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Erik Slayter, Accounting Professor at Cal Poly
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This course describes the annual closing process, including its place in the accounting cycle. Examples of closing the accounting cycle and the primary closing journal entries are presented along with the underlying reason they are necessary.
A comparison of the Statement of Retained Earnings and the closing process will be presented to help tie together the student’s knowledge of this important step in the accounting cycle.
Course Series
This course is included in the following series:
11 CoursesBack to the Basics: Accounting Fundamentals
- Accounting Review: The Basics of Debits and Credits
- Transaction Analysis, T-Accounts, Debits and Credits, and Trial Balances
- Accounting Review: Overview of Financial Statements; P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow
- The Accounting Equation and Financial Statements
- Bank Reconciliations, Cash, and Internal Controls
- Accounts Receivable Training: Bad Debts
- Equipment and Depreciation
- Inventory Costing
- Purchase and Sale of Inventory
- The Adjusting Process
- The Closing Process
Learning Objectives
- Discover the reason to perform closing journal entries and identify how they fit in the accounting cycle
- Recognize how to prepare the four closing journal entries
- Identify the closing entries and discover how they compare to the statement of retained earnings
Last updated/reviewed: June 26, 2021
90 Reviews (369 ratings)Reviews
Anonymous
(Director of Accounting)
Not a fan of the whiteboard method of talking and writing on screen at the same time. Also, lack of completed notes/slides makes this more tedious and harder to refer back to than it needs to be.
Anonymous
()
teacher handwriting was a bit difficult to follow. teacher handwriting was a bit difficult to follow. teacher handwriting was a bit difficult to follow. teacher handwriting was a bit difficult to follow. teacher handwriting was a bit difficult to follow. teacher handwriting was a bit difficult to follow. teacher handwriting was a bit difficult to follow. teacher handwriting was a bit difficult to follow.
Dennis Blyth
(Accountant at -)
Good basic overview of the closing process and related journal entries. Instructor is easy to understand and organized the course well. If you are looking for a more in-depth discussion of the close process I would recommend a different course.
Anonymous
(controller)
This course provided a basic presentation of the closing process and journal entries. The instructor showed clear examples of how to close out the financial statements and the reasons you make the entries. Nice beginner course.
Anonymous
()
Great review course for the closing process, especially for someone unfamiliar with corporate accounting practices or for someone moving from public accounting to corporate accounting. Great instructor and slides as well.
Anonymous
(Accountant)
This was a nice overview of the closing process and the adjusting journal entries that accompany it. I appreciated all of the examples he worked through to show us exactly which accounts are affected.
Madeline Edwards
(Senior Accountant at Unemployed)
Good refresher on the closing process. I did have a couple of technical issues with the system appropriately tracking my progress which was frustrating. But the class itself is good and very detailed.
David Martinson
(Senior Accountant at Ideal Image)
Solid course and walkthrough of materials. My mistake on name of course, I thought the topic would be regarding the Monthly Close process taken-coordinated by Accounting Team/Department in a company
Anonymous
(Owner)
This course is ok and teaches the basics but is very elementary and thus not appropriate for the seasoned professional. Best for someone with little accounting training and book knowledge.
Anonymous
(Program Manager - Net Revenue)
Very detailed examples but they were easy to follow. Good refresher for the close process and what order to complete tasks in. Helps with overall understanding of accounting principles.
Anonymous
(Senior Internal Auditor)
This course was helpful and a good refresher. The time allotted was sufficient to cover all relevant topics associated with the course. The instructor appears very knowledgeable.
Anonymous
(CFO)
Excellent course for a beginner accountant or someone that wants a refresher or is having problems with the closing process. I have taken notes to train new members on my team.
Anonymous
(Associate Financial Analyst)
Great course. Lots of exercises so there’s plenty of opportunity to practice. Part of the Back to Basics: Accounting Fundamentals course series which is highly recommended.
Sean Flynn
(Accounting Manager at Rosemawr Management)
Quality course about the close process, it is very basic level information. If you are trying to get more advanced information to obtain your CPEs I would look elsewhere.
Micheal Gregor
( at Tervita)
This course provides a complete review of the closing process and journal entries with good examples to work with. A good review if you need a refresh on the process.
Paul Goldsmith
( at Elastic)
Good material and overview. The only thing I would have liked is a bit more enthusiasm in the presenter's delivery which sometimes came off as slow and a bit dry.
Anonymous
(-)
I thought that this was a good presentation. the presenter did not just read off the slides. He is an "active" presenter. Good content as well and easy to follow.
Anonymous
()
Very helpful. A practical and methodical presentation to the general closing process. Instructor was very thorough and time was allowed to process information.
Michael Izzo
(Sr Financial Reporting Analyst at Catholic Health Initiatives)
Very thorough instruction on how to close out the income statement to retained earnings. Used concepts very well to help illustrate the learning objectives.
Anonymous
(Accountant)
I'd prefer for a self study course to have more notes available in a pdf form. Otherwise, good course with a good simple example to get the point across.
Lawrence Hirsch
(Controller at Builders design)
Basic reinforcement of the closing cycle process and entries. Great refresher that I needed. Thank you for the clear and concise presentation.
Anonymous
(Accounting Manager)
Excellent review course on the closing process. Would have liked the data for the review questions to be shown in a trial balance format.
Justine Soares
(Accountant at Google)
The first half is very beginner level. I enjoyed the second half though, which helped connect the dots of how each f/s impacts each other.
Christopher Ledford
(Senior Corporate Accountant at Drake Enterprises)
This was a very thorough review of the closing process. However, it was a bit simplistic for anyone who has ever done a closing before.
Anonymous
(VP Finance)
Very good course to have a complete understanding of the financial statement close process and be able to complete the close process.
Greg Biedenstein
(Accounts Payable specialist at Charter Communications)
Great course i have not done the closing process since my first accounting class in college and found this tool to be very helpful.
Anonymous
(Sr Accountant Lead)
Good beginners or refresher course of the income statement, retained earnings statement and balance sheet and the closing entries.
Ian Petrillo
(Assistant Controller at MFM Contracting Corp.)
Great course that shows real world examples of recording transaction to the ledger and producing financial statements from them.
Will Nystrom
( at BMC Investments/BLDG Management)
Very informative lesson on the accounting process close as it relates to the journal entries needed to be done at year end.
Joshua Bourquard
(Accounting Manager Financial Reporting a.. at TPx Communications)
Good basic overall class of journal entries and closing process with examples from B/S and P&L including the steps involved.
Raveendran Madappattu
View Instructor Profile
The class was superb!!! Great job and I appreciate the time taken to craft one like this to make the closing process clear.
Anonymous
(Close & Consolidations Senior Manage..)
helping to understand the steps in the close process and learn about closing entries. most of these are automated now days
Anonymous
(Chief Financial Officer)
The course, although basic in nature, would be a great tool in explaining the closing process to non-financial executives
Anonymous
(Program Management)
This is a great course for those new to accounting concepts, or for those who have forgotten what they learned in college.
Anonymous
(Director of Cloud Solutions)
The course was very detail oriented and had a straight forward layout. I would recommend this class the all accountants.
Anonymous
(Consultant)
Great refresher of closing process. This is an overview that would be especially helpful to beginning accountants.
Robert Werner
(CAO at Invitae)
This lesson is a good basic reminder of accounting principles for staff level accounts and even up to manager.
Anonymous
(Finance Director)
This course provides the theory behind the closing process (what you would learn in an an accounting course).
Anonymous
(-)
Slightly more complex material that other intro course. Most software does this for user, but good to know.
Tiffany Winkles
(CFO at EB5 United)
Very detailed overview of the closing process which seems to make it more complicated than it really is.
Halina Kovel
(Sr Revenue Accountant at Yelp)
good brief overview that refreshed my understanding of the close process and retained Earnings statement
Anonymous
(CFO)
Great course, apprecaite that it was also brief. Not in love with the fact that a review is required.
Anonymous
(Corporate Accountant)
The Closing Process is a good course. It helps me refreshing my memory of what I learned in college.
Lilian Dendrinos
(consultant at DLC Group)
The course is very basic but for the intended audience, the class is well organized and presented.
Anonymous
(Controller)
helpful to get a simple overview of the closing process, but the hand writing was a bit distracting
Anonymous
()
This was a great review of the closing process. His examples were very easy to follow along with.
Anonymous
()
Instructor needs more enthusiasm and to have slides that are better organized to fit the screen.
Anonymous
(DIRECTOR)
This is a good refresher. The speaker is very knowledgeable and the topics are well organized.
Mondania Drummond
(Director of Accounting at Ruth's Hospitality Group Inc.,)
Too simple. I learned this as a sophomore in college - not necessary once you are a CPA.
Corey Masters
(Accountant, Internal Auditor, Risk Speci.. at Self)
A good review of the closing process. The instructor provided a lot of good insights.
Kevin Murray
(Controller at DA Collins)
A course on the basics of closing the financial statements at the end of a period.
Mark Quinn
(CFO at Advertising Specialty Institute)
Terrific overview of the closing process and perfect for someone new to the process
Anonymous
(Controller)
Decent overview of the closing process - would recommend as an introduction course.
Anonymous
(Sr. Accountant)
The materials presented were very beneficial with superb detail and solid examples.
Anonymous
()
Good review of the fundamentals of closing the books. My thanks to the presenter.
Anonymous
(CPA, CFE, CGMA)
I like the concise illustration with easy-to-understand journal entries examples.
Anonymous
(None)
Nice little course that provided a concise clear overview of the close process.
Anonymous
(Tax Staff)
good overview of the last stage of the accounting cycle, the closing process.
Anonymous
()
Great course regarding the closing process and the closing journal entries.
Anonymous
(Consultant)
Great recap of the close process. Perfect to give anyone a quick refresh.
Anonymous
(Accountant)
This could be an outdated course but it's still good to learn the basics.
Anonymous
(Accounting Manager)
Great course! Nice layout if the closing process with all it’s steps.
Derek Ettinger
( at GP Fund Solutions, LLC)
Course met its objectives, but was not all that exciting or insightful.
Anonymous
()
Very good overview of the topic, somewhat geared for non-practicioners
Anonymous
()
Course well developed and presented. Course met its stated objectives.
Jennifer Hubbard
( at Scribcor Global Lease Administration)
Great course to have has future reference. Would recommend to others.
Anonymous
()
Very engaging lecture, detailed and comprehensive. Would recommend.
Anonymous
(Accounting Manager)
Very Good and Informative Refresher for Accounting Professionals.
Anonymous
()
Concise and well presented. The overview was very easy to follow.
Anonymous
()
Great introductory course on the overview of the closing process.
Anonymous
(Accountant)
It was a good refresher of the closing process. Easy to follow.
Anonymous
()
Well-presented and given in clear, step-by-step instruction.
Anonymous
(Associate Director)
This course provided a good overview of the closing process.
Sharon King
(Contractor at Self employed)
This was a great refresher course on the closing process.
Anonymous
(None)
Great course to review the basics of the closing cycle.
Anonymous
()
Excellent overview of the steps of the process and why.
William Barron
(CONSULTANT at Parallel)
Excellent comprehensive review of the closing process.
Anonymous
(Bookkeeper)
great refresher course or introductory course!
Matt Osmundsen
(Director of Financial Planning at Baldwin Technology Company, Inc.)
Great course! Very informative and helpful.
Anonymous
(None)
Very well presented and explained.
Anonymous
(Not Provided)
nice overview, good instructor!
Anonymous
(Consulting Staff)
Very effective teaching lesson.
Anonymous
(Budget & Accounting Manager)
overview of adjusting entries
Steven Moore
(Certified Management Accountant; CMA at ArdentAccounting)
Very nice review. Thanks!
Anonymous
(Fiscal Officer)
knowledgeable course
Anonymous
()
straight forward
Charles Elwis
(None at none)
Good review
Patrenia McAbee
(Owner at McAbee Consulting)
Good
Jacob Petersen
(Financial Analyst at DLL Group)
na
Anonymous
(Controller for Americas BU)
ok
Prerequisites
Course Complexity: Foundational
No Advanced Preparation or Prerequisites are needed for this course. However, it is recommended to take the other courses in the series prior to completing this one.
Education Provider Information
Company:
Illumeo, Inc., 75 East Santa Clara St., Suite 1215, San Jose, CA 95113
Contact:
For more information regarding this course, including complaint and cancellation policies, please contact our offices at (408) 400- 3993 or send an e-mail to .
Great course. Lots of exercises so there’s plenty of opportunity to practice. Part of Back to Basics: Accounting Fundamentals series which is highly recommended.