the Balance Sheet concepts that were introduced in the previous course. We will begin our trek down the Balance Sheet by reviewing cash and receivables, which are normally the two assets listed first. We will continue our trek down the Balance Sheet by looking at inventory and long-lived assets, which are normally two of the largest asset values. We will review the measurement and reporting issues involving Inventories and the corresponding cost of goods sold expense in the Income Statement. In the latter half of this course we will conclude our review of key asset categories by looking at both tangible and intangible long-lived assets that are so vital to the production of goods and services. This will entail discussion of both acquisition and disposition of property, plant and equipment as well as cost allocation. Next, we will discuss possible impairment of these assets as well as the proper treatment of expenditures made after acquisition. Lastly, we will review how to identify and account for debt and equity investments. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, consistently ranked as one of the nation's top three accounting programs, now offers a master’s in accounting at a very affordable tuition rate and is completely online. The iMSA is a full Master of Accountancy program and students graduate with an MS that is highly recognized. Try an open course or two, then apply for admission into the credit-bearing version as you may be eligible to take credit-bearing courses during the application process. If you are missing any prerequisites for the full degree, you can complete Coursera courses to demonstrate readiness and strengthen your application for the iMSA. For more information on this exciting iMSA online program, refer to this link: https://www.coursera.org/degrees/imsa

This course focuses on the recognition, measurement and subsequent accounting for various types of liabilities. The content includes: - Current liabilities and contingencies, such as accounts payable, accrued expenses, warranties, and pending litigation - Accounting for long-term debt, including the issuance, payment of interest, amortization, and extinguishment of debt instruments. - Lease accounting from the perspective of both the lessee and the lessor - Pension accounting, including the calculation of benefit obligations, plan assets, and net periodic benefit cost We will discuss the relevant accounting standards and principles used to measure and disclose these items in the financial statements. This course is the third course in the Financial Reporting Specialization offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.