Accounting Foundations

Course details

In this course, accounting professors Earl Stice and Jim Stice dive into the fundamentals of accounting and its significance in both business and personal finance. Learn how to use financial reports like balance sheets, income statements, and statements of cash flows. Explore managerial accounting, including cost computations, break-even analysis, and performance evaluations. Understand the principles and practices of income tax accounting, including compliance and tax planning strategies to legally minimize tax burdens. Learn about the current trends in ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) reporting and the importance of ethical and transparent business practices. Solidify your learning through practical examples and case studies from companies like Walmart, Amazon, and Saudi Aramco. By the end of the course, you will have a thorough understanding of accounting foundations and will be equipped to use this knowledge effectively in various professional and personal settings.

Learning objectives
Differentiate between the four kinds of accounting: bookkeeping, financial accounting, managerial accounting, and income tax accounting.
Explain the use of financial statements.
Describe the three items that make up the accounting equation: assets, liabilities, and equity.
Identify the items listed on a balance sheet.
Compute earnings per share.
Differentiate between tax credits and tax deductions.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - The importance of accounting
02 - What you should know before watching this course

1. What Is Accounting

03 - The four flavors of accounting
04 - Bookkeeping
05 - Financial accounting
06 - Managerial accounting
07 - Income taxes

2. Financial Accounting - Balance Sheet

08 - Who uses financial statements
09 - The accounting equation
10 - Assets
11 - Liabilities
12 - Equity
13 - Balance sheet example - Walmart's assets
14 - Balance sheet example - Walmart's liabilities and equity
15 - Limitations of the balance sheet

3. Financial Accounting - Income Statement and Cash Flow Statement

16 - Differences between the balance sheet and the income statement
17 - Overview of the income statement
18 - Earnings per share
19 - Income statement example - Walmart's revenues
20 - Income statement example - Walmart's expenses
21 - Overview of the cash flow statement
22 - Cash flow example
23 - Summary of financial reporting

4. Using Financial Statements

24 - Introduction to financial statement analysis
25 - Comparing across time
26 - Comparing across companies
27 - Common size statements
28 - Common ratios - ROE & DuPont framework
29 - Common ratios - Current, debt, return on sales

5. Managerial Accounting - Costing and Budgeting

30 - DuPont - Introduction to managerial accounting
31 - A closer look at managerial accounting
32 - Product costing - Materials and labor
33 - Product costing - Overhead
34 - Budgets - Realistic benchmarks
35 - Budgets - Solving problems in advance

6. Managerial Accounting - Analysis and Evaluation

36 - Breakeven analysis - Computations
37 - Breakeven analysis - Interpretation and use
38 - Standards and variance analysis - Costs
39 - Performance evaluation example - Drilling contest
40 - Performance evaluation example - Stice Boys
41 - Performance evaluation - ESG overview
42 - Performance evaluation - ESG examples

7. Income Taxes - Tax Filing

43 - The history of income taxes
44 - Tax brackets
45 - Average and marginal tax rates
46 - Tax deductions and credits
47 - Capital gains vs. ordinary income

8. Income Taxes - Tax Planning

48 - Tesla and tax planning
49 - What is tax planning
50 - Strategy 1 - Shift income from one time period to another
51 - Strategy 2 - Shift income from one pocket to another
52 - Strategy 3 - Change the character of the income

Conclusion

53 - Using accounting information to your advantage