Best Free Business MOOCs In February

Corporate Finance Essentials

School: IESE Business School

Platform: Coursera

Registration Link: REGISTER HERE

Start Date: February 6, 2017 (6 Weeks)

Workload: 2-3 Hours Per Week

Instructor: Javier Estrada

Credentials: Estrada is renowned for translating complex financial frameworks into easy-to-understand concepts with real world applications. He is the author of The Financial Times Guide to Understanding Finance, which has been translated into numerous languages (including Chinese, Italian, Korean, and Spanish). He has also written The Essential Financial Toolkit – Everything You Always Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask. A finance professor at Barcelona’s IESE Business School, Estrada holds master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Illinois. He is also the founding editor of the Emerging Markets Review.

Graded: After completing the course, students can earn a signed Statement of Accomplishment from the instructor.

Description: This course covers the financial basics involved in how companies maximize return and investors mitigate risk. Each week, Estrada will examine a foundational corporate finance concept, including managing return on investment, crafting a diverse portfolio, estimating the cost of capital, identifying the most lucrative investment targets, and determining whether a company is creating or destroying value. Each weekly session includes a 45-60 minute lecture, supplemented by readings. Students will be evaluated through quizzes, with students earning a statement of accomplishment for achieving a cumulative 60 percent score and a statement “with distinction” for scoring 85 percent or above.

Review: “This class is an easy introduction to some of the elements of corporate finance. While not a definitive course for mastery, it serves as a good starting point before jumping into other MOOC’s on the subject.” For additional reviews, click here.

Additional Note: Although Estrada doesn’t require students to read his books, they will provide a more in-depth understanding of the concepts covered.

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