Accounting Fundamentals


Overview/Description
Target Audience
Expected Duration
Lesson Objectives
Course Number


Overview/Description
How does a business achieve and maintain profitability? An understanding and an accurate application of accounting practices are hallmarks of a successful and financially progressive business. Accounting is a distinct discipline, with its own standards and language. Understanding accounting procedures requires a prerequisite knowledge of certain principles, concepts, terms, and common accounting records. This practical course gives you the why's and how's to accurately conduct accounting activities. "Accounting Fundamentals" examines the theories of accounting, how to maintain accounting records, and how to generate financial statements. A business deals with many transactions in a single day, so it's important to keep up-to-date records of its finances.

Target Audience
Individuals who require knowledge of the basics of accounting, who are starting a business, who are learning to manage the accounting activities of a business, who need to review standard accounting principles and procedures, shareholders, or potential shareholders.

Expected Duration (hours)
3.5

Lesson Objectives

The Principles of Accounting

  • recognize the advantages of applying the fundamentals of accounting.
  • match the generally accepted accounting principles to examples of their definitions.
  • identify which of the 3 account types, asset, liability, and owner's equity, are affected in a given transaction.
  • apply the accounting equation, given the accounts.
  • determine whether accounts are recorded as a debit or credit in a given transaction.

    • Accounting Records

  • recognize the advantages of maintaining accounting records.
  • match source documents to examples of their transactions.
  • determine the correct entries of given transactions in a general journal.
  • perform posting procedures to a general ledger.
  • perform the steps to taking a trial balance.
  • identify the techniques for locating errors.

    • Preparing Financial Statements

  • recognize the importance of preparing proper financial statements.
  • identify revenue and expense accounts.
  • balance an income statement given a set of data.
  • determine the capital in a statement of owner's equity for the end of the accounting period.
  • identify the features of a balance statement.
  • balance a balance statement given a set of data.
  • identify a cash transaction as an operating activity, investing activity, or financing activity.
  • balance a cash flow statement given a set of data.

    • Course Number:
    FIN0121