
more
Erik Slayter, Accounting Professor at Cal Poly
To Access This Course:
Taught by a two time former Controller and noted accounting professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, this course begins as review for accounting and finance professionals who need to sharpen their fundamental understanding of core accounting concepts and how they translate into the accounting and financial concepts used to run companies.
The course then dives deeper into accounting topics like transaction analysis, financial statements, the accounting equation, reconciliations, accounts receivable, depreciation, inventory accounting, and the adjusting and closing processes. Consider this an entire accounting education neatly summed up in one course.
Learning Objectives
- Define the accounting terms debit and credit and record business transactions into an accounting ledger represented by t-accounts using debits and credits
- Identify how a trial balance and the accounting equation provide a framework for companies to prepare financial statements and the classification of accounts and recognize how they are impacted by debits and credits
- Discover how to implement t-accounts and ledgers to perform transaction analysis and how to use journal entries to record transactions, recognize how to perform transaction analysis using journal entries, and identify the steps of the accounting cycle
- Demonstrate what each financial statement does and how they are utilized by companies both large and small.
- Measure your company’s performance through the use of financial statements.
- Sharpen your understanding of how financial statements work together.
- Identify the elements of the primary accounting equation, including defining assets, liabilities and shareholders equity and recognize various transactions and their impact on the accounting equation
- Discover how to prepare 3 of the 4 primary financial statements (income statement, statement of retained earnings, balance sheet)
- Discover Internal Controls and their objectives
- Recognize how to prepare a bank reconciliation and prepare adjusting entries from a bank reconciliation
- Define key terms regarding receivables and bad debts and the sequence of events related to the three primary journal entries related to accounting for bad debts
- Recognize the impact of accounting for bad debts on the related accounts
- Discover how to calculate values used in the Allowance Method of accounting for bad debts, how to calculate simple interest on notes receivable
- Identify the characteristics of property, plant and equipment, how to calculate and record straight-line depreciation, units of activity depreciation, and declining balance depreciation, and how to calculate and record the sale of equipment, as well as basic concepts associated with inventory costing
- Recognize how to perform calculations on a sequence of inventory purchases and sales under the FIFO system, the LIFO system, and the Average Cost system
- Discover core concepts related to inventory for a merchandising business
- Recognize how to perform transactions for the sales of inventory cycle, the purchase of inventory cycle, and other transactions associated with inventory such as sales tax and physical inventory counts
- Discover the adjusting process and its place in the accounting cycle
- Recognize the proper accounting treatment for prepayments made, prepayments received, expenses accrued prior to payment, and revenue earned prior to payment
- 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: November 19, 2020
155 Reviews (585 ratings)Reviews
This was a very helpful review of the material usually covered in a first year accounting course. The instructor explains concepts clearly and in a way that is compelling.
Most of the classes use worksheets instead of PowerPoint slides, which is a welcome change. The worksheets are designed so you can follow and work alongside the instructor.
The "homework" exercises are very helpful in grasping the material and are accompanied by answer keys to check your work.
The organization of the classes within the course can be a little confusing. It appears to be assembled from previous courses (for Udemy, for example), and the instructor will sometimes refer to a topic as something we already covered when it is later in the course the way Illumeo has it organized. This isn't much of an issue, but it took a minute to figure out what was going on.
Overall, you really couldn't ask for a better course on these topics. It's concise, thorough and there's plenty of supporting materials (worksheets and exercises).
Some of the questions are improperly written and need to be reviewed. Specifically, the insinuation that any accounting event happens when transactions are invoiced (there is not accounting transaction upon sending or receiving an invoice; the event is only when services are rendered). A few other nits as well. Overall point - clean up the questions so that they pass muster for a public company accounting environment and not a small, private company Quick Books environment. Best for students to learn the right way rather than convenient short-cuts that they won't encounter in a real world SOX environment.
Some of the questions are improperly written and need to be reviewed. Specifically, the insinuation that any accounting event happens when transactions are invoiced (there is not accounting transaction upon sending or receiving an invoice; the event is only when services are rendered). A few other nits as well. Overall point - clean up the questions so that they pass muster for a public company accounting environment and not a small, private company Quick Books environment. Best for students to learn the right way rather than convenient short-cuts that they won't encounter in a real world SOX environment.
Very comprehensive for a back to basics course. This sort of longer course has it's inherit drawbacks. You will want to take notes on this one as key concepts will be tested and having to go back an review is difficult without a better fast forward button or nice reference slides. The supporting material needs to be improved for this course as it would complement the course nicely and be more useful for those of us having to do this in stages (we forget a few things).
Overall a must see and one of the best on Illumeo.
This course is a lot of information. But it accomplishes what it sets out do. You get a review of the fundamentals of basic accounting. It provides some great insight into how the whole accounting process works. It does require you to think through problems but the math is easy and problems are basic. It is a lot of information so, be prepared to spend some time getting through everything.
excellent refresher for everyone especially those that teach college level classes, manage accounting departments, train peers and subordinates or anyone in the profession so they can speak to clients, peers, teams about the financial statement process and help them understand the process an resulting statements!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I liked the pace and that there was supplemental workbook activities. I did not like that for the workbook there was not a explanation for how an answer was reached- don't just give me the answer but tell me why and how to get there. Also more information is needed on questions about how different accounts are affected if information is omitted/changed (under/overstated NI and RE etc)
Found this to be a great refresh on financial accounting activities, especially for activities you don't perform on a regular basis or fall outside of our your role. As some others have mentioned, there is some repetition in the earlier sections. Supplemental materials provide an additional opportunity for practice. Wish I had this instructor when I first took accounting courses.
Great introductory class and refresher. It was easy to listen to and had some great examples.
Some of the final exam questions should be reviewed:
-One had a duplicate answer
-I have a hard time believing straight line isn't used the most for depreciation expense calculations
-Supplies are very rarely an asset usually classified as an expense
I don't think it's wise to tell students that they can skip writing memos. It's necessary in the real world in simple and complex companies. Also, gross margin is a percentage, gross profit is the term that should be used when trying to teach people. I'm a little frustrated with some of the details but overall it was a good refresher course.
Thank you for a great course. I had to pay attention as there were some areas that could be tricky. I liked his step-by-step approach. It was easier to follow than some courses I have seen. Overall, I give this course an "A". It was slow in some stops when I thought I knew the material - but that was a good review for me.
Professor Slayter is a great instructor for this course. He was thorough and diligent in his explanations. Students interested in learning basic accounting should definitely take this course. The chapters kind of jumped around a little which was didn't make sense from a chronological perspective. Everything else was great!
The course was a very good accounting refresher and would also server as a great introduction to accounting. I did not like the 64 question exam at the end only because it took so long and being on-line I was afraid I might lose my work (the questions were fair and well written).
The information in this course was a good overview of basic accounting. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because the format of the presentation made it difficult to go back and find topics that needed repeating and it felt like it jumped around between topics.
I believe there are two Final Exam questions that should be reviewed/adjusted: #30 (duplicate answers), #54 (similar to workbook F.I.T.B. 5 but with different result).
Thank you for the insightful journey. Greatly enjoyed the presentation format and the instructors style
This was in depth accounting course to view. Some of the videos were redundant, but it reiterated the information. It was be helpful for the course material to reflect which video it was referring to. Overall, great refresher course for accounting principals.
Thanks very much for Mr.Erik' great courses,which are very helpful to me to refresh my knowledge about the accounting, and help me to improve my work efficiency and co-work relationship.I will go over the content from time to time to keep the course in mind.
This was a great refresher course. Also, as someone who trains/manages accountants newer in their career, it was great to go back to the basics and remember how it's being taught in school so that I can use the common language/methods to explain processes.
Great refresher for financial accounting basics. Actually made me realize that my org should probably be recording a couple entries differently going forward. Loved the interactive worksheets instead of just slides. Definitely helpful and worth the time!
The is a very informative course. The way in which the concepts are presented is helpful and it is easy to understand. The instructor was engaging and was able to keep this interesting. This course could be useful across many levels of an organization.
This course was ok although I think some of the "correct" answers on the final exam were actually WRONG.. And also.. that Closing Entry section.. is kind of obsolete.. with accounting software today.. you never really have to post "Closing Entries".
A great course and definitely loved the very beginning. I'm not an accountant and struggled with some of the content like bad debt and write-offs. It made sense in theory but was tough for me to get when put in question form. Great course overall!
Awesome summary of accounting fundamentals, delivered in a great amount of detail but not too convoluted to be able to consume. Review questions were so helpful and the exam questions were tough but fair to ensure comprehension of the material.
Great supplementary information through the pdf. The Review questions were incredibly helpful in preparing for the quiz and for understanding the discussed material. Really well organized format. Good length and summary of the detail.
The instructor was very clear and easy to understand. I thought his method of using an income summary was interesting and something I had not heard of before. Sometimes I had sound issues when it was hard to hear the instructor.
Erik, Thank you so much for this review class. It was amazing how you can keep the interest of the student (me) for all these hours and topics. The final exam was fair and I am very pleased. Thank you again. Larry
Course was good and provided an excellent refresher for me. I was surprised at the final exam as it really challenged me to work out the answers...I was expecting to blaze through the exam but it was not that easy.
This is a great refresher course. It hits all the important areas of basic accounting and financial statements. The exam questions were thorough, although I felt there were too many questions focused on inventory.
If I had Erik Slayter as my accounting professor in college, perhaps I would have chosen accounting as my major! He simplifies difficult accounting concepts so well! I definitely recommend this course!
Great refresher accounting course. In depth materials that covers basic accounting concepts in order to start understanding the basics of accounting organisation and managing financial statements
I liked the examples that were given and the content was good. there were many topics that are good for the beginner in the accounting field and a good refresher for those with experience.
Excellent accounting review course. The 64 question final exam was a little daunting though. I appreciate how Erik Slayter explains the fundamentals in ways that are easy to remember.
This course definitely help refresh some of the basic accounting concepts. this course would definitely be beneficial to someone that has been out of the accounting world for a while
Great review and very comprehensive. I didn't realize how much I had forgotten about Retained Earnings. The reveiw was good.
I liked working the examples throughout the course.
I liked the content. It was a great refresher. Sometimes the audio had background noise and the screen shots would be helpful not to have the instructor jump around on the page.
Good, clear instruction for new students or those who were never very familiar with the materials. A bit slow-paced at times for those who just want a refresher on the basics.
I thought the instructor did a good job teaching the concepts. By breaking it down from the beginning to the end. I think overall he did a great job teaching this subject.
This class was great. I liked all of the great videos and all of the supporting materials. Most classes don't include supporting materials, so that was a nice surpirse.
I liked the overall content and the manner in which it is presented. What surprised me was how much depth was covered and this course helped me to refresh my knowledge.
Good basic refresher to take. I recommend to anyone who wants to learn the basic accounting concepts, especially if you need CPE credits to renew your CPA license.
I loved that it was comprehensive. I found several questions that I can utilize in my classes. Anyone teaching financial accounting would benefit from this course.
This is a very strong course on accounting. It is long and the test is arduous but fair. The instructor is effective and this is well worth the time and effort.
Other courses address some of the same ingredients, but this course ties it all together into a cohesive whole better than other accounting courses I have seen.
Great course!!! The instructor has put in great efforts to cover the course in a very orderly way. He is thorough with the concepts and is a great teacher.
It is a good refresher on accounting basics. It is a large time commitment and the final test is 64 multiple choice questions that include calculations.
Good overview and reminders of the basics. Covered a lot of various topics, and jogged my memory of several things I do not deal with regularly.
This is a wonderful refresher course for any accountant or accounting personnel. The course is easy to navigate and easy to follow throughout.
This would actually be pretty simple for most CPAs. Was a good review of some areas that normally I don't work in such as inventory and sales.
This is an excellent course for both the beginner seeking to understand and the CPA looking for a good knowledge refresher. Highly recommend.
This course is a good recap of accounting basics. It doesn't hurt to make sure you still understand the ins and outs of accounting.
The course was an excellent review of accounting basics, many of which you don't realize you didn't remember! Very good refresher.
I stepped away from accounting for some time and this course helped review a lot of information clearly. I recommend this course.
This course would be helpful to an individual who is learning accounting for the first time, or as a refresher for professionals.
Good and thorough course on accounting, it is a very good basic accounting class and was hoping for more technical that was there.
Very good course, graphics need updating, reference material would benefit from the summaries of each chapter. Excellent round-up.
Great perspective on fundamental accounting and a solid refresher for some of the basics that can be long forgotten. Thank you!
Great course! I enjoyed that this provided an overall review of accounting and I actually learned a new way of doing things.
Pay attention to this class the test is lengthy and uses a little bit of everything from the course. Good class though!!
Thorough but the test takes quite a bit of time. Learned a good amount but some of the videos could have been shortened.
Great job on presentation and materials. That was a good review of financial accounting, I think I have learnt a lot.
Good course with good pacing. Anyone looking for a refresher on basic accounting principles would benefit from this.
Nice comprehensive overview. It was a good review for me. Very thorough and informative with lots of illustrations.
Great course to get back to the basics of accounting and financial statements! Need to read test questions carefully.
Nice refresh course; good for beginners or people who are not using accounting skills frequently as a refresher...
Good overview of lots of accounting items. Some of the test questions were trick questions, so read them carefully.
Very long winded and monotone, but good lessons. In payroll, I do not do a lot of this so it was difficult for me.
Good review of basic accounting. Material covered basic concepts. Review material was information. Test was fair.
There was one repeated question, and one question with repeated answer choices; otherwise, the course was good.
Very helpful overview of basic accounting rules. Great examples throughout, and pace of instruction was great.
Very comprehensive and thorough course. 5 stars. I will definitely be referring back to this for a refresher.
Solid refresher course on accounting basics. Always good to go back and be sure to have everything straight.
Video quality was not always great and didn't always feel tailored for this class. Very repetitive at times.
I appreciated the basic nature of the course which made it easy to get more credits for CPA license renewal.
Great course and easy to follow. The videos are very lengthy so I would advice adding time links. Thanks!
Course provided a very thorough and easy to follow overview of basic accounting principles and concepts.
Closing Process presentation did not work! All other presentations worked well. Examples were excellent.
The audio is a bit hard to understand, but the course materials are well stated and clear to understand.
sometimes the screen was hard to read. Concepts were presented clearly. more typed summaries would help
A very thorough and helpful course to review the basics of accounting. Very understandable and logical.
It was a good overview and review of the accounting process. Brings you back to the good solid basics.
Great comprehensive basic accounting overview. Hits a lot of core accounting processes and knowledge.
This Course was long, but well worth it. Provides a good understaning of Accounting fundamentals
A lot of detail and there are 64 questions in the final exam - make sure you take LOTS of notes.
Some wording errors, had a multiple questions with grammatical errors, one with duplicate answers
This is a great review for CPA's in operations and not in the details as much as you used to be.
great overview of accounting! would be helpful to have a transcript of it to go back and review
Like the videos to watch, easy to navigate. Great refresher course to get back to the basics.
like the scope of areas covered. Easy to understand. Good refresher of basic accounting info.
Great refresher it covers full accounting cycle and concepts very good information provided
Very god presentation and test if you want to check whether you still remember the basics
Excellent refresher course. The professor created an easy-to-follow, no-nonsense lecture.
Good refresher course especially if you work in a highly concentrated area of accounting
Very straight-forward and easy to follow, but slightly repetitive and could be condensed.
Good presentation of accounting basics. Course was easy to understand and follow along.
this is very extensive and thorough and a lot to learn but I did it!!! Great instructor.
Excellent instructor. Good review of basic accounting principles with useful examples.
Very clear and straightforward presentation of basic accounting. Very comprehensive.
Thank you! The way you taught the material was really excellent and I appreciate you
Great reminder of accounting processes. Some of these methods are forgotten easily.
Excellent coverage of various topics
Quiz and Exam questions were quite set nicely
A few of the beginning sections were a bit repetitive, but overall a good review.
Like the template and workbook, easy to follow. Final exam was a bit long though.
Learned a lot and back to the basic, highly recommend to anyone needing refresher
A good review of fundamentals for those who need to brush up on accounting basics
Good refresh I enjoyed the overall knowledge. I think the videos are helpful.
This was an excellent refresher course that was similar to the CMA exam itself.
This was a good exercise to refresh my basic knowledge of accounting principals.
Great review of some basic principles.Like having to recalculate a few things.
Great course. Provides a high-level review of the basic accounting functions.
A very comprehensive refresher course. Good overview for anyone at any level.
Great course that provided a concise yet thorough introduction to accounting
Consider this an entire accounting education neatly summed up in one course.
Extensive class that cover most of the accounting principles. Good course!
Good review on the basics. I would recommend this class to get CPE credit.
Good review of basic concepts, used a refresher to brush up on my skills.
I found this course useful, but very slow paced and sometime repetitive.
The first few videos seemed very repetitive, everything else was great.
Course was a great review of basic accounting. It was a refresher course
Good accounting class that serves as a refresher for accounting basics.
Overall, good course - a bit of repetitiveness from section to section
The pace is slow, but this is a thorough review of basic accounting.
Fast and fair, this is a great refresher! Fun to review the basics!
A great way to refresh on accounting basics and earn a lot of credit!
This is a good high level course to refresh accounting fundamentals.
It would be better to show the answers to the Final Exam questions.
Allowed to refresh fundamentals in Accounting and financials close
A good refresher on fundamental items I don't deal with every day.
It was good, the first few videos were a little too easy and slow.
Good course on the basics. Found the review helpful. Many thanks.
Nice overview & good refresher to brush up on some of the basics.
good enough for me as continuing cpa and cia to keep my license
Typos, questions incomplete, even some with the wrong answers..
good refresher of basic accounting and close process. lengthy
Very good review on fundamentals of accounting/book keeping.
good review. really for beginners but cover the topics well.
Some simplification of close and bank recs is not universal.
This was very informative. I enjoyed this course very much.
This was a great course with lots of excellent information.
Long but informative class, teacher gave numerous examples.
great review of retained earnings and the income statement
good course for refreshers on daily task I no longer do.
good overall review, would like answer with explanations
This course was a great refresher on accounting basics.
I hate completing this section. please remove this box.
Good review course. Fairly simple accounting concepts.
Course did enough to refresh basic accounting concepts
Nice one. Very nice. Liked this course very much so.
Lengthy but a great refresher for accounting basics.
Good class to refresh basic accounting knowledge.
Enjoyed this review of financial accounting basics.
It was a good review of the foundational concepts.
Very good coverage of all areas of the financials.
Good course that covers basic accounting knowledge
Great refresher course or those new to accounting.
very good summary of the entire accounting process
Prerequisites
Course Complexity: Foundational
No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.
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 .
How do I print the syllabus?