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Principles
of Finance
The language and logic of money: time value, risk, investment, and financial decision-making for anyone who wants to lead in business.
What You'll Learn
A full semester of principles of finance — completed at your own pace, with no deadlines or fixed class times.
What You'll Be Able to Do
- Master core financial principles, such as time value of money, risk and return, and financial statement analysis, and apply these to various financial contexts
- Evaluate investment opportunities using tools like Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and understand the impact of risk on investment decisions
- Analyze financial markets and instruments, including stocks, bonds, and derivatives, to make informed investment choices
- Make strategic corporate financial management decisions regarding capital budgeting, structure, and cost of capital
- Identify and mitigate financial risks, employing derivatives and risk management strategies in domestic and international contexts
- Create and utilize financial models for decision-making, and communicate financial analyses effectively
Major Course Topics
Course chapters and lessons
Principles of Finance has 15 chapters across 65 instructional hours, as listed in the course syllabus. Expand any chapter to see the lessons inside it.
- Chapters
- 15
- Lessons
- 94
- Instructional hours
- 65 hrs
- Semester hours
- 3
Chapter 1
Introduction to Finance
- 1.1 What Is Finance?
- 1.2 The Role of Finance in an Organization
- 1.3 Importance of Data and Technology
- 1.4 Careers in Finance
- 1.5 Markets and Participants
- 1.6 Microeconomic and Macroeconomic Matters
- 1.7 Financial Instruments
- 1.8 Concepts of Time and Value
Chapter 2
Corporate Structure and Governance
- 2.1 Business Structures
- 2.2 Relationship between Shareholders and Company Management
- 2.3 Role of the Board of Directors
- 2.4 Agency Issues: Shareholders and Corporate Boards
- 2.5 Interacting with Investors, Intermediaries, and Other Market Participants
- 2.6 Companies in Domestic and Global Markets
Chapter 3
Economic Foundations: Money and Rates
- 3.1 Microeconomics
- 3.2 Macroeconomics
- 3.3 Business Cycles and Economic Activity
- 3.4 Interest Rates
- 3.5 Foreign Exchange Rates
- 3.6 Sources and Characteristics of Economic Data
Chapter 4
Accrual Accounting Process
- 4.1 Cash versus Accrual Accounting
- 4.2 Economic Basis for Accrual Accounting
- 4.3 How Does a Company Recognize a Sale and an Expense?
- 4.4 When Should a Company Capitalize or Expense an Item?
- 4.5 What Is “Profit” versus “Loss” for the Company?
Chapter 5
Financial Statements
- 5.1 The Income Statement
- 5.2 The Balance Sheet
- 5.3 The Relationship between the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement
Chapter 6
Measures of Financial Health
- 6.1 Ratios: Condensing Information into Smaller Pieces
- 6.2 Operating Efficiency Ratios
- 6.3 Liquidity Ratios
- 6.4 Solvency Ratios
- 6.5 Market Value Ratios
- 6.6 Profitability Ratios and the DuPont Method
Chapter 7
Cash Flow, Depreciation, and Financial Projections
- 7.1 Pro Forma Financial Analysis: The Corporate Environment
- 7.2 Pro-Forma (Projected) Cash Flow Analysis
- 7.3 Incrementalism
- 7.4 Corporate Forecasting and Strategic Planning
- 7.5 Forecasting Solution
- 7.6 The Tax Effect of Depreciation
Chapter 8
Corporate Forecasting Models
- 8.1 Free Cash Flow
- 8.2 Free Cash Flow Exercises
- 8.3 External Funds Needed Formula (EFN)
- 8.4 Internal and External Funds (Summary)
- 8.5 The EFN Formula Explained
- 8.6 EFN Application
- 8.7 EFN Solution
Chapter 9
The Time Value of Money: Simple Present- and Future-Values
- 9.1 The Time Value of Money and Interest
- 9.2 Interest-on-the-Interest: The Nature of Compound Interest
- 9.3 Some More Simple TVM Problems
- 9.4 Simple Future and Present Values (Formulas)
- 9.5 Compounding Frequency Assumption
- 9.6 Simple Future and Present Values: Continuous Compounding (Supplemental)
- 9.7 Characteristics of the Time Value of Money: FV and PV
- 9.8 Future and Present Value Factors (Multipliers)
- 9.9 A Word on Compounding Frequency and Annual Equivalent Rates
- 9.10 Interpolation
- 9.11 Interpolation Illustrated
- 9.12 Some TVM Practice Questions
- 9.13 The Volatility of the Time Value of Money
- 9.14 The First and Second Derivatives Illustrated
Chapter 10
Fixed Income Valuation
- 10.1 Security Return: The Holding Pattern Return (Raw Calculation)
- 10.2 Valuation Premise
- 10.3 Fixed Income Securities: Bond Components and Valuation Formula
- 10.4 Fixed Income Securities: Dollar Price and Yield-to-Maturity
- 10.5 Bond Dollar Prices: Discount, Par, and Premium
- 10.6 The True Price of a Bond
Chapter 11
Stocks and Stock Valuation
- 11.1 Multiple Approaches to Stock Valuation
- 11.2 Dividend Discount Models (DDMs)
- 11.3 Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Model
- 11.4 Preferred Stock
- 11.5 Efficient Markets
Chapter 12
Historical Performance of US Markets
- 12.1 Overview of US Financial Markets
- 12.2 Historical Picture of Inflation
- 12.3 Historical Picture of Returns to Bonds
- 12.4 Historical Picture of Returns to Stocks
Chapter 13
Statistical Analysis in Finance
- 13.1 Measures of Center
- 13.2 Measures of Spread
- 13.3 Measures of Position
- 13.4 Statistical Distributions
- 13.5 Probability Distributions
- 13.6 Data Visualization and Graphical Displays
- 13.7 The R Statistical Analysis Tool
Chapter 14
Regression Analysis in Finance
- 14.1 Correlation Analysis
- 14.2 Linear Regression Analysis
- 14.3 Best-Fit Linear Model
- 14.4 Regression Applications in Finance
- 14.5 Predictions and Prediction Intervals
- 14.6 Use of R Statistical Analysis Tool
Chapter 15
Risk, Return, and the CAPM
- 15.1 Statistical Concepts in Finance
- 15.2 Uncertainty in Capital Budgeting
- 15.3 Portfolio Risk, Reward, and Diversification
- 15.4 Risk of Stock Investments and Market Betas
- 15.5 The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
These chapters come straight from the official course syllabus, which also sets out the graded assignment and the proctored final exam.
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Use principles of finance to make smarter financial decisions.
The language and logic of money: time value, risk, investment, and financial decision-making for anyone who wants to lead in business.
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HD video lectures broken into short, focused modules. Watch at your own pace — pause, rewind, replay any time.
Quizzes & Final Exam
Evaluate your understanding after every section with quizzes and a comprehensive final exam that mirrors real college assessment.
Structured College-Level Course
Structured lessons covering every topic — designed as a standard Principles of Finance college-level course.
Official Transcript
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