COURSE OVERVIEW:

Welcome to the Introduction to Accounting course. This program will equip you with a foundational understanding of accounting as both a practical discipline and a critical tool for decision-making in all types of organisations. You will explore why accounting is essential, how it functions as the language of business, and how accounting information supports managers, owners, investors, lenders, regulators, and other stakeholders. This course also introduces key accounting concepts, systems, principles, conventions, and terminology that form the basis of modern financial reporting and internal record-keeping.

This course begins by examining the need and role of accounting and how accounting is considered the language of business through its ability to communicate financial information clearly and consistently. You will explore the meaning of book-keeping and accountancy, the core functions of an accountant, and whether accounting is best understood as a science, an art, or a combination of both. This section also provides definitions and explanations of accounting, identifies the various users of accounting information, and introduces the scope and branches of accounting, including financial, cost, and management accounting. You will explore the single entry system, the double entry system, the cash system, and the mercantile system of accounting, helping you understand the different approaches used to record financial transactions.

A further part of the program focuses on the objectives, advantages, and limitations of accounting. You will explore the advantages of accounting and book-keeping, why profit shown in financial accounting may not be fully exact, and why financial accounting does not always tell the whole story about an organisation’s performance. This section also examines how accounting statements may be prepared differently depending on judgments and assumptions, why not all assets are shown in financial statements, and how accounting terminology is used to describe financial activities and conditions.

The next learning area examines accounting principles, including the need for generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and the characteristics that make these principles reliable, relevant, and consistent. You will explore foundational concepts such as the separate entity concept, the money measurement concept, the dual aspect concept, the going concern concept, the cost concept, the accounting period concept, the matching concept, and the realisation concept. This section also introduces key accounting conventions including conservatism, consistency, materiality, and full disclosure, and explains how these conventions guide the preparation and interpretation of financial statements.

By the end of this course you will be able to understand the purpose and structure of accounting systems, distinguish between different accounting methods, apply basic accounting principles and conventions, recognise the limitations of financial reporting, and use accounting information to support sound financial decision-making.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

• The need and role of accounting
• How accounting is considered the language of business?
• The meaning of book-keeping and accountancy
• The functions of an accountant
• If accounting is science or art or both
• The definitions and explanation of accounting
• The users of accounting
• The scope of accounting
• The branches of accounting
• The single entry system
• The double entry system
• The cash system
• The mercantile system of accounting
• The objectives of accounting
• The advantages of accounting
• The advantages of book-keeping
• The limitations of accounting
• Why profit shown in financial accounting is not fully exact?
• Why financial accounting does not tell the whole story?
• How accounting statements may be drawn up differently?
• Why all assets are not shown in financial statements?
• The terminology often used in accounting
• The generally accepted accounting principles
• The need of accounting principles
• The characteristics of accounting principles
• The separate entity concept
• The money measurement concept
• The dual aspect concept
• The going concern concept
• The cost concept
• The accounting period concept
• The matching concept—periodic matching of costs and revenues concept
• The realisation concept
• The types of accounting conventions such as; conservatism, consistency , materiality and full disclosure convention

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.