Finance is often rightly penned as the lifeblood or heart of any given business entity. Be it in the sectors of accounting, investment banks or brokerage firms, finance is an unavoidable and integral part. To be a successful epitome of corporate finance, one needs a certain skill-set up his sleeve. Apart from basic economic knowledge of analysing numbers, calculating risks etc., the person needs to have a commendable interpersonal ability to cope well with other colleagues and superiors.
The below mentioned are the top 10 online courses from which one can cultivate and nurture the essential virtues to be reputed finance professional.
1. Introduction to Corporate Finance by Wharton Institute
Offered by the Wharton Institute of Pennsylvania, this course makes one an expert in basic financial knowledge. This reputed course also preps the students to use their newly acquired knowledge in the real, open-world without hesitation.
-time value of money
-cost of capital
-interest rates
-auto leasing
-asset valuation
The above mentioned are a few of the valuable modules covered by the above-mentioned course. The lectures are given by Michael R Roberts, a highly respected professor of the Wharton school. Over 140000 students have participated in this course and they have rated it highly.
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2. Professional Certificate in Corporate Finance by Columbia University
This course offered by Columbia University supplies the students with the basic knowledge and essential skills to enable them to make clinical and sound decisions on the basis of finance and investments. This certificate course is covered in 3 individual courses that sum up the basis of finance. They include time valuing of money, capital budgeting etc. As this is more of interactive courses, the lectures are applied implementing case study activities, real-life examples etc.
The course ultimately helps the student to decide which projects to take up from the ones offered by the cooperation.
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3. Financial Management Specialisation by University of Illinois
This certification is a comprehensively advanced course that focuses on the fundamental principles of strategic management. This course ensures that the students come out equipped with highly demanded managerial skills and helps them develop an integrated framework for financial management and decision making.
The online course offered is considered to be as effective and immersive as the on-campus experience, thus making it a worthwhile one. The courses are divided into seven components all of which together constitutes almost every concept and skill needed in financial management.
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4. Financial Markets by Yale University
Professor Robert Schiller, the sterling professor of economics at Yale University, and the 2013 Nobel Prize winner for Economics is the main tutor in this course. The title is often misleading as although it says Financial Markets, this course covers a lot more topics like how finance works in modern society, financial theory and its applications etc.
The course moves on in 7 weekly modules, each covering important topics such as risk, insurance, debt etc. Professor Schiller, along with a teaching assistant, reviews technical questions, holds discussions and explains quick definitions of key concepts.
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5. Corporate Finance Essentials by IESE Business School
This course is taught by Javier Estrada, a Financial Management professor at IESE Business School. It is a hugely popular course as it covers the basic financial concepts and many of the key financial issues occurring in companies. This course is spread over 6 parts each one discussing the interaction between companies and investors in detail. These assessments ultimately help the learners to better understand the news in financial presses and the internal occurring of a business’s finance.
The main topics covered In this course include
- Risk and return
- Correlation and diversification
- Project evaluation
- Corporate value creation
- The CAPM and the cost of capital.
Plenty of hands-on lessons and exercises are available throughout the course.
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6. Essentials of Corporate Finance Specialization by the University of Melbourne
Students who are looking for the skill set used on a daily basis by the finance professionals who solve real-life financial problems need to look no further. The course is developed by the University of Melbourne in partnership with the finance professionals at the Bank of New York Mellon, one of the most reputable financial institutions in the world
The course consists of 5 smaller courses that provide the students with a firm footing on the fundamentals of financial analysis and decision making. The above-mentioned courses are:
- The language and tools of financial analysis
- The role of global capital markets
- Corporate financial decision
- Alternate approaches to valuation and investment
- Essentials of corporate financial capstone
This is more of an intermediate level course and participants are advised to have basic knowledge of algebra, statistics and be handy with MS Excel.
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7. Free Finance Courses (EDX)
EDX offers a wide variety of free courses on Corporate Finance. Learners can even choose from both introductory and advanced courses that can help students define their career. Students have the freedom to select courses from various reputable financial institutions. Tough the courses are free, one can opt for a more hands-on approach to learning by choosing the paid versions.
Students can choose courses from renowned institutions like MIT, IIM, and NYIF etc. Some of the most noted programs offered are
- Professional Certificate in Corporate Finance by Columbia University
- Professional Certificate in Corporate Finance by NYIF
- Corporate Finance by the University of Maryland.
- Corporate Financial course by IIMB
This is a self-paced course in which the student can choose the duration
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8. Online Corporate Finance Courses and Certifications ( UDEMY)
This excellent platform provided by Udemy helps one to build their skill set in the field of finance. They offer a wide variety of courses ranging from corporate finance to mergers and acquisitions. Students are free to choose from any of the courses available based on their needs and experience level.
Some of the most popular courses offered by Udemy are:
- Finance for the real world. Corporate Finance 101
- CFA Level 1- Complete Corporate Finance
- The Corporate Finance course 2020
- The Complete Financial Analyst Course 2020
- Introduction to Finance, Accounting, Modeling and Valuation
Students have free access to student forums and community to solve doubts and receive feedback.
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9. Corporate Finance Training Courses (LinkedIn Learning)
The platter of expert held courses by LinkedIn ensures one gets a great opportunity to get the right finance training. These courses provide the students with a strong foundation in the right topics such as risk management, financial analysis, capital budgeting, financial planning and decision making. These courses provide the students with the skill set mentioned in the introduction to create a well-defined career.
Some of the courses offered by LinkedIn are:
- Excel for Corporate Financial Professionals by Michael McDonald
- Finance and accounting tips by Kay Stice
- Finance Modeling Foundations by Michael McDonald
- Accounting foundations by Kay Stice
- Economics for everyone – Understanding a recession by Jason Schenker
Students are also provided with the option to download the courses and learn on the go.
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10. Coursera Finance Certification Courses
Coursera Finance Courses provide the necessary skills to advance in the career of finance. They are one of the best to do so, providing students with entry-level courses, intermediary courses to advanced classes and one can find their required programme from a vast selection tailored to their need and necessity. It consists of online master’s degrees, professional certificate programmes, specializations and individual courses which one can choose based on their current level of experience and the time and effort they can commit to it.
A few courses that deserve a mention in this programme are:
- Finance for Non-Financial Professionals by the University of California.
- Investment Management Specialization by University of Geneva
- Understanding Modern Finance Specialisation
Students can learn using shareable electronic courses by providing minimal fee. Access to communities and discussions for solving doubts are also available.
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Corporate finance deals with the capital structure of a corporation including its funding and the necessary measures taken to increase the value of the company. Hence the students in this sector have to be at the top of their game always and be up to date with all the latest information. The ultimate purpose of corporate finance is to maximize a business through the planning and implementation of resources while balancing risk and profitability. These courses are all based on these core principles and hence are apt for the average student.