What you will learn
- Understand and apply mathematical and statistical principles underlying key quantitative concepts
- Understand the fundamentals of Accounting and Finance
- Fundamental analytical skills, including presenting and summarizing data and how to make data-based decisions
- Quantitative methods that will help you in your career and in an MBA program should you choose to pursue one
Overview
Gain a solid foundation in essential quantitative and analytical skills to succeed as a business professional and prepare yourself to pursue an MBA.
In this Professional Certificate program, you will learn key quantitative and analytical skills needed to succeed as a business professional. In the era of big data, it is vital for business professionals to understand what the numbers say, whether it be analyzing financial reports or presenting data in an effective way.
The subjects covered in this program not only provide foundational business skills but also prepare you to further your business studies and pursue an MBA, where you can build upon these skills and gain theoretical and practical training at a graduate-level to better understand general business management functions.
Each course offers a personalised learning plan that highlights the areas you need to focus on to give you a competitive edge within your company or in an MBA program.
Guided by experts in the field, you will use real world examples, interactive exercises and the support of your peers to learn the fundamentals of:
- Accounting
- Finance
- Maths
- Data Analysis
This Professional Certificate program is targeted at:
- Professionals preparing to or already working in a business environment who want to enhance their quantitative business skills.
- Learners who are ready to embark on or considering an MBA program and want to identify and remove any gaps in their quantitative and analytical skills to ensure they are prepared to succeed in the program.
The “PreMBA Essentials for Professionals” Professional Certificate program will prepare you for success in an MBA at an institution such as Imperial Business School by helping you gain the fundamental skills you need to advance your studies. Imperial College Business School offers a world-class Global Online MBA program and we invite you to visit their website to learn more.
Courses in this program
1- Accounting Essentials:
About this course
Want to study for an MBA but unsure of your basic accounting skills? Paving the way for MBA study, this course will teach you the foundational accounting skills needed to achieve success on an MBA program and in business generally.
You will be introduced to the principles of accounting and learn about the basic financial statements, including the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow statement. You will learn how to read and interpret this information in order to make informed business decisions.
This course assumes no prior knowledge of accounting. Concepts are explained clearly and regular activities offer you the opportunity to practice your skills and improve your confidence.
What you’ll learn
- How to create and interpret the three basic accounting statements – the income statement, the balance sheet and the cash flow statement
- How management accounting differs from financial accounting
- How financial information is used on an MBA program and in business to make informed decisions
Syllabus
- Accounting statements and principles
- The income statement
- The balance sheet
- The cash flow statement
- Short-term decision making
- Long-term decision making
2- Finance Essentials:
About this course
Want to study for an MBA but are unsure of basic financial concepts? This business and management course prepares you for studying finance in an MBA program and in business generally.
You will learn key financial topics such as present value, Internal Rate of Return (IRR), capital budgeting, equity, bonds, diversification, portfolio choice and the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), all of which are often discussed and explored in great detail in MBA programs across the globe as well as everyday business operations.
A completely online course, you can work wherever and whenever you choose: at home, in the workplace, at a library, coffee shop or even while travelling (with the appropriate network access).
This course employs a ‘supported learning’ model. To help you achieve the optimum learning outcomes from this module, Imperial College Business School provides access to an expert online tutor who will support you through the learning materials and associated activities.
No previous financial knowledge is needed. Join us as you start your journey into the world of finance for management.
What you’ll learn
- How to incorporate the time value of money to value assets
- Capital budgeting for a project (such as a flat or house purchase)
- Understand how to allocate assets for retirement
- Understand how risky cash flows are value
- Value a bond
- Understand how a yield curve is obtained
- Value a company
- Understand how a portfolio selection problem is solved
- Understand how correlations and diversification opportunities vary over time
- Implement the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to estimate the required rate of return for risky assets
Syllabus
- Using financial tools in context
- Bonds
- Equity
- Diversification
- CAPM and betas
3- Maths Essentials
About this course
Planning to study for an MBA but unsure of your basic maths skills? All MBA programs, and in business generally require some maths, particularly on quantitative subjects such as Accounting, Economics and Finance.
In this mathematics course, you will learn the fundamental business math skills needed to succeed in your MBA study and in the field of business. These math skills will also give you an edge in the workplace enabling you to apply greater analytical skill to your decision making.
You will learn how to evaluate and manipulate the types of formulae that appear in an accounting syllabus, how to perform the calculus required to solve optimization problems in economics and how to apply the concept of geometric series to solving finance-related problems such as calculating compound interest payments.
This course assumes no prior knowledge of business maths, concepts are explained clearly and regular activities give you the opportunity to practice your skills and improve your confidence.
What you’ll learn
- How to evaluate, manipulate and graph the types of linear equations that appear throughout an MBA syllabus
- How to evaluate and manipulate the complex relationships that appear (for example, those that are represented as quadratic or exponential equations)
- How calculus is used to solve optimization problems, such as finding the quantity of sales that maximizes a firm’s profit
- How tools relating to mathematical series and sequences are adopted on an MBA program to calculate concepts such as net present value and compound interest
4- Data Analysis Essentials
About this course
Want to study for an MBA but unsure of the basic data analysis still required? This online course prepares you for studying in an MBA program and in business generally.
Data analysis appears throughout any rigorous MBA program and in today’s business environment understanding the fundamentals of collecting, presenting, describing and making inferences from data sets is essential for success.
The goal of this course is to teach you fundamental data analysis skills so you are prepared for your MBA study and able to focus your efforts on core MBA curriculum, rather than continually playing catch-up with the underlying statistical knowledge needed.
We also hope that learning these data analysis skills will equip you with the ability to understand, to a greater degree, the data you encounter in your working lives and in the world around you – an essential life-skill in today’s data driven environment
This course assumes no prior knowledge of data analysis. Concepts are explained as clearly as possible and regular activities give you the opportunity to practice your skills and improve your confidence.
What you’ll learn
- Presenting and summarising your data
- Decision making under uncertainty
- Data-based decision making
- Modelling for decision making
Syllabus
Topic 1 – Presenting and summarising your data
Topic 2 – Decision making under uncertainty
Topic 3 – Data-based decision making
Topic 4 – Modelling for decision making
