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Get a Finance Certificate
Whether you have aspirations to pursue a career in finance, or want to develop your finance skills and knowledge for your own business pursuits, this Finance Certificate Course is a great place to start. In this course you will receive a comprehensive introduction to the field of finance: the study of money, currency and capital assets. You’ll learn about the application and practice of finance to businesses and organizations, and develop tools and strategies to make sound financial decisions, solve financial problems, and manage risk.
What Happens in the Finance Certificate Course
The Finance Certificate Course is an online learning program with recommended readings from the textbook (Principles of Finance). This course is self-directed, which means you may study and complete assignments at times that are most convenient for you from the comfort of your own home.
This part-time Finance Certificate Course has a recommended completion date of 9 weeks from the start of the program, however, you may choose to complete the course in as little as 4 weeks or as long as 18 weeks, depending on your schedule.
The Finance Certificate Course has been created to allow you to complete it without teaching assistance. However, if you have questions or need assistance, you can receive help from a Faculty Member throughout the 9 weeks of the course. Your Faculty Member is a valuable resource person who can provide you with personal teaching assistance to help you succeed in the course.
Course Topics
The Finance Certificate Course has been developed to meet high academic standards, ensuring that as a graduate you can display with pride the Finance Certificate you will earn from the International Association of Professions Career College (IAP Career College).
Introduction to Finance
- What is Finance?
- The Role of Finance in Organization
- Importance of Data and Technology
- Careers in Finance
- Markets and Participants
- Microeconomic and Macroeconomic Matters
- Financial Instruments
- Concepts of Time and Value
Corporate Structure and Governance
- Business Structures
- Relationships between Shareholders and Company Management
- Role of the Board of Directors
- Agency Issues: Shareholders and Corporate Boards
- Interacting with Investors, Intermediaries, and Other Market Participants
- Companies in Domestic and Global Markets
Economic Foundations: Money and Rates
- Microeconomics
- Macroeconomics
- Business Cycles and Economic Activity
- Interest Rates
- Foreign Exchange Rates
- Sources and Characteristics of Economic Data
Accrual Accounting Process
- Cash versus Accrual Accounting
- Economic Basis for Accrual Accounting
- How does a Company Recognize a Sale and an Expense?
- When Should a Company Capitalize or Expense an Item?
- What is “Profit” versus “Loss” for the Company?
Financial Statements
- The Income Statement
- The Balance Sheet
- The Relationship Between the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement
- The Statement of Owner’s Equity
- The Statement of Cash Flows
- Operating Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF)
- Common-Size Statements
- Reporting Financial Activity
Measures of Financial Health
- Ratios: Condensing Information into Smaller Pieces
- Operating Efficiency Ratios
- Liquidity Ratios
- Solvency Ratios
- Market Value Ratios
- Profitability Ratios and the DuPont Method
Time Value of Money I: Single Payment Value
- Now versus Later Concepts
- Time Value of Money (TVM) Basics
- Methods for Solving the Value of Money Problems
- Applications of TVM in Finance
Time Value of Money II: Equal Multiple Payments
- Perpetuities
- Annuities
- Loan Amortization
- Stated versus Effective Rates
- Equal Payments with a Financial Calculator and Excel
Time Value of Money III: Unequal Multiple Payment Values
- Timing of Cash Flows
- Unequal Payments using a Financial Calculator or Microsoft Excel
Bonds and Bond Valuation
- Characteristics of Bonds
- Bond Valuation
- Using the Yield Curve
- Risks of Interest Rates and Default
- Using Spreadsheets to Solve Bond Problems
Stocks and Stock Valuation
- Multiple Approaches to Stock Valuation
- Dividend Discount Models (DDMs)
- Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Model
- Preferred Stock
- Efficient Markets
Historical Performance of US Markets
- Overview of US Financial Markets
- Historical Picture of Inflation
- Historical Picture of Returns to Bonds
- Historical Picture of Returns to Stocks
Statistical Analysis in Finance
- Measures of Center
- Measures of Spread
- Measures of Position
- Statistical Distributions
- Probability Distributions
- Data Visualization and Graphical Displays
- The R Statistical Analysis Tool
Regression Analysis in Finance
- Correlation Analysis
- Linear Regression Analysis
- Best-Fit Linear Model
- Regression Applications in Finance
- Predictions and Prediction Intervals
- Use of R Statistical Analysis Tool for Regression Analysis
How to Think About Investing
- Risk and Return to an Individual Asset
- Risk and Return to Multiple Assets
- The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)
- Applications in Performance Measurement
- Using Excel to make Investment Decisions
How Companies think about Investing
- Payback Period Method
- Net Present Value (NPV) Method
- Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Method
- Alternative Methods
- Choosing Between Projects
- Using Excel to Make Company Investment Decisions
How Firms Raise Capital
- The Concept of Capital Structure
- The Costs of Debt and Equity Capital
- Calculating the Weighted Average Cost of Capital
- Capital Structure Choices
- Optimal Capital Structure
- Alternative Sources of Funds
Financial Forecasting
- The Importance of Forecasting
- Forecasting Sales
- Pro Forma Financials
- Generating the Complete Forecast
- Forecasting Cash Flow and Assessing the Value of Growth
- Using Excel to Create the Long-Term Forecast
The Importance of Trade Credit and Working Capital in Planning
- What is Working Capital?
- What is Trade Credit?
- Cash Management
- Receivables Management
- Inventory Management
- Using Excel to Create the Short-Term Plan
Risk Management and the Financial Manager
- The Importance of Risk Management
- Commodity Price Risk
- Exchange Rates and Risk
- Interest Rate Risk
What Is Included in the Finance Certificate Course
This all-inclusive Finance Certificate Course Online package includes:
- Registration for the Finance Certificate Course Online
- Access to a Faculty Member to provide you with personal teaching assistance
- Textbook: Principles of Finance (e-book edition)
- Downloadable Finance Certificate personalized with your name and the seal of the International Association of Professions Career College which you may print
- (Optional) Opportunity to order official certificates printed on fine linen paper and embossed with the gold seal of the college
- (Optional) 2023-2024 membership in the IAPO International Organization of Business Professionals for only $2.99 per month
Register for the Finance Certificate Course
HOLIDAY SEASON SPECIAL
It’s easy to change or cancel your course registration. See our FAQ page for details.
You can have all this for an incredible price. It can cost hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars to take other programs. (We found courses based on old editions of our guides with registration fees of up to $999 and more.) We are able to offer you online courses at a significantly lower cost to you because of our expertise from over 20 years of producing the leading online guides for non-traditional careers.
Our online certificate courses have previously been offered for a registration fee of $297 U.S. and include a textbook and professional membership – a total value of almost $377.
HOLIDAY SEASON SPECIAL: This all-inclusive registration package for the Finance Certificate Course is priced as only $149.00 for the December 11, 2023 course.
Register today for the Finance Certificate Course. Enrollment is limited and registration is on a first come first served basis, so we recommend that you register early for the Finance Certificate Course online to avoid disappointment.
If the course is full, please email support@iapcollege.com to be notified when a new course date is scheduled.
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How Much Do Finance Professionals Make?
As a finance professional, your income is determined by a number of factors, including: your role and specialization, your experience, location, business model, and how much revenue your business generates (if you own your own finance business). For example, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), personal financial advisors earn a median salary of $94,170; whereas the average base salary for a senior investor relations professional is around $250,000.
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What Does a Finance Professional Do?
Professionals with a finance background have several exciting career opportunities open to them. From financial planning, to investment banking, to accounting, to insurance management, a solid foundation in finance is a great place to start as you consider your career options. A background in finance is also a great option for professionals who have aspirations to start their own consulting firm, and for any business owner who plans to handle their finances on their own.
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How Do I Become a Finance Professional?
A career in finance typically requires some higher education and career-specific certification and licensing. Before investing years of time and thousands of dollars in advanced degrees and certifications, an introductory course such as this can give you the opportunity to learn core concepts and gain insight into the field of finance to help you decide if this is a career path you wish to pursue.
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What is the Finance Certificate Course?
In this part-time online Finance Certificate Course, you will receive a comprehensive introduction to the world of finance. You will learn about the tools, methods and techniques that help finance professionals make sound business decisions, and engage in exercises and practice activities to help you develop your own finance skills. You will receive a Finance Certificate when you successfully complete this course. This online course has a recommended completion date of 9 weeks, however it may be completed in as little as 4 weeks or as long as 18 weeks. The course has been created to allow you to complete it without any teaching assistance, however as a student you have access to Faculty Members to provide you with personal teaching assistance and career advice.
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What is IAP Career College?
The International Association of Professions Career College (IAP Career College) is a leading online career college offering affordable online certificate courses and professional certifications for non-traditional and "dream" careers. When you take a part-time online certificate course with IAP Career College, you can schedule your learning around your life - you can work at your own pace, at the best times for you and from the comfort of your own home. IAP Career College and affiliated company FabJob Inc (the leading online publisher of guide books on how to get started in a dream career) have served over half a million career changers on six continents since 1999.
