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Thread: Business course advice needed

  1. #1
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    Default Business course advice needed

    I have a dumb and quick question, how hard is it to take a Intro to Accounting course online?

    I suck in math and summer courses tend to be competitive. It wasn't that easy for me to take micro-econ and macro-econ in the summer, so is intro to accounting course much worse taken online?

    Course description of intro to accounting:
    A theory and procedures course required for many business administration and accounting majors. Introduction to fundamental financial accounting principles, theory, concepts and procedures as the basis of an information system. Includes the role of financial information in business decisions, basic financial statements and the processes used to prepare these financial statements.


    Seems course is just on theory, but micro and macro-econ also don't require heavy calculating.


    What about intro to business, is it easy to take it online?

    intro to business description:
    This survey course provides an introduction to the study of the modern business enterprise. Included will be an examination of the role of business in a market economy; the evolution, formation, and management of American and international operations; the financial, legal, and environmental issues affecting business decisions; the use of information and technology in business decision-making; and the part marketing plays in developing, pricing, promoting, and distributing products.

  2. #2
    Senior Member HuangYushi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by godiva View Post
    I suck in math ... <snip>

    <snip> A theory and procedures course required for many business administration and accounting majors. Introduction to fundamental financial accounting principles, theory, concepts and procedures as the basis of an information system. Includes the role of financial information in business decisions, basic financial statements and the processes used to prepare these financial statements.

    Seems course is just on theory, but micro and macro-econ also don't require heavy calculating.
    Contrary to popular (and perhaps uninitiated) belief, being bad at math does not necessarily mean a person would be bad at accounting. Very briefly, most of accounting uses basic math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), and most of these can be performed on a calculator, or via spreadsheets and accounting software. There is no advanced math (like calculus and what-not) involved.

    While most introductory accounting courses tend to focus on the theoretical aspect of things, some courses might actually require participants to actually prepare financial statements (simple or otherwise). If the "procedures and processes" underlined in the course description above go beyond theory to the actual task of performing those procedures/processes, you might need to put in a bit more effort to understand how they work (and what you have to do) before you can actually perform the required procedures/processes and produce the necessary financial statements. This is the only area that you might encounter difficulties in while taking an online course (due to a reduction of face-to-face contact with professors/classmates compared to normal class-based courses).

    Of course, if you don't really have to perform the required procedures/processes and produce the necessary financial statements, then going through a theoretical introduction to accounting should not be difficult. It'd just be slightly dry.
    Jin Yong's Ode to Gallantry [侠客行].
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    Hm...Simple math is not a concern then. However, am Never good at dealing with supply and demand in micro-econ or macro-econ in summer school. I like face to face teaching because I can always learn better with verbal and visual teaching, so I'm a little anxious about learning a subject, which I generally don't understand well, online.

    I guess it's theory and concept that are my concerns
    Thanks yushi, your feedback has been helpful
    Last edited by godiva; 04-23-08 at 05:33 PM.

  4. #4
    Senior Member pandamao's Avatar
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    accounting is always better in person especially for the basic ... there are certain, "what if" questions that cannot be answered purely by exploration.

    i'd suck it up and take an in person course for the first one and determine onwards.

    theory - there are some application but only in the upper division courses.. usually the theory goes into play when determining which application is most appropriate for the given scenario.

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    Senior Member KeongJai's Avatar
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    You don't need good maths to be a good accountant. You just need to be good at basic maths. You'd need better language comprehension and thought process skills than math skills. Accounting is mostly interpretation of standards - that's the idea I got from uni anyway (I'm not a practicing accountant, just a degree qualified one).

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    accounting uses no math (maybe some basic stuff), so yeah, it's not require to be good at math.

  7. #7
    Senior Member pandamao's Avatar
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    Accountants do need to be good in math, contrary to belief. First, good accountants can determine whether a corporation's number balanced out correctly without actual intense investigation. Auditors especially, need to have a picture of whether the company is profitable or not and determine whether the books actually match the initial perceptions. It's not difficult to add 1 million to 5 million and subtract 4K but it is difficult to correctly link each numbers together and know in fact it should be 1M + 5M - 4K and not otherwise. In addition, what compose of those numbers also needs to be linked, in the end - accountants face a web of numbers that affect one another.

    True, there are numerous programs available for accountants to utilize but because of these programs, companies are stumbling into the pothole of just hiring a basic accountant versus an experienced and good accountant. Good accountants will know when something is incorrect even though the program didn't pick it up. Same goes with a good writer using Microsoft Word ... good writers will know there's a mistake regardless of the green swiggly line.

    Why is calculus so hard? It's definitely not the numbers that are driving people nuts, it's the logic and theory behind it. Same for accountants, understanding how things balance out and the backbone of Assets/Liabilities and Owners' Equity.

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    Senior Member HuangYushi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by HuangYushi View Post
    Contrary to popular (and perhaps uninitiated) belief, being bad at math does not necessarily mean a person would be bad at accounting. Very briefly, most of accounting uses basic math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), and most of these can be performed on a calculator, or via spreadsheets and accounting software. There is no advanced math (like calculus and what-not) involved.
    Hmmm ... I hope I didn't give godiva the wrong impression with this brief two-sentence comment about the connection between math and accounting. But I think pandamao (thanks! ) explained it a bit more clearly in his/her post above.

    Quote Originally Posted by pandamao View Post
    Same for accountants, understanding how things balance out and the backbone of Assets/Liabilities and Owners' Equity.
    I agree. That's why I tried to tell godiva (albeit a bit too briefly ) that if the course he/she is looking at involves the actual preparation of financial statements, then an offline classroom-based method of delivery might be better than an online once, since there is so much more about the technicalities and practices that can be communicated through face-to-face communication, scribbling on paper and pointing to items/numbers.
    Jin Yong's Ode to Gallantry [侠客行].
    Quote Originally Posted by atlantean0208
    what about SPT, I need my SPT fix ASAP, pretty pleaseeeee...
    Soon ... SOON!

  9. #9
    Senior Member pandamao's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by HuangYushi View Post
    Hmmm ... I hope I didn't give godiva the wrong impression with this brief two-sentence comment about the connection between math and accounting. But I think pandamao (thanks! ) explained it a bit more clearly in his/her post above.


    I agree. That's why I tried to tell godiva (albeit a bit too briefly ) that if the course he/she is looking at involves the actual preparation of financial statements, then an offline classroom-based method of delivery might be better than an online once, since there is so much more about the technicalities and practices that can be communicated through face-to-face communication, scribbling on paper and pointing to items/numbers.
    Don't worry HuangYushi, I pretty much just tried to make myself feel better. Haha. I have this pep-talk with all my friends since they think accounting doesn't suit me well.

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    Default Accounting is hella simple

    Micro and macro econ require understanding of concepts and relations, accounting is just memorizing a set of rules. Here's what I learned from my intro to accounting class, which is the only class I ever got a A+ in:

    Asset - Debt = stockholder equity (this was the hardest equation in the class)

    At least for me, the only challenge was knowing how to read certain statements and weird rules. I recommend taking it online as I have gained nothing knowing these things.

    But it depends on what you want to go into, if you want to go into the finance industry or accounting, you should know this stuff cold.

  11. #11
    Senior Member pandamao's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by raywang View Post
    Micro and macro econ require understanding of concepts and relations, accounting is just memorizing a set of rules. Here's what I learned from my intro to accounting class, which is the only class I ever got a A+ in:

    Asset - Debt = stockholder equity (this was the hardest equation in the class)

    At least for me, the only challenge was knowing how to read certain statements and weird rules. I recommend taking it online as I have gained nothing knowing these things.

    But it depends on what you want to go into, if you want to go into the finance industry or accounting, you should know this stuff cold.
    Forgive me for my aggressiveness but before you come to the judgment accounting is "hella easy"

    1) it was an intro to accounting course - of course the level of difficulty is near minimal therefore understandable why you felt it was easy
    2) accounting is not memorizing, it is more deriving than memorizing. do you memorize what 99 + 127 or did you figure out the concept behind adding therefore can add anything? same difference
    3) my intro to economics course was hella easy. if you just want to figure out simple patterns, then go do it. reality, NO. these patterns don't always turn out a certain way due to different influences. sometimes it takes a very good guess while other times, it's pure experience. like all majors, everything has its own difficulty. we didn't take 4 years of college (5 for PPA students) to be a book keeper!

    saying accounting is easy and just memorizing is calling me stupid indirectly. the people that are running fortune 500 companies either came from an accounting background or has a cpa.

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    Senior Member shen diao xia's Avatar
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    Well said! The following has no connection to what was posted earlier.

    Just let me add something for discussion, especially for aspiring accountants that are joining the business world. Many accountants (not all though) that I have come across are indeed very good in what they do. However, accountants do need to have a slight understanding of how a business runs. Not saying this to spite accountants or finance people but rather as a point to note.

    Let me give you an example. When it comes to outstanding debts, let's say, a lot of accountants are hell bent on "insisting" that the Sales Managers either collect according to company policy in terms of credit days or freeze delivery without thinking too much about the overall effect on business. Following strict Finance guidelines as a tool to keep a business healthy is fine, but the 'bigger picture" should always be considered.

    However, the accountants that you mentioned that run big companies, would already have understood this, just to be clear.
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    Senior Member pandamao's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shen diao xia View Post
    Well said! The following has no connection to what was posted earlier.

    Just let me add something for discussion, especially for aspiring accountants that are joining the business world. Many accountants (not all though) that I have come across are indeed very good in what they do. However, accountants do need to have a slight understanding of how a business runs. Not saying this to spite accountants or finance people but rather as a point to note.

    Let me give you an example. When it comes to outstanding debts, let's say, a lot of accountants are hell bent on "insisting" that the Sales Managers either collect according to company policy in terms of credit days or freeze delivery without thinking too much about the overall effect on business. Following strict Finance guidelines as a tool to keep a business healthy is fine, but the 'bigger picture" should always be considered.

    However, the accountants that you mentioned that run big companies, would already have understood this, just to be clear.
    And to continue the discussion ...

    Accountants do understand business but on a more conservative outlook. All accountants are required to take the basic business courses including marketing, management, finance and MIS. With that said, accountants are trained to be conservative and non risk takers. If accountants are risk takers then obviously there's going to be more collapses in the corporate world. Because Arthur Anderson decided to take matters into own hands, accountants are dealing with extreme audit procedures.

    The accountant you cited in your example is not a true accountant, instead is a mere accounts receivable. Accountants are only accountants when they are certified. The licenses represents their knowledge gained through out their years in the work force and courses taken. There's really no point in grabbing individuals that are not certified and claiming them as accountants solely based on the position they hold.

    An example to rebuttal what true certified accountants know .. all areas of the business go to accountants first to determine whether the company is inept to take on certain projects. Accountants are also seek upon for advice on proportioning the budget to different departments. In order to accurately assist the CFO, CEO and COO, accountants MUST have a good understanding why certain projects must be invested and provide a clear approximation on whether or not the company can generate enough revenue to finance those projects. Also, I must reemphasize that majority of the Fortune 500 companies top management positions are held by individuals with substantial accounting background.

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    Senior Member shen diao xia's Avatar
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    No disagreement here. Still the Accountant / Finance person that I was referring to is still quite senior and made that blunder.

    Just like accountants, Marketing graduates also go through introductory courses on accounting/finance for good measure.

    The problem comes when too much emphasis is put on "visible" and easy to maipulate targets such as finance ratios. Contrary to that, loss of business is much more difficult to regain. Most often than not, Company Balance Score Cards have a heavy weighting towards the Finance aspects. Nothing wrong with that.

    My point was on a cautionary tone, whereby some Finance people forget that without business, there is no need for Finance and finance ratios (taken to the extreme of course). Still, considering the "bigger picture" is of utmost importance.

    BTW, the CEO's that you mentioned that come from an Accounting background would have evolved to be more business-like to reach those levels.
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    Senior Member pandamao's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shen diao xia View Post
    No disagreement here. Still the Accountant / Finance person that I was referring to is still quite senior and made that blunder.

    Just like accountants, Marketing graduates also go through introductory courses on accounting/finance for good measure.

    The problem comes when too much emphasis is put on "visible" and easy to maipulate targets such as finance ratios. Contrary to that, loss of business is much more difficult to regain. Most often than not, Company Balance Score Cards have a heavy weighting towards the Finance aspects. Nothing wrong with that.

    My point was on a cautionary tone, whereby some Finance people forget that without business, there is no need for Finance and finance ratios (taken to the extreme of course). Still, considering the "bigger picture" is of utmost importance.

    BTW, the CEO's that you mentioned that come from an Accounting background would have evolved to be more business-like to reach those levels.
    Of course those CEO needs business. All successful companies need a business genius behind their work and not undermining the importance of backbone support from Accounting/Finance.

    Finance people do place a lot of emphasis on ratios ... and I can see why. Despite our agreement on how everyone should have some sort of accounting and finance background, a lot of these managers did not retain the information well. These ratios are the best way to persuade them. Throw out a few ratios and bada bing bada boom, sold!

    Finance = money thus the big importance. I love finance majors. I wish I shared the same enthusiasm with risk taking... and because I did not, i failed to be a good finance major and switched over to accounting instead.

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    Senior Member shen diao xia's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pandamao View Post
    Of course those CEO needs business. All successful companies need a business genius behind their work and not undermining the importance of backbone support from Accounting/Finance.

    Finance people do place a lot of emphasis on ratios ... and I can see why. Despite our agreement on how everyone should have some sort of accounting and finance background, a lot of these managers did not retain the information well. These ratios are the best way to persuade them. Throw out a few ratios and bada bing bada boom, sold!

    Finance = money thus the big importance. I love finance majors. I wish I shared the same enthusiasm with risk taking... and because I did not, i failed to be a good finance major and switched over to accounting instead.
    Business processes/controls are now quite tight that it is not posssible for 'hanky-panky" anymore, especially in multi nationals. My reasoning is more based on people bending the rules a little bit for greater good.
    I am a pessimist, but I think people like me!

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