Best Free MOOCs In Business For July

Accounting for Business Decision Making: Strategy Assessment and Control

School: University of Illinois

Platform: Coursera

Registration Link: REGISTER HERE

Start Date: July (4 Weeks Long)

Workload: 2-4 hours per week

Instructor: Gary Hecht

Credentials: A respected researcher and teacher, Hecht is an associate professor of accountancy at the University of Illinois, where he teaches at the undergraduate, MBA, and Ph.D. levels. A practitioner and an academic, Hecht worked in auditing and taxation, financial analysis, and consulting for ten years before earning his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois. From there, he taught at Emory University and the University of Wisconsin before returning to Champaign in 2013. His recent research, which focuses on compensation and performance measurements, has been published by The Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, and Contemporary Accounting Research. Most recently, Hecht was listed among the school’s professors ranked as “Excellent” by their students.

Graded: Students can choose to explore course videos, discussions, and ungraded assignments for free, but they won’t be able to submit graded assignments, earn a certificate, or complete a specialization without paying a $79 fee per course.

Description: Information is a currency whose value rises or falls based on its source, relevance, and use. And there are few metrics more valuable than those from accounting. From sales to operations, this intelligence guides decision-making and planning by revealing cost and returns — where money and effort are best spent. According to Hecht, decision-makers use accounting in three ways: measurement, control, and communication. This course focuses on the control function, notably measuring results and setting budgets. As part of this course, students will learn how to do the following: “Create and communicate accounting information that facilitates strategic decisions; use accounting information to develop, implement, and improve organizational strategy; implement controls that align managers’ and employees’ decisions with organizational goals; and measure and evaluate manager and employee performance to control and motivate operational and strategic decision-making.”

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Additional Background: This course is part of the University of Illinois’ “Fundamentals of Accounting” specialization, the school’s, a five course series that also covers financial statements for company performance and positioning and how accounting impacts strategy assessment and control. To learn more about this specialization and register for it, click here.