Financial Record Keeping

Bookkeeping—financial record keeping—is the cornerstone of a healthy business. Accurate records ensure you can make intelligent decisions, stay on the right side of the IRS, and demonstrate the value of your business should you decide to sell it. Join accounting professors Jim and Kay Stice for this overview of financial record keeping. Learn how to create forecasts and a quantitative business plan, capture rudimentary business data such as sales and expenses, understand income tax reporting, and prepare detailed reports to help you attract financing from banks and other investors. This is an introductory course—no prior accounting knowledge is required. After taking it, you should understand the basics of this critical business function.

Learning objectives
Summarize the two forecasting techniques used to create a complete business plan.
Analyze the five methods for maintaining financial records for a company and explain what kind of company would require each method.
Calculate payroll expenses with accuracy.
Apply the entity concept to hypothetical situations.
Describe the process for obtaining financing from third-party sources.
Explain the process for valuing a company.