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

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
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 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
Value Chain 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
Status: New
Google Cloud
Machine Learning in the Enterprise - Italiano
Skills you'll gain: MLOps (Machine Learning Operations), Google Cloud Platform, Data Management, Data Governance, Business Workflow Analysis, Machine Learning, Data Pipelines, Predictive Modeling, Applied Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Feature Engineering
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Master of Science in Accounting
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
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Entrepreneurship and Strategic Innovation 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
Status: New
Packt
Security Governance, Compliance & Risk Management
Skills you'll gain: Risk Management, Governance Risk Management and Compliance, Security Management, Compliance Management, Business Risk Management, Security Strategy, Risk Mitigation, Risk Appetite, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Cyber Governance, Risk Analysis, Penetration Testing, Compliance Auditing, Security Controls, Cyber Risk, Vendor Management, Cyber Security Policies, Risk Control, Vulnerability Assessments
Advanced · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Magíster en Salud Pública Global
Skills you'll gain: Epidemiology, Descriptive Analytics, Biostatistics, Statistical Reporting, Gerontology, Digital Transformation, Sampling (Statistics), Health Systems, Cloud Security, Descriptive Statistics, Leadership, Infectious Diseases, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Business Analytics, Policy Analysis, Preventative Care, Social Justice, Program Evaluation, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Monitoring
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
Universidad de los Andes
Maestría en Gerencia de la Ingeniería
Skills you'll gain: Technology Strategies, Engineering Management, Organizational Strategy, Business Modeling, Project Management, Prototyping, Project Management Life Cycle, Project Management Institute (PMI) Methodology, Stakeholder Management, Feasibility Studies, Team Oriented, Value Propositions, Digital Transformation, Project Closure, Financial Statements, Product Management, Systems Thinking, Asset Management, Project Risk Management, Operations Research
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Certificado en Gestión y Políticas en Salud Pública
Skills you'll gain: Epidemiology, Descriptive Analytics, Business Analytics, Biostatistics, Gerontology, Digital Transformation, Health Systems, Descriptive Statistics, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Leadership, Health Administration, Influencing, Infectious Diseases, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Policy Analysis, Preventative Care, Social Justice, Program Evaluation, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Monitoring
Credit offered
Mastertrack · 6 - 12 Months
Universidad de los Andes
Maestría en Inteligencia Analítica de Datos
Skills you'll gain: Systems Thinking, Network Analysis, Unsupervised Learning, Data Storytelling, Deep Learning, Predictive Modeling, Risk Analysis, Time Series Analysis and Forecasting, Project Management Life Cycle, MLOps (Machine Learning Operations), Marketing Analytics, Cash Flows, Business Analysis, Matplotlib, Descriptive Analytics, Statistical Analysis, Simulations, Random Forest Algorithm, Operations Research, Product Development
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years