Introduction to Financial Accounting

3 credits · Fuqua School of Business

This course provides you with a basic understanding of the construction and interpretation of corporate financial reports which are used by external parties (including investors, creditors, and regulators). Our goal is to help you become informed user of financial statement information. Fulfillment of these objectives involves acquiring several skills: (i) gaining familiarity with business transactions; (ii) understanding how those transactions map into accounting numbers; (iii) developing fluency in accounting terminology; and (iv) appreciating the complexity of accounting due to the (considerable) discretion and judgment involved in implementing accounting rules. The course emphasizes the use of real financial statements, so that you become accustomed to the many variations that these reports take. This course is for MMS: Foundations of Business students.