Welcome to LawShelf’s video-course in the basics of financial accounting. This course introduces the viewer to the most important principles in accounting. This course is also designed for corporate or legal professionals to be able to better work with corporate accounting departments. While this course is complicated and requires some understanding of mathematical principles, it is an introductory level course in that no prior background or experience in accounting is required.

This course starts with explanations of the basic financial accounting documents: the balance sheet, the income statement and other financial statements. We’ll go over basic bookkeeping rules and where various information is entered and kept.

Modules two through four cover the accounting process. We’ll discuss the concepts of recognition and matching, accrual and deferral of revenue and what constitutes current assets. We’ll also discuss inventory and the “LIFO,” “FIFO” and just-in-time methods to track inventory. We’ll also look at the concept of depreciation, mainly relevant for income and capital gains taxation, and the various depreciation methods and rules. We’ll also look at how to account for intangible assets, securities, debt instruments, leases and capital accounts.

In module five, we’ll turn to the principles of accounting. We’ll discuss the “Generally Accepted Accounting Principles” and how they are formed and work. We’ll also discuss auditing and the principles that govern that pursuit. We’ll also look at responsibility for financial statements, gray areas and some sample cases where questions of liability for false or misleading financial statements went to the courts.

In our last module, we’ll focus on the quantitative tools that are used in valuations. We’ll look at many different types of ratio analyses and their rules and uses. We’ll look at myriads of ways to measure profitability and performance. Then, we’ll discuss the time value of money and its impact on accounting. Finally, we’ll wind up the course by discussing different ways to value a company.

At the end of this course, you will know the basics of accounting methods, where they come from, how they are put into effect and why they are important.

Best of luck and we welcome your feedback.