What is business finance?

Business finance is the initial capital that is required to start a business and the managing of that money. It is usually in the form of funding that you've raised to start, maintain, or expand the commercial business venture. In a broader sense, business finance refers to the entire category of a company or organization managing its money, to have clarity on the company's investments, budgeting, credit, savings, and business forecasting. The financial decisions for a small startup or a sole proprietorship usually fall to the owner of the business. In a larger company, the matters of business finance are under the responsibility of an accountant or financial manager. These managers may have a team of people to help with the administrative tasks involved with company payroll, taxes, payments, and other areas of business finance.

Why is it important to learn business finance?

It's important to learn business finance because you can gain insights into funding a business operation, whether through a commercial loan, line of credit, or crowdfunding. Business finance can help you understand the pros and cons of raising money for your business, how to allocate capital, and how to best fund the day-to-day operations of the business. If you want to work in business, you'll have to learn to deal with financial issues of all kinds, especially if you own or manage the business. Learning business finance helps you determine how to make capital investment decisions, how to obtain business loans as needed, assess business valuation for the business, apply for grant funding, or liquidate some of your business to raise money.

What career opportunities can arise from learning business finance?

The types of careers associated with business finance knowledge and a good educational background include financial management roles like financial analysts, budget analysts, tax accountants, financial forecasters, and financial managers. Once you're armed with good work experience, you can branch out to work on your own or move into different industries as an insurance agent, a real estate broker, or a commercial loan officer.

How can taking online courses help me learn business finance?

Taking online courses about business finance can open up new areas of interest to you in venture capital financing, cash flow analysis, international finance, investments and markets, and more. If you're already working in a financial role, and want to expand your knowledge, taking online courses in business finance can help you to better understand income statements, balance sheets, and financial ratio analysis models.

What are the benefits of taking an online Business Finance course?

Online Business Finance courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your existing knowledge or learn new Business Finance skills. With a wide range of Business Finance classes, you can conveniently learn at your own pace to advance your Business Finance career skills.

What Business Finance courses are best for training and upskilling employees or the workforce?

When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Business Finance, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here .

Top Business Finance Courses - Learn Business Finance Online

Explore the Business Finance Course Catalog

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Certificado en Toma de Decisiones Basadas en Datos
Skills you'll gain: Descriptive Analytics, Business Analytics, Database Design, NoSQL, Statistical Reporting, SQL, Data Ethics, Digital Transformation, Query Languages, Data Mining, Databases, Data Analysis, R Programming, Big Data, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Predictive Analytics, Organizational Structure, Business Transformation, Organizational Strategy, Value Propositions
Credit offered
Mastertrack · 6 - 12 Months
Georgetown University
Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Vulnerability Assessments, Operations Management, Business Strategy, Project Scoping, Competitive Intelligence, Survey Creation, Cyber Threat Intelligence, Social Justice, Descriptive Statistics, Business Ethics, Capital Budgeting, Multimedia, Market Opportunities, Marketing Planning, Leadership Studies, International Relations, Policy Development, Political Sciences, Supply Chain
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
University of North Texas
Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences
Skills you'll gain: Operations Management, Exploratory Data Analysis, Change Management, Business Writing, Compensation and Benefits, Apache Hadoop, Consumer Behaviour, Organizational Change, Stakeholder Management, Event Management, Grammar, Social Media Strategy, Business Ethics, Leadership Studies, Sales Process, Diversity Awareness, Conflict Management, Research, Negotiation, Data Mining
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Magíster en Inversiones y Finanzas Aplicadas
Skills you'll gain: Financial Statement Analysis, Descriptive Analytics, FinTech, Financial Statements, Business Analytics, Business Valuation, Derivatives, Strategic Decision-Making, Portfolio Management, Customer Analysis, Risk Analysis, Credit Risk, Digital Transformation, Cloud Security, Governance, Leadership, Financial Analysis, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Investments, Financial Data
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
Universidad de Palermo
Administración de Empresas Certificado MasterTrack®
Skills you'll gain: Human Capital, Human Resource Strategy, Business Process Management, Strategic Marketing, Business Process, Organizational Strategy, Marketing, Strategic Leadership, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Human Resources Management and Planning, Process Management, Talent Management, Technology Strategies, Marketing Management, People Development, Performance Measurement, Consumer Behaviour, Marketing Planning, Brand Strategy, Marketing Strategies
Credit offered
Mastertrack · 6 - 12 Months
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Financial Management Graduate Certificate
Skills you'll gain: Data Visualization, Data Storytelling, Management Accounting, Fund Accounting, Operations Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Statement Analysis, Marketing, Risk Management, Machine Learning Algorithms, Business Strategy, Extract, Transform, Load, Financial Auditing, Descriptive Statistics, Marketing Analytics, Financial Market, Strategic Decision-Making, Corporate Tax, Global Marketing, Organizational Change
Credit offered
Graduate Certificate · 6 - 12 Months
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Master of Science in Management
Skills you'll gain: Data Visualization, Data Storytelling, Management Accounting, Fund Accounting, Operations Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Statement Analysis, Marketing, Risk Management, Machine Learning Algorithms, Business Strategy, Extract, Transform, Load, Financial Auditing, Descriptive Statistics, Marketing Analytics, Financial Market, Strategic Decision-Making, Corporate Tax, Global Marketing, Organizational Change
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
Northeastern University
Master of Science in Information Systems
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Certificado en Modelos Analíticos para la Toma de Decisiones de Negocio
Skills you'll gain: Descriptive Analytics, Business Analytics, Statistical Reporting, Data Mining, Visualization (Computer Graphics), Dimensionality Reduction, Data Analysis, R Programming, Scientific Visualization, Statistical Modeling, Big Data, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Data Visualization Software, Predictive Modeling, Predictive Analytics, Data Modeling, Analytics, Advanced Analytics, Regression Analysis, Matplotlib
Credit offered
Mastertrack · 6 - 12 Months
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing
Skills you'll gain: Data Visualization, Data Storytelling, Management Accounting, Fund Accounting, Operations Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Statement Analysis, Marketing, Risk Management, Machine Learning Algorithms, Business Strategy, Extract, Transform, Load, Financial Auditing, Descriptive Statistics, Marketing Analytics, Financial Market, Strategic Decision-Making, Corporate Tax, Global Marketing, Organizational Change
Credit offered
Graduate Certificate · 6 - 12 Months
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Graduate Certificate in Taxation
Skills you'll gain: Data Visualization, Data Storytelling, Management Accounting, Fund Accounting, Operations Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Statement Analysis, Marketing, Risk Management, Machine Learning Algorithms, Business Strategy, Extract, Transform, Load, Financial Auditing, Descriptive Statistics, Marketing Analytics, Financial Market, Strategic Decision-Making, Corporate Tax, Global Marketing, Organizational Change
Credit offered
Graduate Certificate · 6 - 12 Months
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Accounting Foundations Graduate Certificate
Skills you'll gain: Data Visualization, Data Storytelling, Management Accounting, Fund Accounting, Operations Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Statement Analysis, Marketing, Risk Management, Machine Learning Algorithms, Business Strategy, Extract, Transform, Load, Financial Auditing, Descriptive Statistics, Marketing Analytics, Financial Market, Strategic Decision-Making, Corporate Tax, Global Marketing, Organizational Change
Credit offered
Graduate Certificate · 6 - 12 Months