Investments, Capital, and Financial ForecastingCornell Course
Course Overview
This course will help you interpret financial statement line items that capture the investments an enterprise makes in its future and claims that long-term investors hold on the enterprise.
You will explore the differences between tangible and intangible assets along with the ways in which each can be capitalized and their costs can be allocated to the income statement. You will apply concepts to long-lived assets, such as the “Day Zero” assumption, depreciation (tangible assets), amortization (intangible assets), and cost allocation. Taking this a step further, you will delve into accounting methods used for depreciation and amortization and then look at ways to address impairments, fair value, and the three levels of input. Finally, these concepts will be applied to different aspects of capital such as stocks, bonds, and related valuations.
You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:
- Foundations of Financial Statements
- Accruals and Cash Flows
- Sales Accounting
Key Course Takeaways
- Distinguish between the different forms of long-lived assets and explain how and why they are treated differently
- Outline the differences between tangible and intangible assets along with the ways each can be capitalized and costs allocated to the income statement
- Make and interpret accounting entries for the life cycle of long-lived assets, including capitalization, depreciation, amortization, and impairment
- Explain the usage of fair values in accounting and why they are controversial
- Correlate and then calculate how a firm's capital structure affects the relationship between operating income and net profit
- Explain and calculate the present value of cash flow streams
- Explain and calculate the price of a bond and the value recorded in accounting books over its life cycle
- Explain why leases are capitalized and why it matters
- Explain how the value of a share of common stock can be calculated from the present value of dividends and the strengths and weaknesses of that approach
- Apply the Gordon growth model to calculate the value of a share of common stock
- Distinguish between the different forms of equity and make appropriate entries for transactions with stockholders
Download a Brochure
Not ready to enroll but want to learn more? Download the course brochure to review program details.How It Works
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Who Should Enroll
- Individuals seeking to enter the field of accounting or auditing
- Managers involved in financial forecasting and investments
- Entrepreneurs seeking investors and/or investment opportunities
- Pre-MBA students interested in gaining an accounting background
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