Finance and Accounting Tips

In this series, accounting professors Jim and Kay Stice break down essential accounting and finance concepts into bite-sized chunks that are easy to understand.

Introduction

• Introduction to the weekly series

1. Finance & Accounting Tips

• Overview of the balance sheet
• Limitations of the balance sheet
• Accrual accounting
• Income statement
• How to common-size the income statement
• Financial statement ratios
• The DuPont framework and return on equity
• Debits and credits
• Understand a company's operating cycle
• How to compute days' purchases in payables
• The current ratio and liquidity
• Leverage ratios
• When to capitalize or expense costs
• Timing of revenue recognition
• The statement of cash flows
• Earnings management
• What is depreciation?
• Forecasting financial statements
• Dividends and stock buybacks
• Loan payments: Understand interest and principal
• Price maker or price taker and the impact of overhead costs
• Activity-based costing (ABC) and overhead
• Cost-volume-profit analysis
• Contribution margin and the sales mix of products
• Save early, save often
• Take the 401(k) match
• Making extra payments
• Low introductory interest rates
• LIFO, FIFO, and FISH
• Different depreciation methods
• Capital asset pricing model (CAPM)
• Sarbanes-Oxley and internal controls
• What is a derivative?
• Accounting for gift cards
• What is beta?
• What is an IPO?
• Components of a compensation package
• Impairment
• Earnings per share
• Calculate a car payment
• Deferred taxes
• Foreign currency transactions
• What do auditors do?
• Steps in creating a personal budget
• Pensions
• Obtaining financial information
• Internal controls
• Standards and variances
• What is corporate governance?