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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Corporate Finance by University of Pennsylvania

4.6
stars
5,886 ratings

About the Course

This course provides a brief introduction to the fundamentals of finance, emphasizing their application to a wide variety of real-world situations spanning personal finance, corporate decision-making, and financial intermediation. Key concepts and applications include: time value of money, risk-return tradeoff, cost of capital, interest rates, retirement savings, mortgage financing, auto leasing, capital budgeting, asset valuation, discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis, net present value, internal rate of return, hurdle rate, payback period....

Top reviews

ZZ

Sep 26, 2021

An excellent course overall. I really enjoyed the learning experience and look forward to more courses from Wharton. Special thanks to professor Michael Roberts for providing great value in 1 course.

LL

Oct 21, 2016

The professor is very patient, he spends a lot of time making sense of the equations and the calculation process, which helps me comprehend the concepts and their application really a lot. Thank you!

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51 - 75 of 1,166 Reviews for Introduction to Corporate Finance

By Kristopher S

Oct 27, 2020

Surface level content. Multiple incorrect answers in multiple quizzes along the way. Some of the issues were highlighted in the course Discussion Forums and were never addressed by the professor.

By David

Feb 9, 2021

The problem sets are missing and this small issue has seemingly not been rectified even though it was flagged 5 months ago on the forum. What is the point of this course?

By Laura F

Mar 25, 2021

The quizzes have many errors in them (that many users have reported going back several months and they have yet to be fixed).

By Aaron P K

Jun 6, 2017

Far too brief.

By Sandra P

Mar 28, 2020

A really good course for non-financial background students. The contents are easy to understand. And what I like the most about the course is that the teacher gives a pretty good explanation of not only the conceptions of financial terms but also the situation to which these terms should be applied as well as the interpretation/conclusions we can draw from the numbers. These processes help me learn what should I do or think about for the next step based on the outcome.

It would be great if the course can be extended to a 5-to-6-week one that emcompasses more detailed information and more excercise. Look forward to other courses of corporate finance offered by Wharton.

P.S. The teacher is really cute and nice,hahahaha~

By Paul M

Feb 27, 2016

Many thanks to Professor Michael Roberts and the course team for their excellent work and effort into developing this course. I am a retired director of corporate finance and accounting. I enrolled in this course with the goal of mastering the fundamentals of corporate finance. I have also successfully completed the Coursera Fundamentals of Finance Course from the University of Michigan, and I'm happy to report that both courses are excellent. Professor Robert's examples, illustrations, concept development and demonstrations were outstanding. Both courses use a different approach in teaching the finance fundamentals so it did not feel like a lot of duplication for me. Thanks again.

By Thinh P

Jan 18, 2016

This is a very basic introduction to corporate finance. The instructor's explanation is to the point and very easy to understand. The material is quite thin, however, but I guess since it's just an introduction, so the team want to make it accessible for everybody. I personally would like to have more exercises and quizzes to enhance the understanding of the subject (especially the material in week 3 and 4). I think there should be more emphasis on week 3 about free cash flow since I believe it is the highlight of the whole course.

I look forward for a more advanced version of corporate finance from Wharton.

Thank you all for providing this high-quality MOOC.

By Patrick P

Jul 3, 2020

This course is a great resource for anyone looking for a refresher on corporate investment opportunities or for professionals working outside of finance to get a better understanding of the most common ways to measure potential opportunities. Professor Roberts does a great job describing the concepts, but what stood out to me was the examples he uses that are applicable to real world experiences. For example, he mentions the necessity to collaborate with different functional areas (marketing, strategy, product, etc) to build proper assumptions when forecasting free cash flow. Overall, time well spent and a great intro to corporate finance.

By Daniel K

Jun 1, 2020

I took this course in preparation for a job as a refresher of what I learned during my Bachelor's degree about 7 years ago. The course was relatively easy to follow for me as a product manager with a business education, but practically 0 finance related work. I did have to look up a few of the concepcts in more detail (especially the impact of NWC on the FCF), but other than that it went very smoothly.

The course could have gone into more detail or at least laid out a way how to dive a bit deeper, as it's really an introduction. Overall, I really enjoyed the course.

By Rony H

Nov 25, 2018

It's a great introduction course! I finally learned the practicalities of different terms I have been encountering daily in my field of work. However, it would've been much more informative had their been more real-life practical exercises to solve! Also, I found the second part a bit confusing especially that I have limited knowledge in accounting terminologies. So, the student would find that part more relevant if they had some background knowledge in accounting.

But all in all, it was good course. Looking forward to advance my knowledge in finance in the future:)

By REALINO P

May 26, 2020

Hi Mr. Roberts,

I like the way how this course is structured. It kind of gives me the whole overview of what being in a corporate finance might look like if I decide to be part of it in the future. Also, you providing a short recapitulation of the previous topic before starting each new video is so nice and a brilliant move by the way in instilling these information right into our long-term memory. Thank you for such a short yet very informative encounter (virtually).

Real Prado, Mechanical Engineer, Philippines

By Eszter G

Mar 9, 2017

I am totally satisfied with the quality of this course. Professor Michael R Roberts explanation and teaching method is clear and logical. The videos and slides are easy to follow and in spite of the fact that I had no experience in finance, and mathematics is my weak point, I enjoyed this course very much. From my personal perspective, in comparison with other courses of the Business Foundations SpecializationIntroduction to Corporate Finance was the best and I highly recommend it to others.

By Dayo-Dunmoye, D

Jul 18, 2017

The first time ever I took a Finance course enjoyed it and really look forward to it. By the time I was done I kept asking myself. "Did I just finished a finance course?". I believe the modules were structure to deal with the skills necessary to determine the efficacy of investment decision using the methodology of time value of money was key. leaving out every other distraction was sweet!

I will take any finance course if its deliver this way. Coming from an Engineer this is 10 stars.

By Iva I

Nov 13, 2023

Lecturer is a very thorough, and simplyfies every example by showing a real life situation. I really enjoyed the course beacuse it wasn't overpacked with new thing, and it really is a begineer level. Only thing I struggled with is Quiz in the week 3 with unlevered cash flow computing, since the data provided in the question is a bit different from the one in the lecture, thus for a begineer it was a bit though to connect the pieces of the puzzle. Overall would really recommend.

By Miko M L C

Apr 11, 2020

Coming from an engineering and science background with no prior knowledge in finance, I find this course very useful and comprehensive in introducing the basic concepts in corporate finance including time value of money, discounting and compounding, tax and interest rate, term structure and yield, cash flow, forecast and ROI based on IRR and NPV etc. Most importantly, the lecturer is really clear and good in explaining the concepts via sound mathematical formulation. Thank you.

By Agasthya R

Apr 20, 2020

I began this course with very limited knowledge about corporate finance and ended it with a great overview of the different aspects of it. Prof. Michael R Roberts explains the concepts elegantly and at the right pace. The content and teaching were so engaging that I actually completed watching all the videos and assignments within a single day. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who wishes to gain a good grip on corporate finance.

By Frank N

Dec 5, 2015

Very solid introduction. Materials were covered well and slides and excel file were very helpful. I would very much look forward to continuing this class if there were a longer or 2nd section. While I was familiar with some of the advanced features in excel under the what-if tools, I imagine from the forums and in general that it could have helped to either spend a couple minutes explaining them or pointing to some existing online help.

By Jonathan W

Mar 14, 2023

Really helpful review of the fundamentals of finance course plus an addition of tax and inflation effects, and an introduction to the components of cash flows. The lectures were well timed and paced, and the slides were very clear. I like that the professor reviews the content continuously. It would be nice to have more problem sets, and problem sets that built off themselves to accumulate the several techniques of the course.

By Vijayakumar M N

Dec 22, 2015

A great course that teaches you the time value of money and the three important financial tools DCF, IRR and Pay back period to financially evaluate projects. It also covers topics such as - how to estimate the Free cash flows in the actual business context and how to use sensitivity analysis in connection with DCF. It covers the merits and demerits of the three tools. Overall, a great course taught by excellent teachers.

By Diego B

Feb 4, 2016

Excellent. I'd rather prefer the "tablet cash flow" example to be more paused and deep in order to review the long list of related concepts (that way, the corresponding quiz questions could be much more complex and interesting); also, a contrast to the cash flows as used in accounting would be in order. I've checked wikipedia and those approaches seem to be complimentary but more advise would be useful.

Thanks!

By Shriya M

May 4, 2017

This is a brilliant course which touches upon the basic and intense nuances of finance. With the apt examples taken up by professor and the repetition of the course material from previous lectures, the lectures have been made easier to grasp and imbibe. Thank you for sharing this course, coming from a non corporate background it has taught me significantly more than I already knew about finance.

By Vishal K

Dec 15, 2017

AMAZING COURSE!!

Difficult and dense concepts explained succinctly, lucidly, very methodically and with total clarity.. deserves 10/5 stars!

It doesn't make me an expert in corporate finance, but makes me much more confident of the terminology and the jargon used in the domain. I took copious notes for my reference and will refer back to them in the future if I ever need them.

By Arpita G

Jul 30, 2020

An insightful course wonderfully instructed by Michael R Roberts. A fitting introductory course that does not digress from its objective yet provides just the right amount of information for somebody looking for entry level information to Corp. Finance. I find myself at the end of this course much better versed with Corp Finance than when i started out. Thank you!

By Amy S

Apr 1, 2019

Incredible introduction to the core concepts of Corporate Finance. Professor Roberts presents his information in understandable real-world examples, turning an exciting topic into a fun, wonderful few weeks of learning. This course, far more than many others, has helped develop my passion for finance, and grow a level of confidence and understanding in the field.

By Mamoon M

May 19, 2019

The course has been my first interaction with any finance related course, and it has provided me with a good set of tools required not only in the finance industry but in a general corporate environment. Recommended for everyone, as it will help you understand the corporate financial structure and assist you in making more informed financial decisions