Finance in Everyday Business

In this course, you will learn how receivables and inventory are recorded and how they affect overall operations and decisions you make within your department. You will see how formulas that measure receivables and inventory are calculated and what they reveal about the company. You will also learn about the different types of costs and how they fit into the process of break-even analysis, which helps managers determine the minimum number of unit sales needed to exactly cover all costs.

See profitability through the eyes of a finance professional by knowing how to find the points at which your business breaks even or prospers. Understanding your department’s fixed, mixed, and variable costs will help determine what rates of production will hit baseline to continue the business or hit specific profitability targets. The break-even analysis uses a few key formulas to determine the contribution margin per unit, the break-even point in units and in dollars, and the units needed to achieve target profit. You will also learn about additional concerns for nonfinance managers. These include the time value of money concept, which you can use to evaluate long-term opportunities, and the disclaimer and adverse reports, which are the two audit reports that are particularly likely to result in specific new audits against your own department to resolve inaccuracies. Good decision-making depends on accurate information and intelligent planning for the future.