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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Financial Accounting by University of Pennsylvania

4.7
stars
8,044 ratings

About the Course

Master the technical skills needed to analyze financial statements and disclosures for use in financial analysis, and learn how accounting standards and managerial incentives affect the financial reporting process. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to read the three most common financial statements: the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows. Then you can apply these skills to a real-world business challenge as part of the Wharton Business Foundations Specialization....

Top reviews

MM

Feb 3, 2016

I took Brian Bushee's course and found him to be one of the BEST INSTRUCTORS I'VE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. If you've had trouble with accounting courses in the past, HE IS THE INSTRUCTOR FOR YOU!!!

EY

Sep 19, 2019

The course is very easy to understand, and most importantly it is fun to learn accounting! I find this course covers basic yet comprehensive contents compared to other basic accounting online courses.

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1651 - 1675 of 1,887 Reviews for Introduction to Financial Accounting

By Justin K

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Mar 29, 2021

Loved taking this course with Prof. Bushee and learned a ton not having any accounting knowledge. It took longer than suggested each week for me. I would have appreciated better explanations in the final exams as I passed them but still do not understand some of the questions and resulting answers. I wish this could be addressed so I could better understand.

By Mustafa O

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Mar 18, 2020

Very good content, very organized. But the material is heavy and need a lot of focus as the instructor needs to deliver a lot in very short time. I got back to some videos more than two times because I've missed some information. But in general it was not very hard.

The instructor is humorous and entertaining and I liked the virtual students very much.

By Matthew K

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Oct 1, 2016

Pretty good course. The instructor is engaging, and parts of the course make sense. I had a lot of trouble with Accounting, and I spoke with a friend and he agreed. Accounting is one of those subjects where things don't necessarily make sense in a way you can just figure out. The only way to get those items is brute force, memorize them.

By Zach F

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Jun 23, 2021

There needs to be an additional class for explanation of terms earlier on and how they work on a balance sheet. 15 examples in a row using new concepts in each example of a balance sheet is not enough. I'm googling critical terms like Cost of Goods Sold to figure out the missing pieces, and that is the sign the course is not complete.

By Francisca E

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Mar 13, 2021

For a somewhat mundane course, I think Mr. Bushee did an excellent job in presenting a lot of material in an organized fashion. Given the scope of material, I would recommend taking notes and listening or reading the lecture notes at least twice. Would have liked to have seen more explanation on account terminology. Thank you.

By Nate L

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Jul 22, 2023

Good course and great instructor. Overall it's a good crash course on the subject, but it'd be better if there were more opportunities to practice the concepts outside of the quizzes. It's a bit too much information to retain without any practical application. The module on ratios is particularly overwhelming in this regard.

By JS

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Oct 12, 2021

The course lectures are excellent. The professor gives enough motivation and good questions. The practice examples are excellent too but this kind of course needs more practice examples, especially for someone who is a complete beginner with the terminology. The 30 mn time limit on the final exams is stressful.

By Kalyani R

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Sep 15, 2020

This is a through peek into account if one is not an account student/professional. Now I can indeed "read" a company's annual report and make sense of it.

Prof Bushee has a dry sense of humor (does that fit the stereotype of accountants) but he is a good instructor, trying hard to make things challenging.

By Amber H

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Apr 24, 2016

Thoughtful and smart introduction to accounting. I thought some of the quiz/test questions were worded poorly so some of the test content did not feel like you were actually being tested on your knowledge of the content, it was testing how literal or non-literal your understanding of the questions to be.

By Jason S

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Aug 15, 2023

Content was easy to understand, and the real-world examples really helped. I would have liked more of an opportunity to practice some of the concepts outside of the exams so that I could have a better idea of why I got some of the questions wrong, despite passing the exam, before taking the exam.

By Yolanda C

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May 6, 2017

Lecturer explained concepts really clearly and in way such that it is easy to understand. The examples given are great as I can see how the concepts work and how they are applied. The pace is fast for a beginner but acceptable taking into account that it spans over only a few hours for 4 weeks.

By Rishi R

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Oct 12, 2018

You could improve a little bit by considering that this course will not be taken by just Economics related students. You might want to develop a short notes kind of stuff for ease of access. Otherwise, great work sir! Especially, when you do the "Put the gain in, take the gain out..." :P

By Nilay P

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Jun 5, 2020

I think this course was exceptional in the way professor Brian teaches, makes things simplified. It is needless to say this course requires a lot of concentration and is more than an introduction especially concerning those who come from a totally different background (like myself).

By px k

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Sep 27, 2022

Great Course. Only feedback that I have are to provide correct answers on the final. A couple of questions on Part 2 of the final were just marked incorrect. I really would have liked to see the correct answers. I was not going to retake that portion of the final.

By George B M

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Jul 10, 2016

Professor kept it lively. Accounting is hard, and the work was challenging but he taught well, kept it engaging, and taught me a LOT. This class truly shows the quality of education that Coursera houses, at a truly great price compared to a class at an institution.

By Ryan J

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Jan 10, 2022

At the beginning, it was hard to absorb professor's contents. But in the end, without comparing other courses, this course was an excellent course for self-learner, especially for whom have taken Accounting courses at their own colleges. I want to study again.

By Majid M

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Aug 28, 2017

some of the videos were very long and theoretical. I do realize this may have been way easier in front of a live crowd. I would think of way to make the videos simpler and more exciting like less theories and more had written example. Over all THANK YOU

By Harshvardhan C

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Oct 20, 2021

Learned some new things regarding Financial statements gave me a clarity on how to look any company financial statement , especially the virtual students idea was good it gave me a sense of thinking whenever there was problem ahead of me

Thankyou Sir

By Pratik A

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Dec 28, 2022

Thank you, the University of Pennsylvania for such a fantastic course. Prof. Brian Bushee did an awesome job teaching some of the complex topics. Virtual Students were good sometimes; however, some assistance was required in the beginning.

By Seth B

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Oct 8, 2018

Great course and relatively easy to follow. Some quizzes and tests really challenge you by framing the questions in formats that weren't previously utilized, which can be frustrating, but it forces you to earn the course completion.

By Charu L S

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Nov 4, 2015

i've just started this course again. Hopefully, I'll finish it this time. I love the way professor is going abot the accounting. I always found the subject very boring but the professor makes me like and learn these bland numbers.

By Mustafa S

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Mar 27, 2020

Very difficult course. I did it since it is required in order to complete the Specialization.

However, if you want to learn details of financial accounting and how to prepare financial statements then this course will be useful.

By Kai S

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Mar 26, 2023

The professor's explanations are all perfect. However, I think the multiple choice exam doesn't resonate much with the content. Perhaps just by fixing the wording could enhance the one's understanding of the course's content.

By Sergio C

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Apr 27, 2022

Pretty comprehensive but very demanding for people without any experience in Accounting - I understand this isn't an easy topic and probably it is fair to be that way.

In all honesty I feel I learnt a lot - very good course!

By Jeffrey H

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Mar 20, 2016

Good introduction to the world of accounting, however, this is an especially difficult topic to learn via an online course. My recommendation would be to supplement the course with an intro workbook and practice problems.