Financial Accounting Foundations
Learn to read and analyze financial statements.
Financial Accounting Foundations is an introductory course that explains the core principles and practices of financial accounting, teaching learners how to interpret and prepare key financial statements such as the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows.
The course also introduces the mechanics behind those statements—debits and credits, journal entries, revenue recognition, inventory and cost of goods sold—and provides basic tools for analysing company performance and financial ratios so learners can make more informed business decisions.
At a Glance
Financial Accounting Foundations is an introductory online course taught by Jim Stice and Kay Stice.
It provides an overview of key financial statements, core accounting mechanics, and contemporary topics such as revenue recognition and tax deferral to help learners read and analyze company financials.
| Level | Beginner |
| Rating | 4.8 out of 5 |
| Duration | 1+ hours |
| Languages | English |
| Certificate | Certificate of completion (shareable) |
| Access | Access for as long as your LinkedIn Learning subscription is active |
| Course includes |
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| Price | Included with subscription; free trial often available |
What This Course Teaches
The course frames outcomes as specific, measurable accounting competencies learners can apply to real company financials. It focuses on building practical skills in preparing, recording, and analysing core financial statements and the accounting mechanics that produce them.
How the Course Is Structured
The course is organised as several short thematic sections made up of brief video lessons, arranged to move from basic concepts to mechanics, current issues, and statement analysis. In total the syllabus lists 27 individual lessons across the course, with a combined runtime of about 1 hour 48 minutes.
Curriculum overview
01 Introduction ▾
02 Why Financial Accounting? ▾
03 Accounting vs. Bookkeeping ▾
04 The accounting equation ▾
05 The financial statement ▾
06 The balance sheet ▾
07 The income statement ▾
08 The statement of cash flows ▾
09 How financial statements are made ▾
10 Debits and credits ▾
11 Journal entries ▾
12 Making the financial statements ▾
13 Current financial accounting issues ▾
14 Revenue recognition ▾
15 Long-term assets including impairment ▾
16 Working with leases ▾
17 Earnings per share ▾
18 Investment securities and derivatives ▾
19 Deferring taxes ▾
20 Inventory and COGS ▾
21 Using financial statements ▾
22 Common size statements ▾
23 Du — Pont framework ▾
24 Debt ratio ▾
25 Operating ratio ▾
26 Price-earnings (P/E) ratio ▾
27 How you can use financial statements ▾
Audience & Requirements
This beginner-level course targets learners who need practical fluency with basic financial statements and accounting concepts.
It is intended for non‑accountants and early-career professionals who must read, interpret, or discuss company financials rather than perform advanced accounting work.
- Small‑business owners and entrepreneurs who want to understand financial reports.
- New managers and non‑finance professionals needing to interpret company statements.
- Undergraduate students or career changers seeking a practical accounting foundation.
- Professionals preparing for basic financial literacy or workplace discussions.
- No special prerequisites; designed for beginners.
- A LinkedIn Learning account or subscription to access the course materials.
- Basic comfort with arithmetic and reading tabular data.
Final Verdict
For learners who need a compact, practical grounding in financial statements and accounting mechanics, this course is a sound, efficient choice.
Its high rating and consistently positive reviews, combined with a shareable completion certificate and subscription-based access, make it especially good value for existing platform subscribers or anyone using a free trial; prospective learners without a subscription should weigh the subscription cost against their need for a short introductory primer before enrolling.
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