Business Finance and Data Analysis Fundamentals Specialization

Master Business Fundamentals with Our Comprehensive Quantitative Courses

Develop essential financial and analytical skills to make smarter business decisions and lead with confidence.

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Upcoming Start Date

Enrollment is always open, begin anytime.

Length

Approximately 3 months

Effort

Approximately 5 hours/week

Tuition

Audit for free, or pay $49 per course, or pay $59/month subscription to access more practice and earn a certificate.

Learn more about Coursera subscription options.

Overview

This Specialization is designed to equip you with a basic understanding of business finance, accounting, and data analysis. We've put together these three courses with the explicit intent of helping people prepare for the rigors of a prestigious MBA program, as well as introducing and refreshing basic knowledge and skills for aspiring business leaders. Having taught at Rice for nearly a combined 40 years, professors James Weston and Brian Rountree have found that entering students often lack confidence in some fundamental quantitative skills, as well as struggling with accounting and finance mechanics and terminology. As a result we have put together a series of lectures, plenty of practice opportunities and video walk-throughs that will allow you to confidently take a seat at the leadership table.

Who Should Attend

Individuals who are considering pursuing an MBA program and would like to brush up on their quantitative skills before beginning.
Small business owners who want to better manage their finances and understand their financial statements.
Individuals who want to improve their personal financial management skills, such as budgeting and investing.
Non-finance professionals who want to enhance their understanding of financial concepts and terminology to communicate more effectively with finance teams or make better business decisions.
Students in other disciplines, such as engineering or science, who may need to understand financial and accounting principles in their future careers.
Anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of the financial world and how it impacts our daily lives.

Program Takeaways

Demonstrate an understanding of the major conceptual levers that push and pull on financial decision making and how they relate to other areas of business
Describe the basic differences and similarities of the four financial statements
Develop a basic facility for using spreadsheets to solve quantitative business problems
Apply top level math and statistics concepts that will be used throughout the MBA curriculum at any school.