About this course: This course is designed to show you how use quantitative models to transform data into better business decisions. You’ll learn both how to use models to facilitate decision-making and also how to structure decision-making for optimum results. Two of Wharton’s most acclaimed professors will show you the step-by-step processes of modeling common business and financial scenarios, so you can significantly improve your ability to structure complex problems and derive useful insights about alternatives. Once you’ve created models of existing realities, possible risks, and alternative scenarios, you can determine the best solution for your business or enterprise, using the decision-making tools and techniques you’ve learned in this course.

Created by: University of Pennsylvania

Taught by: Richard Lambert, Professor of Accounting
Accounting- Wharton School
Taught by: Robert W. Holthausen, Professor
Accounting

Basic Info	Course 4 of 5 in the Business and Financial Modeling Specialization
Commitment	4 weeks of study, 1-3 hours/week
Language	English
How To Pass	Pass all graded assignments to complete the course.
User Ratings	4.6 stars Average User Rating 4.6See what learners said

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Evaluation Criteria: Net Present Value

This module was designed to introduce you to the many potential criteria for selecting investment projects, and to explore the most effective of these criteria: Net Present Value (NPV). Through the use of concrete examples, you'll learn the key components of Net Present Value, including the time value of money and the cost of capital, the main utility of NPV, and why it is ultimately more accurate and useful for evaluating projects than other commonly used criteria. By the end of this module, you'll be able to explain why net present value analysis is the appropriate criteria for choosing whether to accept or reject a project, and why other criteria, such as IRR, payback, ROI, etc. may not lead to decisions which maximize value.

6 videos, 2 readings

Video: Course Introduction & Overview
Video: 1.1 Introduction: Criteria for Evaluating Projects
Video: 1.2 Time Value of Money
Video: 1.3 NPV Analysis of Projects
Video: 1.4 Other Evaluation Techniques
Video: 1.5 The Cost of Capital
Reading: PDFs of Lecture Slides
Reading: Excel Spreadsheets: Module 1

Graded: Evaluation Criteria: Module 1 Quiz

WEEK 2

Evaluating Projects

In this module, you'll learn how to evaluate a project with emphasis on analyzing the incremental after-tax cash flows associated with the project. You'll work through a concrete example using alternative scenarios to test the effectiveness of this method. You'll also learn why only future cash flows are relevant, why to ignore financial costs, include all incidental effects, remember working capital requirements, consider the effect of taxes, forget sunk costs, remember opportunity costs, use expected cash flows, and perform sensitivity analysis. By the end of this module, you'll be able to evaluate projects more thoroughly and effectively, with emphasis on how to model the change in the company’s after-tax cash flows, so that you can make more profitable decisions.

5 videos, 1 reading

Video: 2.1 Introduction and Analyzing Incremental After-Tax Cash Flows - Initial Investment Phase
Video: 2.2 Analyzing Incremental After-Tax Flows - Operating Phase
Video: 2.3 Analyzing Incremental After-Tax Flows - Terminal Phase
Video: 2.4 Example: New Production Machine
Video: 2.5 Key Considerations in Evaluations
Reading: PDFs of Lecture Slides

Graded: How to Evaluate Projects: Module 2 Quiz

WEEK 3

Expressing Business Strategies in Financial Terms

This module was designed to give you the opportunity to learn how business activities, transactions and events are translated into financial statements, including balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. You'll also learn how these three statements are linked to each other, and how balance sheets and income statements can help forecast the future cash flow statements. By the end of this module, you'll be able to explain how accounting systems translate business activities into financial terms, and how to use this to better forecast future cash flows, so that you can express your business strategies in these financial terms, and show "the bottom line" for your proposed plan of action.

3 videos, 1 reading

Video: 3.1 Introduction to Financial Statements
Video: 3.2 Balance Sheets and Income Statements
Video: 3.3 Cash Flow Statements
Reading: PDFs of Lecture Slides

Graded: Financial Statements and Forecasting: Module 3 Quiz

WEEK 4

New Product Value

In this module, you'll apply what you’ve been learning to an analysis of a new product venture. You’ll learn how to map out a plan of the business activities, transactions and events that need to happen to implement the new venture, including their timing. You'll also learn how to set up a spreadsheet to help with forecasts, and to re-calculate things automatically as we re-think our plans. You'll see how to forecast out the implied financial statements, and calculate the Net Present Value (NPV). By the end of this module, you'll be able to use spreadsheets to explore different risks a venture may face, and analyze the implications of these scenarios for NPV, so that you can make the most profitable, data-driven decision possible.

6 videos, 2 readings

Video: 4.1 Introduction and Speadsheet Setup
Video: 4.2 Forecasting Future Cash Flows
Video: 4.3 NPV and IRR Calculations
Video: 4.4 Formulation and Evaluation of Alternative Scenarios
Video: 4.5 Expanding Beyond the Time Horizon
Video: Course Conclusion
Reading: PDFs of Lecture Slides
Reading: Excel Spreadsheets: Module 4

Graded: Calculating Value: Module 4 Quiz

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How It Works

Coursework

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Creators

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn) is a private university, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. A member of the Ivy League, Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and considers itself to be the first university in the United States with both undergraduate and graduate studies.

Pricing

	Purchase Course	Audit
Access to course materials	Available	Available
Access to graded materials	Available	Not available
Receive a final grade	Available	Not available
Earn a shareable Course Certificate	Available	Not available

Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.6 out of 5 of 491 ratings

The most useful course out of this specialization so far. Business fundamentals should be required prior to this course though.

Very practical and well structured. The best Module of the course without any doubt

Brief Profile: Sohail Butt

I am a man of 58 years old and having an experience of almost 30 years of Business Management of Pharmaceutical & Nutraceutical Industries of Pakistan. Presently I am having my own Consulting Company " AIMMS CONSULTING" and extending my services as Management Consultant to different companies of said sectors.

I am of the conviction that learning is never ending and have a habit of learning new ideas about my favorite subject about Social Media Marketing.

I really appreciate highly the efforts of my respected dynamic, highly competent & honorable Professors Richard Lambert & Robert W. Holthausen and enjoyed the course material and videos presentation of this course. Mind blowing conceptual approach was adopted especially in the areas of Decision – Making Scenarios. Overall it was my superb experience of learning.

SUGGESTION:

MY PERSONAL HUMBLE REQUEST, Please make also the important components of course material as a part of this Certificate with % AGGREGATE so that it has a much more worth & impact for the courses participated.

A separate Transcript must be issued with having Aggregate % Score and important Components of participated course.

Hard Copy of this certificate mail to my home address in Pakistan. Please use my credit card,I am ready to pay all expenses in this connection.

Thanks & best wishes to all Coursera Team.

Highly relevant and industry focused course

Decision-Making and Scenarios

Decision-Making and Scenarios

Decision-Making and Scenarios