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
Master of Science in Accounting
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Management Accounting, Fund Accounting, Operations Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Statement Analysis, Marketing, Risk Management, Machine Learning Algorithms, Business Strategy, Financial Auditing, Descriptive Statistics, Variance Analysis, Process Improvement, Marketing Analytics, Generative AI, Financial Market, Strategic Decision-Making, Corporate Tax, Global Marketing
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Entrepreneurship and Strategic Innovation Graduate Certificate
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Management Accounting, Fund Accounting, Operations Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Statement Analysis, Marketing, Risk Management, Machine Learning Algorithms, Business Strategy, Financial Auditing, Descriptive Statistics, Variance Analysis, Process Improvement, Marketing Analytics, Generative AI, Financial Market, Strategic Decision-Making, Corporate Tax, Global Marketing
Credit offered
Graduate Certificate · 6 - 12 Months
O.P. Jindal Global University
MBA Business Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Operations Management, Design Thinking, Active Listening, Business Ethics, Data Visualization, Working Capital, Database Management, Environmental Social And Corporate Governance (ESG), Sampling (Statistics), Project Estimation, Financial Statements, Business Analytics, Financial Accounting, Predictive Analytics, Marketing Planning, Big Data, Marketing Management, Emerging Technologies, People Management
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Magíster en Business Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Revenue Management, Customer Analysis, Descriptive Analytics, FinTech, Database Design, People Analytics, Time Series Analysis and Forecasting, Biostatistics, Predictive Analytics, Statistical Reporting, Digital Transformation, Deep Learning, Risk Analysis, Bayesian Statistics, Cloud Security, Network Model, Data Visualization, Assertiveness, Web Scraping, Governance
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
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, Business Strategy, Organizational Strategy
Credit offered
Mastertrack · 6 - 12 Months
S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research
Post Graduate Diploma in Management Online
Skills you'll gain: Mergers & Acquisitions, Search Engine Marketing, Working Capital, Design Thinking, Operations Management, Business Valuation, Competitive Analysis, Manufacturing Operations, Business Strategy, Supply Chain Management, Digital Transformation, Persuasive Communication, Consumer Behaviour, Organizational Leadership, Integrated Marketing Communications, Team Management, Organizational Change, Change Management, Financial Statement Analysis, Portfolio Management
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
HEC Paris
Trust Based Leadership University Certificate
Skills you'll gain:
University Certificate · 6 - 12 Months
Google Cloud
Preparing for Your Cloud Architect Journey - Português
Skills you'll gain: Cloud Computing Architecture, Cloud Security, Cloud Solutions, Solution Architecture, Network Planning And Design, Google Cloud Platform, System Implementation, Process Optimization, Cloud Management, Business Requirements, Scalability, Cost Management
Advanced · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: New
Simplilearn
Generative AI Course in Software Testing and Documentation
Skills you'll gain: Software Documentation, Test Automation, Generative AI, Software Testing, Vulnerability Assessments, Test Case, Software Quality Assurance, Application Security, Secure Coding, Full-Stack Web Development, Artificial Intelligence, Prompt Engineering, Technical Documentation, Application Programming Interface (API)
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Georgetown University
Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies
Skills you'll gain: Vulnerability Assessments, Operations Management, Data Storytelling, Business Strategy, Design Thinking, Competitive Intelligence, Survey Creation, Cyber Threat Intelligence, Social Justice, Descriptive Statistics, Environment, Business Ethics, Capital Budgeting, Multimedia, Market Opportunities, Marketing Planning, International Relations, Artificial Intelligence, Policy Development, Political Sciences
Earn a degree
Degree · 1 - 4 Years
Amazon Web Services
Amazon Connect: Introduction to the Administrative Interface
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Report Writing, Business Reporting, Management Reporting, Performance Reporting, Ad Hoc Reporting, Real Time Data, Call Center Experience, Administration, Workforce Management
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
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 Visualization, Data Mining, 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, Statistical Visualization
Credit offered
Mastertrack · 6 - 12 Months