7 CPE Taking this course will enable you to better understand the development and integration of financial statements and the issues that preparers and users of financial statements face. Special consideration is given to asset and liability valuations, revenue recognition, income measurement, and differences between US GAAP and IFRS.
Topics include:
- Financial Statement Overview
- Valuation of Accounts Receivable
- Valuation of Inventory
- Valuation of Securities
- Depreciation Methods
- Impairment of Long-Term Assets
- Valuation of Liabilities
- Income Taxes on the Balance Sheet
- Leases
- Equity Transactions
- Revenue Recognition
- Income Measurement
- International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)-US GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) Differences
The content covered in this course provides a pathway to developing your analytical and critical-thinking skills and closing skills gaps in a variety of relevant topics.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the major components, classifications, and limitations of each financial statement.
- Identify the basic disclosures related to each financial statement.
- Identify issues related to the valuation of accounts receivables, including timing of recognition estimation of uncollectible amounts.
- Identify issues in inventory valuation including which goods and costs to include.
- Identify and compare inventory cost assumptions.
- Identify how to apply the lower of cost or market rule.
- Identify the impact of inventory errors.
- Recognize the differences between the held-to-maturity, trading, and available-for-sale methods to classify securities.
- Identify the key components of the fair-value, equity, and consolidated methods to account for equity investments.
- Explore the effect on the financial statements of using different depreciation methods.
- Recognize how to account for the impairment of long-term tangible assets and goodwill.
- Explore inter-period tax allocation and deferred taxes.
- Recognize and analyze temporary differences and distinguish between deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets.
- Identify the differences between operating leases and capital leases and explore the accounting for each.
- Explore the applicationof revenue and expense recognition to various types of transactions.
- Identify instances where revenue is recognized before and after delivery of goods or provision of service.
- Identify and describe the differences between International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and US GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) for the following: Revenue recognition, expense classifications, consolidations, financial statement presentation, and asset valuation.
Last updated/reviewed: March 8, 2024
130 Reviews (586 ratings)
Reviews
Anonymous
(SVP)
Fine course for the basics of accounting. A bit out of date (example being leases) but okay for a general refresher. Additionally, some content is over-detailed or too much minutiae. This course spends significant time on things like inventory methods or details that most entities have employed with relative ease and not normal in practice to think through periodic versus perpetual, etc.... Feels like a course out of a textbook not out of reality.
Anonymous
(Snr Accounting Consultant, CPA)
I am truly glad that I took this course, this was my first time taking a course with Professor Tom. Initially, I was discouraged by the number of hours; but I am glad I went for it. I enjoyed the course very much. It was such a great overview of external financial reporting. Professor Tom, you did such a great job building on different items in on this course.
Anonymous
(ACCOUNTING MANAGER)
The course stands out for its balance between technical accounting content and high-level strategic thinking. It covers key areas such as GAAP compliance, earnings quality, disclosure choices, and the real-world impact of reporting decisions on company valuation and stakeholder trust. The examples and case studies make the material both practical and engaging.
JUSTINA Ramos
( at TROJAN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, INC.)
I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to take this course: Corporate External Financial Reporting Decisions. The class was both engaging and highly informative, offering an excellent overview of external financial reporting with a focus on corporate financial reporting decisions. It was a rewarding and valuable experience
DAN ZOU
(Payroll manager at Sinopro International Resources Inc.)
In my understanding, the double declining balance (DDB) depreciation method is an approach to accounting that involves depreciating certain assets at twice the rate outlined under straight-line depreciation. This results in depreciation being the highest in the first year of ownership and declining over time.
Josh Schwarten
(Sr. Manager - US General Accounting Cern.. at Oracle)
The questions I feel like were not always representative of the material covered. Some of them addressed topics that weren't specifically discussed and therefore were difficult to answer. I feel like more care should be taken to make sure the questions are covered by the course material.
Anonymous
(retired)
Great review of accounting concepts, although basic, have either changed or I never used in practice. Therefore, it was a good refresher. I recommend as it explains concepts simply. Additionally, it covered many areas from the financial accounting courses taken in college.
Anonymous
(controller)
great course for quick and brief overview of the various different issue of importance for corporate external financial reporting. The course covers a wide variety of topics with going into too much detail. This allows one to get an overall understanding of the key areas.
Anonymous
(Controller)
The exam questions were slightly out of order a few times however, they were easy to find in the slides. The course is primarily about various parts of the financial statements. I had gotten a different impression from the course description.
Anonymous
()
If you are an experienced financial manager, this provides a refresher on financial reporting but this is a great course for less experienced accountants and non-accountants. The information is very organized and the examples are clear.
Rick Learman
( at Self)
It was a good course. I sent a couple of comments to the instructor. One key thing to note is that the accounting rules for operating leases have changed since the material was produced so that should be updated.
Anonymous
(Controller)
This was a great course and I always try to take a deep dive into accounting basics every CPE year. It is important to refresh your brain on all of these concepts, and Tom's course does a great job in doing that
Jennifer Halderman
(Corporate Controller at Marsh McLennan)
Great overview course for someone at the senior associate or manager level. Includes some methods that aren't frequently used for public companies, but still a good reminder of alternatives that exist.
Patricia Fisher
(CPA at Trish Fisher, CPA)
I enjoyed the class and learned some things I did not know before I took it. I had some trouble getting Security Classifications figured out, but eventually got it straight. A good, solid class.
Anonymous
()
This was a great review course. Lots of basic information, but still a lot of useful reminders of things forgotten long ago. Glad to have taken it. Very applicable to my current work.
Anonymous
()
Good overview of the financial statements with interesting points. I had never heard of a few pieces of terminology used in the course though, and I have been auditing for years.
Gina Lopez
( at Trojan Professional Services, Inc.)
Great course. A lot of information and the review questions were a great way to retain the information. I found the principal explanations to be clear as well as the examples.
JONATHAN MZINJA
(Finance Manager at Capgemini)
This course covered a lot of advanced accounting material in a concise and understandable manner. The review questions were also quite helpful in reinforcing understanding.
Greg Smith
( at RX Partners, LLC)
Extremely comprehensive course with lots of useful insight. Tom does a great job explaining and communicating the key elements. I liked the quizzes broken out by section.
Anonymous
(Consultant)
A great overview of external financial reporting. Super refresher on financial reporting but would be good guidance for less experienced accountants. Loved this course
Anonymous
(Assistant Controller)
This was a great refresher of a wide variety of accounting concepts. Some of them could use updating though, such as the section on securities and the section on leases.
Anonymous
(Accounting Manager)
This was a great review course for accountants or a great introduction for other business members on the different methods for accounting under different circumstances.
Anonymous
(Adjunct Professor)
Nice coverage of the main financial statements from an external user perspective. Course needs to be updated for most recent guidance on leases and revenue recognition.
Anonymous
(None)
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Sean Flynn
(Accounting Manager at Rosemawr Management)
Thorough accounting foundational course that covers a lot of different topics, hits on inventory, depreciation, unrealized gains, leases and consolidation methods.
Anonymous
(CFO)
Good course that goes through many of the same concepts as an int accounting course in college. Helpful to review some areas that I haven't seen in my prof career.
Anonymous
(Senior Auditor)
A nice review of accounting. It was nice to brush off of those skills and put them to use. I though the course hit all the right notes for a nice refresher.
Anonymous
(Risk manager)
the course was so comprehensive，and going over it from time to time would help me to refresh my understanding on accounting. Thanks for Mr.Tom's great work.
Anonymous
(Controller)
This course is very high level and should only be used to reinforce concepts already known to the user. Good material but you need a baseline understanding.
Anonymous
(VP of Accounting)
Tom did a good job going over multiple areas from financial statement to valuation of accounts receivable to inventory to security and all other areas
The information included was kind of textbook information. It was a good refreshers and also the materials were great although they were really brief.
Michael DeVito
( at Dassualt Falcon Jet)
A great overview of external financial reporting. Good refresher on financial reporting and would be good guidance for less experienced accountants.
Anonymous
(VP of Payoll)
This training was well done. However, the topic was a bit over my head. I am glad I took this course so I can become better versed in this topic.
Anonymous
(VP of Finance and Accounting)
One of the best overall courses I've taken on Illumeo! Lots of great content and a good refresher of topics I don't deal with on a regular basis.
Anonymous
(Sr. Accounting Manager)
This course was great. There is a lot of information in bite size chunks. The examples made it easy to understand the different concepts.
Anonymous
(Internal Auditor)
Excellent material aimed at understanding the basics of GAAP. Thanks to the author for the examples and calculation problems in the test
Anonymous
(Sr Accountant)
Quite a bit of good information on a variety of topics in this course. There are a couple of areas that could use updating like leases.
Aaron Zerkel
( at PROS Inc)
All the slides being broken out out was a pain. Fonts were huge and I feel like the examples and definitions could have been more clear
Anonymous
(Consultant)
This was a solid course, hitting on topics that I have not thought about in a while but are definitely useful in the accounting world.
Anonymous
(Consulting CFO)
Good material but some was old, i.e. leases. Instructor was knowledgeable and delivery was good. Would take another course from him.
Claire Long
( at Texas Slots & Gaming)
Almost too little detail to be helpful. Not much to do with decisions/examples, and more so an overview of all accounting concepts.
Anonymous
(Accounting Manager)
Reminder of many aspects that were a part of the CPA exam. A lot of these were a refresher as I don't use in everyday accounting.
Anonymous
(Director Global Accounting Operations)
Good basic material. Good for general review for CPAs or for non-CPAs a basic outline of accounting 101 / 102 course materials.
Anonymous
()
This was a very detailed course on external financial reporting. i would recommend it to anyone that needs updated on the topic
Anonymous
(Associate)
Very nice and comprehensive review. Very much balance sheet focused with good discussion of how the income statement ties in.
Lance Bisesar
( at Casper Sleep, Inc.)
Elaborate and extensive. Seemed to go very into detail in some areas not necessary, but some very necessary. Overall useful.
Anonymous
()
Information needs to be updated as this course was developed in 2015. But much of the information is still relevant to today.
Anonymous
(NA)
very good course . **********************************************************************************************************
Alejandro Mattiuzzo
( at IBT)
This is a lot of material to take in at one time. Sometimes the exam questions did not directly mirror the course materials.
Joseph Tregellas
( at TriNet)
A good comprehensive course exploring many areas of the financial statements, inventory, and many other areas of accounting.
Anonymous
(Tax Consultant)
A very good refresher class on financial statement reporting. The instructor's presentation is clear and understandable.
Anonymous
()
Excellent course, really enjoyed the level of detail and attention to the various components of financial reporting.
Anonymous
(Director)
This course was length which was good to get a lot of CPEs at once but some of the material was a little outdated.
Anonymous
()
Great course; really caused me to challenge myself on assumptions i had as well as refresh on depreciation methods.
Monica Gill
(Principal at Bridgepoint Consulting)
Very comprehensive course of important topics. A good review for important issues for proper financial reporting.
Anonymous
()
Sorry, now is 2023. Is this 2015 GAAp? Hopefully, illumenous can reach out to the lecturer and update the course.
Rodgie Vue
(Financial Reporting Analyst at Tesla)
Great content! This is a decent crash course that covered a variety of accounting topics for external reporting.
Anonymous
(Controller)
This class was very informative. It covers a lot of information and at a reasonable level of depth. I enjoyed it
Liubov Barrington
(cpa at self-employed)
Overall a solid refresher for accounting fundamentals. However the slides/exam on lease accounting are outdated.
KIM MILLER
( at Miller's Mowing & More)
This webinar was a lot of information to take in. But it was very educational. Thank you for the opportunity.
Digna Flor
(Sr. Production Analyst at Southwestern Energy)
It was easy to follow and only 35 questions. I really liked the way the material and questions were presented.
Derek Yanasak
(Senior Accountant at Tech 24)
Exame was tough but ended with a 91%. The information covered was great and hit all of the learning objectives.
Anonymous
()
The course was a great review of major financial accounting topics. The instructor was clear and to the point.
S Marie Vernon
(- at --)
This course is well defined and supporting materials are very easy to follow. Highly recommend this course.
Sarah Nissen
(Compass Consultant at Salo LLC)
Course was a great refresher on the basics. Lease information is out of date with new lease standard though.
David Martinson
(Senior Accountant at Self)
Great refresher course, it covered a lot of foundational areas and helped reinforce concepts and principles.
Anonymous
(VP Finance)
A good refresher course for financial reporting. Could see going back through this course every few years.
Anonymous
(HR Director)
I had very little knowledge of external financial reporting before this course, so I enjoyed learning!
Lauren Harrison
(Senior Accounting Manager at People.ai)
was ok very high level overview of multiple areas. I don't work with inventory, so wasn't my favorite.
Anonymous
(Advisor)
Good overall refresher, and to the point. The lease accounting hasn't been updated for ASC 842, yet.
Anonymous
(Finance and Accounting Consultant)
Gets just deep enough into the weeds for each that it brushes up the necessary knowledge a CPA needs.
Anonymous
(Senior Accountant)
Great course with lots of valuable information! Very insightful and interesting content! Thank you!
Anonymous
(Director, Technical Accounting)
Great content and a good refresher course. Highly recommended for Finance professionals out there.
Anonymous
()
This was a very informative course. The material was clear and provided a greet course experience.
Lilian Valcarcel
(Assurance Specialist at Anglo American PLC)
Very good summary. I’m glad I took this course. Nice paced and the instructor seemed dedicated.
Dinita Wilbourn
( at Turnitin, LLC)
This course was very challenging but covers a lot of key accounting principles. Would recommend
Anonymous
(Revenue Accountant)
Very clear overview and refresher course covering a broad range of topics. Very helpful course!
Anonymous
()
Great overall refresher on key financial statement topics. Missing a few areas but good overall.
Anonymous
()
Such a great course. Really provides a lot of good detailed information. I learned quite a lot.
Anonymous
(Director)
This course provides a deep dive into several topics in the financial statements, good course
Anonymous
(CFO)
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Anonymous
(Controller)
great course to take as a refresher. not sure if everything is up to date but great content.
jonathan reda
(Finance Manager at Cisco Systems Inc.- FCRM)
Great refresher and will plan to take again. Learning plan was well developed and helpful.
Steve Brooke
( at Avantstay)
lots of good reminders. Needs an update to mention revenue and leasing standard updates
Anonymous
(Business Controller, Waze)
Great refresher of accounting concepts. Useful materials to keep for referencing later
Jeremy Wheeler
(Partner at CNM LLP)
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Anonymous
()
Great refresher of key accounting concepts that is very helpful to my current position.
Anonymous
()
Good refresher on the basics for those away from general accounting rules for a while.
Rene Galvan
(Broker at RGV Realty)
It is a good refresher course for CPAs that are no longer inside the Accounting Dept.
Matthew Long
( at Wells Fargo)
This was a great overview of the FAR section of the CPA exam, from what I can recall.
Julia Kramer
(Financial Behavior and Leadership Consul.. at Signature Financial Planning)
The instructor was clearly very knowledgable and taught in a clear and concise manner
Chere Bramer
(Consultant at CLBM Consulting, LLC)
Great accounting overview. Took me back to FAR on the CPA exam, but in summary form.
Anonymous
(Director Finance)
Good overall review of many accounting topics related to financial reporting .
Anonymous
()
Nice overview and quality course for refreshing some of the basic accounting rules
Anonymous
(Payroll Analyst)
Great course with useful information. I would recommend this to any accountant.
Anonymous
(M&A)
Great course! Learned a lot about financial reporting in regards to accounting.
Lauren McFarland
( at None)
Good refresher course for anyone who needs it. I would recommend this course.
Anonymous
(SEC Reporting Senior Manager)
The lease section is out of date - it's based on ASC 840 rather than ASC 842.
Anonymous
()
Course was very informational and beneficial. I would recommend this course.
Anonymous
(Accountant)
Great course, clear and concise, would recommend others to take this course
Anonymous
()
I liked the course. It was a good overview to Financial reporting decisions
Anonymous
(CPA/Investment Advisor)
Good course, some fairly basic info but a good review if it's been a while
Anonymous
(Auditor)
Detailed course that covers a lot of great content with good amount of CPE
Yemisi Akintola-Harrison
(Accountant at Google)
This course was very comprehensive and detailed. It is a great refresher!
Anonymous
(Firm Accountant)
Helpful. I like the quiz questions after to help clarify the material.
.
Jason McCarthy
( at Centegix)
Legit course, comprehensive and will provide you with good information.
Anonymous
()
A long course that reminded me of my Intermediate 2 accounting course.
Anonymous
()
Thanks Illumeo. Love the platform and quantity of content available.
Anonymous
(Director of Accounting)
Helpful overview of key areas all accountants should be familiar with
Anonymous
()
great review of broad spectrum of financial reporting fundamentals.
Sarah Kim
(Financial Controller at Oracle + NetSuite)
Liked the format of covering many topics at a high level summaries.
Anonymous
()
Well presented, easy to follow, not dull. Informative and relevant.
Mark Edoff
(Principal at MNE Solutions LLC)
Good but basic content- that appropriately teaches the principles.
Anonymous
(Vice President)
Fantastic course with great learning material. I highly recommend.
Anonymous
()
corporate reporting decisions was a good overview for all to take
Anonymous
()
This course challenged me to think about the financial reporting
John Barnett
(CFO at NA)
Great course! Tom does a great job simplifying the information!
PHILLIP CUNHA
( at CP)
another great course by Tom. very informative, in the details!
Anonymous
(Director Net Revenue)
Very thorough - a lot of topics I haven't revisited in awhile
Anonymous
(OWNER)
This course is well structured and covered relevant topics.
Anonymous
()
Good variety of financial statement subjects were reviewed.
Anonymous
(Intern)
Very insightful course and went over relevant information.
Anonymous
()
I liked the course. It was very helpful and informative.
Theresa Chiu
( at Tesla)
The course was very useful and a good refresher course
Christine Vergel de Dios
(Controller at STAAR Surgical Company)
Great instructor that covered the lengthy content.
Anonymous
(Internal Audit Director)
Thank you very much for the excellent presentation!
Anonymous
(Consultant)
Good review of concepts and provided valuation info
Syed Kazmi
(Controller at Encompass Capital Advisors LLC)
Dificult subject needs more examples to understand.
Jennifer MacKay
(Principal Accountant at Intuit)
I think the lease information needs to be updated.
Micah Alonzo
( at Noble Corporation plc)
course was amazing and I was able to learn a lot.
Prerequisites
Knowledge Level: Basic
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
.
Tom CoghlanCEO
About Illumeo
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- Phone: 408-400-3993
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