Preparatory Certificate in Finance and Financial Markets Specialization

Understanding the basics of accounting is a crucial skill for almost all finance professionals as it gives us insight into profitability, operations, growth, and the underlying drivers of the business. The Accounting Fundamentals course covers the importance of the financial statements and various financial statement terms. We will record transactions and prepare an multi-year income statement, balance sheet, and cashflow statement.

Accounting Fundamentals Learning Objectives • Understand the role and importance of the financial statements. • Define various financial statement terms • Explore the format of the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. • Record financial statement transactions. • Understand how transactions move through the financial statements. • Prepare simple financial statements. This course is designed for anyone who wants to review the fundamentals and building blocks of the accounting process. It will also be useful for professionals who work in finance and want to review the concepts required for financial modeling and valuation in CFI's later courses.

A thorough knowledge of financial statements and company reports is crucial to becoming a world-class financial analyst. In this course, learn how to read and understand financial statements. We use real company annual reports and financial statements to better understand and analyze the financial strength of a company and help us make more informed decisions.

Learning Objectives: • Learn the contents of an annual report. • Understand a company’s operations and business strategy. • Realize the many risk factors a company must navigate. • Analyze company financial statements, as well as its different business segments. • Read and comprehend the Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) section. • Review the notes to the financial statements for additional detail. This course is designed for anyone who wants to review accounting fundamentals and master the ability to read and interpret financial statements and reports. It will also be useful for current finance professionals who want to review concepts necessary for financial modeling and valuation in some of CFI’s core courses. The prerequisites are optional, but we recommend you complete these courses or possess the equivalent knowledge prior to enrolling in this course: Accounting Fundamentals

This Introduction to Capital Markets course offers a comprehensive overview of the industry, and key career opportunities. You will learn about the sell-side, buy-side, and the most popular and sought-after career paths in each of those respective groups. You will gain practical and deliberate knowledge, as this course takes you through typical day-in-the-life scenarios, allowing you to gain an understanding of the core competencies and personality traits that would drive success. Lastly, the course empowers you with the information you need to ensure that your career research is focused and that you use your most limited resource – time – wisely. After completing this course, you will have a better understanding of how the capital markets industry is structured, how each constituent contributes to maintaining smooth, functioning financial markets, and a keen idea of what field you may be best suited to pursue opportunities in.

Topics Explored: • Defining Capital Markets • Sell-Side: Origination, Sales & Trading, Primary & Secondary Markets • Buy-Side: Traditional and Non-Traditional (i.e., Hedge Funds) After completing this course, you will be able to: • Define primary and secondary markets, including the stakeholders involved in each and how they interact with each other • Describe the sell-side and buy-side of finance, the activities conducted on each side, and the capital markets careers available • Describe how sell-side and buy-side institutions not only work together but need each other to maintain smooth, functioning financial markets • Understand what a typical day-in-the-life looks like for each career path discussed, as well as the core skillsets that successful professionals would have • Determine what capital markets career path may be best suited for your passion, skillset, and personality This Introduction to Capital Markets course is perfect for anyone and everyone interested in pursuing a career in finance. Whether you are about to undergo your first job search as a new graduate of an academic institution, or you are ready to transition career paths after gaining professional work experience in a related or unrelated field, this course will help you get a comprehensive lay of the land so that you have a roadmap for your career pursuits.

This course will cover critical economic principles that impact financial markets rather than worry about micro/macro theory. We will introduce economic events and cover how to differentiate between economic releases and economic indicators.

Next, we will do a quick refresher on central banks and monetary policy before we dive into specific examples such as the Federal Reserve (the Fed), European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of England, and Bank of Japan, and discuss these institutions and their policies in detail. After having learned about central banks, we will go back to economic indicators and give examples of some of the more important ones to be familiar with, such as gross domestic product (GDP), Consumer Price Index (CPI), Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), and building permits. Finally, we will end the course by discussing the impact on markets and how they should react to economic news vs. how they react in real life. Upon completing this course, you will be able to: • Know how economic principles impact financial markets • Classify & interpret economic releases • Understand central banks, their goals, and their role in the economy • Perceive how specific economic events impact specific markets • Grasp how market practitioners use this information to trade and invest This Economics for Capital Markets course is perfect for anyone who would like to build a strong foundation on economic principles before jumping into financial markets, as economics forms the foundation of our monetary system. This course is designed to equip anyone who desires to begin a career in fixed income, equity, sales, trading, or other areas of finance with the fundamental knowledge of economics.

This Introductory course covers the fundamental knowledge about the banking industry. We will discuss the various types of financial institutions and how they differ in the types or products and services provided to their own customer groups. We can look at a bank’s balance sheet and income statement and understand how a bank generates return. Finally, we will explore the common career paths in different areas of banking.

Upon completing this course, you will be able to: • Understand the different types/structures of financial services firms • Determine the different types of banking services that are provided • Understand who the customers are for each type of service • Learn how a bank makes money • Differentiate the various banking career paths This Introduction to Banking course is perfect for any aspiring credit analysts working in insurance, underwriting, rating agencies, commercial lending, corporate credit analysis, and other areas of credit evaluation. It is also a great introductory course for anyone who would like to learn more about the banking industry.

Understanding the wealth management and financial planning industry, the career paths available, and what skills are typically associated with success in each path can help you spend your time wisely when it comes to researching career paths. This course helps you build this foundation so you don’t waste any time.

Upon completing this course, you will be able to: • Describe the current state of the wealth management and financial planning industry and where it is headed. • Explain the different career paths available in a holistic way that is region-agnostic. • Identify which essential skills and personality traits are typically found in the most successful Advisors in each career path. • Determine which path you would most like to pursue further research. Anyone interested in the wealth management and financial planning industry - whether you are looking to pursue a career in it or just learn more about it.

Today's financial services organizations face a complex web of interconnected risks, which must be managed and mitigated to protect the company, its customers, and the ongoing stability of the global financial and economic system.

Banks and other financial services organizations that do not manage risk effectively are at risk of failing. And, due to their size and interconnectedness, when a large bank fails, it can lead to negative consequences experienced at a global level. This risk management course provides the fundamental building blocks for any aspiring risk analyst or manager. By introducing the concept of risk, the wide spectrum of risks a financial services organization is exposed to, and reviewing the risk management approach taken at an enterprise level, students will be exceptionally well-placed to build and develop their risk management capabilities. Upon completing this course, participants will be able to: ● Define what risk is for banks and financial institutions ● Give real world examples of failures in risk management from the banking industry ● Compare the various risks a bank and financial institution is exposed to ● Identify the stages in an effective enterprise risk management framework ● Explain the importance of a strong risk culture This introductory course is essential to anyone exploring a career in risk management in the financial services industry.

Credit plays an important role in the lives of many individuals; it’s also a key source of funding for businesses making capital expenditures (CAPEX). In this course, we discuss important lending topics like the difference between traditional loans and trade credit, different types of interest, different types of loans, where collateral security fits in, and how to build an amortization schedule for reducing term debt. We cover an overview of the 5 Cs of Credit framework and how it may influence different loan characteristics before diving into some qualitative assessment tools and a list of the key financial ratios that an analyst would look at when evaluating a company’s creditworthiness. We also take a step back to look at the credit landscape to help learners understand what kinds of career opportunities exist for aspiring credit professionals.

Upon completing this course, you will be able to: • Define what credit is and how it’s created. • Identify some of the different career opportunities available to credit professionals. • Compare different types of interest payments and loan characteristics to help inform an appropriate credit structure. • Explain what capital expenditure (or CAPEX) is and how debt financing can support it. • Explain the 5 Cs of Credit framework and how it informs risk assessments. • Identify the important qualitative and quantitative techniques, including key financial ratios used in the risk assessment process. This Fundamentals of Credit course is perfect for any aspiring or early-stage credit professionals, including business and commercial bankers, credit analysts, real estate lenders, equipment finance, loan & mortgage brokers, and other private (non-bank) lenders.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) has gained increasing attention over the past few years, with many institutional investors investing only in those companies that provide ESG performance reporting. ESG has considerations relevant to analysts and investors, consumers and employees, and it has become a key topic of discussion at the Board table. This course provides an overview of an ESG framework and how it supports a company’s overall risk management. It examines each component in detail and provides insight into how they converge to impact a company and its stakeholders. The course also discusses how to look at corporate pressures & stakeholder expectations and their impact on risk identification and business success. Lastly, we look at critical considerations from both the company and investor perspectives before applying theory to practice in a final case study.

Upon completing this course, you will be able to: • Explain what ESG is and its relevance to making financial decisions; • Describe key environmental, social, and governance issues; • Explain how stakeholders influence corporate ESG performance; • Analyze ESG risks and opportunities; • Assess ESG company performance using publicly available information; • Translate ESG information to business intelligence. Who should take this course? This Environmental Social Governance (ESG) course is perfect for any analyst who would like to better understand how a company manages risks and opportunities that shifting market & non-market conditions create in today’s world. This course explores concepts that will be useful for beginner and intermediate-level research analysts, banking and investment professionals, or business and finance students seeking to gain further insight into ESG. The exercises and tools explored in this course will also be useful for any business analyst that wishes to advise public market clients on ESG strategies and improved disclosures.