Chris Haroun - Introduction to Finance, Accounting, Modeling and Valuation (Download)

Finance and accounting intimidate many professionals, yet these skills unlock career opportunities in investment banking, corporate finance, and entrepreneurship. Without understanding financial statements, modeling techniques, and valuation methods, you’re locked out of strategic business decisions and higher-paying roles. Whether you’re transitioning into finance, advancing your career, or analyzing investment opportunities, financial literacy has become non-negotiable in today’s business world.

Course Overview and Instructor Credentials

Chris Haroun, an award-winning MBA professor and best-selling instructor with 1.5 million students, brings Wall Street credibility to this comprehensive program. As an Ivy League graduate who worked at Goldman Sachs and in venture capital, Haroun teaches the same methodologies used by top financial institutions. Business Insider recognizes him as one of Udemy’s highest-rated professors, known for making complex finance concepts accessible through his “edutainment” approach.

This is Udemy’s number one best-selling accounting course, designed specifically for learners with zero prior experience in finance, accounting, modeling, or valuation.

What You’ll Learn

Financial Statement Analysis

The course systematically breaks down the three core financial statements. You’ll learn to read and analyze income statements, understanding revenue, expenses, and profitability metrics. Balance sheet modules cover assets, liabilities, and equity structures. Cash flow statement sections reveal how companies generate and use cash—critical for assessing financial health.

Each statement includes practical exercises with detailed answer explanations, ensuring you can apply concepts immediately.

Financial Modeling Fundamentals

Modeling sections teach best practices for building forecasting models from scratch. You’ll discover where to find free historical data through investor relations sites, SEC.gov, and Yahoo Finance. The course demonstrates how to navigate quarterly earnings calls for modeling insights.

A comprehensive LinkedIn case study walks through qualitative analysis, total addressable market assessment, and complete model construction—from historical data collection through future projections across all three financial statements.

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Valuation Techniques

Master multiple valuation methodologies used by Wall Street analysts. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) section covers terminal value calculations and Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) determination. You’ll learn Price-to-Earnings (P/E), Price-to-Revenue (P/R), and additional methods including EV/EBITDA, EV/Sales, Price-to-Book, and Price-to-Free Cash Flow.

The course teaches combining several valuation approaches to determine target stock prices, mirroring professional analyst workflows.

Financial Ratio Analysis

Deep dive into profitability ratios (gross margin, operating margin, net profit margin, ROA, ROE), debt metrics (debt-to-assets, debt-to-equity, interest coverage), and comparative analysis formulas (PEG ratio, EV/EBITDA). These tools enable you to assess company health and compare investment opportunities systematically.

Who Should Enroll

This course serves complete beginners wanting to understand finance fundamentals, professionals transitioning into finance-related roles, entrepreneurs needing to analyze their business finances, and investors seeking to evaluate stocks independently. The no-prerequisites approach makes advanced financial concepts accessible to anyone willing to learn.

Key Takeaways

By completion, you’ll confidently read and interpret financial statements, build professional-grade financial models projecting company performance, value businesses using multiple Wall Street methodologies, and analyze companies using the same ratios and formulas employed by hedge funds and investment banks. The visual, engaging teaching style ensures complex topics become manageable and applicable.