Learn How To

Read basic financial statements – balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement – to unlock vital insights into your enterprise’s performance

Spot strengths and weaknesses and plan for immediate and future cash needs

Use cash and accrual accounting to gain an understanding of your enterprise’s financial position

Begin making informed decisions to maintain financial health, and plan for growth

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Course Syllabus

Introduction to the Course

Video: Welcome to the Course by Brian Trelstad

Video: The Importance of Understanding Financial Statements

Resource: Workbook for the Course

Financial Statements

Video: What are financial statements?

Exercise: Introduction to a Fictional Case Study

Balance Sheets

Video: About Balance Sheets and Their Importance

Exercise: Creating a Balance Sheet

Video: Insights from a Balance Sheet

Accrual Accounting

Video: Basics about Accrual Accounting

Income Statements

Video: About Income Statements and their Importance

Exercise: Creating an Income Statement

Video: Insights from an Income Statement

Cash Flow Statements

Video: About Cash Flow Statements and Their Importance

Exercise: Creating a Cash Flow Statement

Video: Insights from a Cash Flow Statement

Bringing It All Together

Exercise: Determining Immediate Cash Needs

Video: Interactions between Financial Statements

Change Your View Of The World

Draw inspiration from thought-provoking readings, videos, and reflections.

Enjoy Lifetime Access

Revisit courses, refresh your knowledge, and brush up on your skills at any time.

Receive a Certificate of Recognition

Attain a "Statement of Accomplishment" recognizing your successful completion of a course.

Gain New Skills

Increase your impact by putting new skills into practice.

"Understanding my financials was critical. It helped me determine my price point to ensure profitability, when to fundraise and how much, and when I would run out of stock."

Sahar Jamal,

Founder & CEO, Maziwa Breastfeeding

Course Description

Amid efforts to operationalize their vision, entrepreneurs sometimes overlook or deprioritize an essential aspect of their enterprise’s long-term sustainability – its financial health.

Monitoring and maintaining your enterprise’s financial health requires a foundational understanding of financial statements. This introductory course demystifies complex concepts and presents them in a way that is approachable and easy-to-understand no matter your current level of financial knowledge. Through an illustrative case study, you will learn to read balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements - and understand the basics of how they fit together to inform an enterprise’s strategic choices.

You will be supported on this journey by Brian Trelstad, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School and former Chief Investment Officer at Acumen, who brings his financial expertise from years in the industry. If you want to gain a basic understanding of your enterprise’s finances, make informed strategic and fundraising choices, and build trust with stakeholders through financial transparency, this course is a great place to start.

Read More

Featured

Brian Trelstad

Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School,
Partner at Bridges Fund Management

Sahar Jamal

Founder & CEO,
Maziwa Breastfeeding

Arooj Ismail

Co-Founder,
GharPar

Featured

Brian Trelstad

Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School,
Partner at Bridges Fund Management

Sahar Jamal

Founder & CEO,
Maziwa Breastfeeding

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Our community comes from a range of countries and socioeconomic backgrounds; differences in pricing standards and privilege shouldn't prevent access. Therefore, this course is 'pay what you can.' In order to continue to provide access to as many people as possible, we appreciate whatever you are able to contribute to help keep our courses running. Please note that a payment is NOT required to take this course.
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