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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Finance for Non-Finance Professionals by Rice University

4.8
stars
2,611 ratings

About the Course

This short course surveys all the major topics covered in a full semester MBA level finance course, but with a more intuitive approach on a very high conceptual level. The goal here is give you a roadmap and framework for how financial professional make decisions. We will cover the basics of financial valuation, the time value of money, compounding returns, and discounting the future. You will understand discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation and how it compares to other methods. We also step inside the mind of a corporate financial manager and develop the basic tools of capital budgeting. We will survey the how, when, and where to spend money, make tradeoffs about investment, growth, dividends, and how to ensure sound fiscal discipline. Our journey then turns to a Wall Street or capital markets perspective of investments as we discuss the fundamental tradeoff between risk and return. We then synthesize our discussion of risk with our valuation framework and incorporate it into series of direct applications to practice. This course requires no prior familiarity with finance. Rather, it is intended to be a first step for anyone who is curious about understanding stock markets, valuation, or corporate finance. We will walk through all of the tools and quantitative analysis together and develop a guide for understanding the seemingly complex decisions that finance professionals make. By the end of the course, you will develop an understanding of the major conceptual levers that push and pull on financial decision making and how they relate to other areas of business. The course should also serve as a roadmap for where to further your finance education and it would be an excellent introduction of any students contemplating an MBA or Finance concentration, but who has little background in the area....

Top reviews

KH

Mar 27, 2020

Great Course, Very solid start for those who are trying to enter Finance world.

It makes you love this field if you are not familiar with it and have no previous experience.

Great Job Professor.

RM

Aug 16, 2020

This is a very well designed course. Taking you through basics and in the end puts you in a real business scenario where you are expected to take a decision based on the tools and concepts you learnt.

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476 - 500 of 580 Reviews for Finance for Non-Finance Professionals

By SELCUK G

Aug 18, 2019

thanks

By Gökhan B

Aug 18, 2019

thanks

By ERAY K

Jul 25, 2019

Thanks

By Анна А

May 23, 2019

great!

By Utkarsh A

Oct 2, 2022

Good

By CHIDINMA O S

Aug 2, 2020

Great

By MEHMET S

Sep 1, 2019

thnks

By DILAN O

Aug 6, 2019

Thank

By Vishwajeet T

Mar 20, 2022

Well

By Asante T A

Sep 7, 2021

Good

By Deleted A

Dec 11, 2019

Nice

By HASAN

Aug 31, 2019

good

By Adeyinka I G A

Jul 16, 2021

WOW

By CEM

Aug 31, 2019

thk

By Leslie J T P

May 24, 2022

ok

By SONAT

Aug 29, 2019

..

By Uğur S

Aug 31, 2019

.

By VAHAP V

Aug 28, 2019

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By AHMET Ö

Aug 26, 2019

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By Craig E

Jan 30, 2019

V

By shikha a

May 23, 2021

Overall, the course is really well structured and allows someone from a non-finance background to get a good insight into finance in a fairly short amount of time. The addition of practitioner section is a nice touch as well to provide a good understanding of real world application.

However, my one major frustration with the course was that the quizzes, specifically the ones at the end did not have detailed solutions so one could not understand where they went wrong for the incorrect responses. This should be an easy fix though.

By Kathy C

Jan 18, 2022

It was useful and the instructor is better than the instructor in University of Illinois. I learned better from James Weston than with Xi Yang. The graded quizzes and capstone were hard for me tho I passed with flying colors. Spreadsheets are your best friend. James Weston seems passionate about finance and unlike Xi yang, he is not merely just reading a slide. He explains well from a POV of someone who used to work in the Finance sector. I like learning from people who experienced it. Thanks!

By Deleted A

Apr 28, 2020

The instructor did a great effort summarizing the key concepts in finance in digestible manner. I loved the course so much & I'm glad to complete it.

However, I would like if there were some reference textbook shared with the students (even with added price); so we can practice more, and read the materials after the instructor.

I also faced huge shock at week 5 and some difficulties solving the capstone quiz, so if there were more example to practice it would be better.

By Sahil G

Apr 20, 2021

The professor and their way of emphasizing on key points is very good. It will be good if students make live notes of what he speaks during session with practitioner.

the Home Assignments are helpful and although the capstone had many doubts the discussion forums helped.

The only thing I think can be better is giving more than one Capstone and the reading material may be increased to give more real world understanding from actual Stock markets or Corporate case studies.

By Steven B

Jan 3, 2020

I got to quite enjoy it and the presenter. I was particularly intrigued by his use of the light board and his apparent mirror writing. I almost didn't do this because the coursera guide was directing me to free trials and similar. I think that stand-alone courses like this should be easier to find. The helpdesk people did little to help and it was only after I escalated the whole thing that someone found a way that I could spend money...