Basic Bookkeeping

Course Overview

Bookkeeping is about collecting information, recording events, and organizing those records to make better decisions. Accountants use the financial transactions recorded in ledgers or "books" to create a company's income statement and balance sheet. In this course,wewalk you through the four key steps in the bookkeeping process: analyzing transactions, recording the effects, summarizing the effects, and preparing financial reports. They explain the components of a journal entry—debits and credits—and the essential questions a bookkeeper/accountant asks in reviewing those transactions. They also explain how accountants translate ledger information into financial statements and the role of computer programs in helping businesses manage their accounts.

Learning Objectives

• Identify how a balance sheet reflects the accounting equation.
  
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  Name the account where debits are increases and credits are decreases.
  
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  Define a journal.
  
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  List the three things, in order, that you must address when making journal entries.
  
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  Explain the function of financial statements that is most important for entrepreneurs.
  
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  Assess the purpose of a trial balance.

Course Outline

• Definitions & Terminology 
  
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  Methods of Accounting
  
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  Monitoring & Tracking Everything
  
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  Balance Sheet Fundamentals
  
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  Financial Statements
  
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  Accounting Fundamentals
  
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  Financial Control
  
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  Budgeting
  
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  Planning
  
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  Auditing