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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Finance for Non-Finance Professionals by Rice University

4.8
stars
2,610 ratings

About the Course

This short course surveys all the major topics covered in a full semester MBA level finance course, but with a more intuitive approach on a very high conceptual level. The goal here is give you a roadmap and framework for how financial professional make decisions. We will cover the basics of financial valuation, the time value of money, compounding returns, and discounting the future. You will understand discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation and how it compares to other methods. We also step inside the mind of a corporate financial manager and develop the basic tools of capital budgeting. We will survey the how, when, and where to spend money, make tradeoffs about investment, growth, dividends, and how to ensure sound fiscal discipline. Our journey then turns to a Wall Street or capital markets perspective of investments as we discuss the fundamental tradeoff between risk and return. We then synthesize our discussion of risk with our valuation framework and incorporate it into series of direct applications to practice. This course requires no prior familiarity with finance. Rather, it is intended to be a first step for anyone who is curious about understanding stock markets, valuation, or corporate finance. We will walk through all of the tools and quantitative analysis together and develop a guide for understanding the seemingly complex decisions that finance professionals make. By the end of the course, you will develop an understanding of the major conceptual levers that push and pull on financial decision making and how they relate to other areas of business. The course should also serve as a roadmap for where to further your finance education and it would be an excellent introduction of any students contemplating an MBA or Finance concentration, but who has little background in the area....

Top reviews

RM

Aug 16, 2020

This is a very well designed course. Taking you through basics and in the end puts you in a real business scenario where you are expected to take a decision based on the tools and concepts you learnt.

KH

Mar 27, 2020

Great Course, Very solid start for those who are trying to enter Finance world.

It makes you love this field if you are not familiar with it and have no previous experience.

Great Job Professor.

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76 - 100 of 580 Reviews for Finance for Non-Finance Professionals

By rami a

May 16, 2020

Mostly a great course, but I suggest in the capstone and final to show mistakes we made and how to correct them and as well if we put for example 1.5 instead of 1.50 you should count it as correct and calculator and excel answers are different so you should consider both as correct answers.

By Vamsi S L

Mar 9, 2021

Course has helped me in understanding the basics of Finance. I am looking forward to apply these learnings in the projects. Course curriculum is very optimistic and helps individual to grasp the concepts easily. Solved examples after each concept is an added advantage with hands on feel.

By Deleted A

Apr 13, 2020

A truly amazing course for anyone who has no idea in finance field. I had done a finance course at university but feel like I understand it so much better now as the convenor explains it really well and simplifies things for better understanding. Enjoyed it heaps!!!! Highly recommended

By Bertan G

Jun 25, 2022

Hi there,

This was my first course on Coursera. It was a great experience for me. Mr. Weston is a very good teacher. He has a great style. Thanks to Mr. Weston and Coursera, my knowledge has improved. I really like this online platform. I think it's very useful. Thanks again everyone.

By ahmed m

Sep 14, 2022

This course helped me understand a lot of ideas that I couldn't grasp before. It's been challenging of course. But you need to keep at it and go through the materials and make it to the other side with a better comprehension of Finance and towards building your financial literacy.

By Gustavo S

Apr 25, 2020

Excellent course. Videos and materials are extremely well prepared, the sequence throughout the 5 weeks of the course take you step by step in a logical way. The professor speaks clearly on the videos, looks excited about the topic. Enjoyed every bit of the course, well worth it.

By SANTHOSH M

Jul 30, 2019

Extremely helpful for beginners. I started learning using the financial aid. It was a perfect start I was needing to launch my career into finance field. I give my word to help students like me study through coursera by donating to the financial aid of some other students.

By Saad A A

Jan 22, 2020

Excellent course! The level of details and the way information is communicated makes it very easy to understand. Linking the course to real life scenarios makes the course a must have for professional. The course also contains exercises and questions to keep us engaged.

By Pushkar M

Sep 23, 2020

This course is very well designed and delivered. Really liked the style of teaching. It definitely helped me understanding key concepts from finance. Highly recommended for people having no background in finance but come across terms like EBIT, BPV, IRR in their work.

By eyenpi s

Aug 9, 2022

Coursera has a great way to teach people who want to learn new knowledge through its lectures, assignments, quizzes and examinations. The Teachers and the experts in the field share their knowledge and expertise with passion. Thank you so much Coursera, keep it up!

By Keith A M

Apr 27, 2018

Really enjoyed the financial breakdown of publicly traded companies. Also, a way to show the overall health. Additionally, knowing and understanding interest rates is extremely beneficial. Even outside of the financial arena, knowing this information is beneficial.

By Puii D

Mar 19, 2021

It is quite difficult if you don't have Financial base like me, but not too difficult if you're willing to take time to learn it. The contents are really useful and walk you through the numbers which are necessary if you want to do the business. Totally recommend!

By Maria G R G

Mar 20, 2018

Excellent course!

The distribution of the subjects and the time that its invest in each one is ideal. One of the best teachers that i've seen, not only his knowledge but the way that he can traspass that knowledge and make you understand really difficult concepts.

By Isabella

Aug 7, 2022

Perfect! I was struggling with aonther course that was supposed to be beginner level but it didn't explain much... this one is indeed for begginers and it clarifies many terms and problems in the financing subject!! The lecturer is really engaged and helpful.

By Sumantha S

Dec 31, 2021

Anyone who is looking for a basic beginners course on finance or who doesn't know even the Basic fundamentals of finance, this Course is by far the best course on Coursera. If you planning to start your finance career , then this should be your starting line.

By aditya d

Apr 6, 2020

An excellent learning platform for the ones who have no commerce background . precisely taught by Prof.James Weston. easy day-to-day life examples are used to make things easier to learn . would recommend each one who is looking forward a career in finance .

By Max S

Apr 5, 2020

An amazing course that's engaging and leaves you wanting to learn more after every lecture. Good balance between learning and application as well. Highly recommend to all who wish to learn some fundamentals of finance in an intuitive and understandable way.

By Qing M P

Jan 9, 2022

Very good course overall. It ties together all the important concepts toward a meaningful goal. Hope the final capstone project could be a little better explained specifically on the topic of change in working capital at the final year. Thanks...!

By Lionel V

Aug 18, 2020

Spectacular course! Week by week I keep learning a lot. This gives me tools for me career path. It helps me to understand the decisions the CFO or company may take during a project or which is the role of a CAPEX in a forecast. Thanks so much!

By Sanjeev K

Jan 8, 2017

Name of this course tell youeverything , this course give enough info and wisdom to read and understand balance sheets , income statements and cashflow statements of companies . This is my first course and I'm happy that I took this course

By Sandeep R

Jun 14, 2019

I'm from non-finance professional :) and this course has taught me so much. I will use this as a refresher every now and then to not forget about what i learned in this course. Thank you so much to the whole team who are involved in this.

By Suril S

Dec 3, 2018

This is a good course for non-finance professionals to begin with. The professor is very knowledgeable, clear, and gives real world examples. Although, I would have loved to have more practice quizzes based on concepts after each week.

By Audrey S

Apr 15, 2021

Really good course, and a truly excellent teacher. Very engaging, practical, well-organized. I come from literature background and the course felt accessible despite my slower left brain and mediocre mathematic skills ;) Thank you !!!

By Raymond E

Aug 5, 2020

Very good class for an introduction to corporate finance processes and use of various methods for capital investment analysis. Course modules were effective and the quizzes/homework assignments tied back well to the class material.

By Kenan S

Aug 8, 2022

As a technical person with engineering background, this course really helps me in getting a general overview of corporate financial analysis and planning. I can easily put into practice the topics that are covered within the course.