Sorry, this page is no longer available
We may earn an affiliate commission when you visit our partners.
Course image
Robert (Bob) Steele

Welcome to the comprehensive Advanced Financial Accounting course, a deep dive into the complex world of acquisition and consolidation in financial reporting. This course provides you with a solid understanding of these critical topics.

Key Topics Explored:

Read more

Welcome to the comprehensive Advanced Financial Accounting course, a deep dive into the complex world of acquisition and consolidation in financial reporting. This course provides you with a solid understanding of these critical topics.

Key Topics Explored:

  1. Acquisition & Investments:

    1. Understanding the process of acquiring and investing in other entities, including fair value assessments and recognition of noncontrolling interests.

    2. Analyzing the impact of these transactions on financial statements and reporting requirements.

  2. Consolidations of Wholly Owned Subsidiaries:

    1. Exploring the consolidation process for subsidiaries fully owned by the parent company.

    2. Eliminating intercompany transactions and preparing consolidated financial statements.

  3. Consolidations of Less Than Wholly Owned Subsidiaries:

    1. Examining the consolidation procedures for subsidiaries where the parent company does not have full ownership.

    2. Accounting for noncontrolling interests and their effect on financial reporting.

  4. 100% Owned Subsidiary Purchased at More Than Book Value:

    1. Understanding the accounting treatment when a parent company acquires a wholly owned subsidiary at a price exceeding its book value.

    2. Assessing the implications for consolidation and financial reporting.

  5. Under 100% Owned Subsidiaries Acquired at More Than Book Value:

    1. Analyzing the consolidation process when a parent company acquires less than full ownership of a subsidiary at a price exceeding its book value.

    2. Accounting for noncontrolling interests and their impact on consolidated financial statements.

  6. Inventory Transfer Intercompany:

    1. Evaluating the accounting treatment for intercompany transfers of inventory between related entities.

    2. Understanding the impact on consolidated financial statements and inventory valuation.

  7. Consolidation-Transfer of Noncurrent Assets & Services:

    1. Examining the consolidation procedures for intercompany transfers of noncurrent assets and services.

    2. Analyzing the effect on consolidated financial statements and related party disclosures.

  8. Consolidation-Intercompany Indebtedness:

    1. Understanding the accounting treatment for intercompany loans and indebtedness.

    2. Assessing the impact on consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

  9. Consolidation Ownership & Other Reporting Issues:

    1. Exploring various ownership structures in consolidated financial reporting.

    2. Addressing additional reporting issues, such as changes in ownership and related party transactions.

  10. Consolidation-Foreign Currency Transactions & Reporting Issues:

    1. Analyzing the accounting treatment for foreign currency transactions within a consolidated entity.

    2. Understanding the reporting requirements and translation of foreign entity financial statements.

  11. Interim Reporting & Segment Reporting:

    1. Exploring the unique considerations for interim financial reporting and segment reporting.

    2. Assessing the disclosure requirements and reporting standards set by regulatory bodies.

  12. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) Reporting:

    1. Understanding the reporting requirements imposed by the SEC on publicly traded companies.

    2. Analyzing the impact of SEC regulations on financial reporting and disclosure practices.

With comprehensive presentations, practical demonstrations, and hands-on Excel exercises, you'll gain a deep understanding of advanced accounting principles. Access downloadable textbooks, supplemental materials, and Excel templates to enhance your learning experience.

This course is designed for accounting professionals, auditors, financial analysts, and students seeking expertise in advanced financial accounting. Enroll today to master the intricacies of acquisition, consolidation, and financial reporting in the ever-evolving accounting landscape.

Enroll now

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Evaluate financial and operational implications of acquisitions, recognizing goodwill and intangible assets.
  • Analyze consolidation techniques for parent-subsidiary financial statements, eliminating intercompany transactions.
  • Compare accounting for less than wholly owned subsidiaries, using equity method and proportionate consolidation.
  • Assess impact of acquiring subsidiaries above book value, calculating goodwill and non-controlling interest.
  • Apply accounting principles for intercompany inventory transfers, eliminating unrealized profits/losses.
  • Evaluate consolidation process for noncurrent assets and services, eliminating intercompany gains/losses.
  • Analyze accounting treatment for intercompany indebtedness, eliminating loans and interest income/expense.
  • Evaluate reporting issues in consolidation, including foreign currency transactions and translation.
  • Apply principles for interim and segment reporting, recognizing segment information and related-party transactions.
  • Analyze sec requirements for financial reporting and disclosure, filing periodic reports and applying gaap.

Syllabus

Acquisition & Investments Overview
105 Business Acquisition & Expansion
OneNote Resource
110 Internal Business Expansion
Read more

Traffic lights

Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Offers hands-on Excel exercises, which allows learners to apply advanced accounting principles in a practical setting, enhancing their analytical and problem-solving skills
Covers SEC reporting requirements, which is essential knowledge for professionals working with publicly traded companies and ensures compliance with regulatory standards
Explores foreign currency transactions within consolidated entities, which is crucial for multinational corporations and those dealing with international financial reporting standards
Requires a solid understanding of basic financial accounting principles, which may necessitate introductory coursework for learners without prior experience in the field
Includes topics like intercompany transactions and transfer pricing, which are complex and require careful attention to detail to avoid misstatements in financial reporting

Save this course

Create your own learning path. Save this course to your list so you can find it easily later.
Save

Reviews summary

Advanced accounting acquisitions & consolidations

According to learners, this course offers a largely positive experience for tackling the complex topics of acquisitions and consolidations in advanced financial accounting. Students particularly praise the instructor's clear explanations and the effectiveness of the practical Excel exercises and demonstrations in solidifying understanding. While considered challenging and requiring a solid accounting background, reviewers find the course provides comprehensive coverage of key concepts, making it valuable for both professionals and dedicated students. The hands-on activities are frequently highlighted as a major strength.
Well-structured, moves at a good pace.
"The course structure is logical and easy to follow..."
"Modules build on each other nicely..."
"The pace is good, covering a lot without being overwhelming..."
"Each section is well-organized."
Highly relevant for career development.
"Extremely useful for my work in financial analysis..."
"Helped me prepare for my professional accounting exams..."
"The knowledge gained is directly applicable to my job..."
"Great for anyone working with M&A or consolidations."
Covers key consolidation topics thoroughly.
"It covers all the key areas of consolidation..."
"Provides a comprehensive overview of acquisitions..."
"The syllabus is detailed and the content matches..."
"A deep dive into complex topics like intercompany transfers."
Hands-on examples aid understanding.
"The Excel exercises were incredibly helpful..."
"I found the practical examples solidified my learning..."
"Being able to work through the problems in Excel was key..."
"The demonstrations make the concepts very tangible."
Instructor clarifies complex topics effectively.
"The instructor explains complex topics very clearly..."
"His explanations helped me understand difficult concepts..."
"Lectures are easy to follow and break down complicated material..."
"The way he explains consolidations finally made sense to me."
Requires significant effort and prior knowledge.
"This course is challenging but very rewarding..."
"You need a solid accounting background to succeed..."
"Be prepared to invest significant time on the exercises..."
"Not for beginners, assumes you know core accounting principles."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Advanced Financial Accounting: Acquisitions & Consolidations with these activities:
Review Intermediate Accounting Principles
Strengthen your understanding of fundamental accounting principles related to business combinations and consolidations, which are essential for success in this advanced course.
Show steps
  • Review key concepts related to business combinations.
  • Practice problems on consolidated financial statements.
  • Familiarize yourself with intercompany transaction accounting.
Read 'Accounting for Business Combinations' by Smith & Jones
Gain a deeper understanding of business combination accounting by studying a dedicated textbook, which will supplement the course materials.
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'Accounting for Business Combinations'.
  • Read the chapters related to acquisitions and consolidations.
  • Work through the examples and case studies.
Solve consolidation problems
Reinforce your understanding of consolidation techniques by working through a variety of practice problems, focusing on eliminating intercompany transactions and calculating noncontrolling interests.
Show steps
  • Find practice problems on consolidation accounting.
  • Solve problems related to intercompany transactions.
  • Calculate noncontrolling interests in different scenarios.
Three other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all six activities
Build a Consolidation Model in Excel
Develop a practical skill by creating an Excel model that automates the consolidation process, allowing you to apply your knowledge and improve efficiency.
Show steps
  • Gather financial data for a parent and subsidiary.
  • Set up an Excel spreadsheet for consolidation.
  • Implement formulas to eliminate intercompany transactions.
  • Calculate consolidated financial statements.
Study 'SEC Regulations and Reporting' by Brown
Deepen your understanding of SEC reporting requirements by studying a dedicated book, which will supplement the course materials.
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'SEC Regulations and Reporting'.
  • Read the chapters related to financial reporting.
  • Familiarize yourself with SEC forms and requirements.
Analyze a Real-World Acquisition
Apply your knowledge to a real-world scenario by analyzing the financial statements and disclosures of a company that has recently undergone an acquisition, providing a practical understanding of the concepts covered in the course.
Show steps
  • Select a publicly traded company that has recently acquired another company.
  • Obtain the company's financial statements and disclosures.
  • Analyze the acquisition accounting and consolidation process.
  • Prepare a report summarizing your findings.

Career center

Learners who complete Advanced Financial Accounting: Acquisitions & Consolidations will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Consolidation Accountant
A Consolidation Accountant specializes in preparing consolidated financial statements for companies with subsidiaries. This involves eliminating intercompany transactions, accounting for noncontrolling interests, and ensuring accurate financial reporting. This *Advanced Financial Accounting* course offers targeted instruction. The modules on consolidations of wholly owned and less than wholly owned subsidiaries help build essential skills. The course provides a solid understanding of the consolidation process, including handling fair value differences and intercompany transactions. Exposure to the course helps equip aspiring consolidation accountants to deal with advanced reporting situations.
Acquisition Accountant
The Acquisition Accountant focuses on accounting for mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. Their work includes performing due diligence, valuing assets and liabilities, and ensuring proper accounting treatment for business combinations. The *Advanced Financial Accounting* course, with its detailed exploration of acquisitions and investments, provides targeted knowledge. The course covers valuation of business entities, acquisition accounting, and goodwill calculations, which are crucial for this role. Additionally, the emphasis on financial reporting after a business combination equips you with the skills needed to navigate post-acquisition accounting.
Financial Reporting Manager
A Financial Reporting Manager oversees the preparation and analysis of financial statements, ensuring compliance with accounting standards and regulations. This is someone who manages SEC reporting. The *Advanced Financial Accounting* course, with its deep dive into acquisition and consolidation, is directly relevant. The course's coverage of consolidation processes, intercompany transactions, and fair value assessments builds a strong foundation for this role. Additionally, the emphasis on SEC reporting requirements provides practical knowledge for ensuring regulatory compliance. If you want to understand the complexities of financial reporting, this is a good course.
Audit Manager
An Audit Manager leads audit engagements, assessing financial statements for accuracy and compliance with accounting standards. Often, the audit manager is responsible for assessing risk. The *Advanced Financial Accounting* course, with its focus on acquisition and consolidation, provides valuable context for auditing complex financial transactions. The course's coverage of consolidation processes, intercompany transactions, and SEC reporting requirements enhances the manager's ability to identify and assess risks. Studying acquisition accounting helps develop a deeper understanding of financial reporting.
Professor of Accounting
A Professor of Accounting teaches accounting principles and practices to college students, often conducting research and publishing scholarly articles. This career typically requires an advanced degree. The *Advanced Financial Accounting* course deepens the professor's understanding of complex topics in financial accounting, enabling them to teach these concepts more effectively. The course's coverage of acquisition and consolidation accounting, SEC reporting, and intercompany transactions helps equip professors with current knowledge to share with their students.
Internal Auditor
Internal Auditors evaluate a company's internal controls and risk management processes, ensuring compliance and operational efficiency. The *Advanced Financial Accounting* course enhances an internal auditor's understanding of financial reporting risks associated with acquisitions and consolidations. The course's coverage of intercompany transactions, consolidation processes, and SEC reporting requirements helps develop a keen eye for potential control weaknesses and compliance gaps. This expanded knowledge helps internal auditors provide valuable insights to improve governance and risk management practices.
Financial Analyst
A Financial Analyst analyzes financial data, prepares forecasts, and provides insights to support decision-making. The *Advanced Financial Accounting* course enhances the financial analyst's ability to interpret complex financial statements, especially those involving acquisitions and consolidations. The course's coverage of consolidation processes, fair value assessments, and intercompany transactions helps the analyst better understand the underlying financial performance of companies. The hands-on excel exercises in this course should be very helpful.
Equity Research Analyst
Equity Research Analysts analyze publicly traded companies to provide investment recommendations to clients. A strong grasp of financial accounting, particularly in acquisitions and consolidations, is essential for accurately assessing a company's financial health and growth potential. The *Advanced Financial Accounting* course is useful. The course's coverage of consolidation processes, fair value assessments, and intercompany transactions enhances their ability to evaluate financial statements.
Forensic Accountant
Forensic Accountants investigate financial irregularities and fraud, often providing expert testimony in legal proceedings. The *Advanced Financial Accounting* course equips forensic accountants with the knowledge to dissect complex financial structures arising from acquisitions and consolidations. Understanding intercompany transactions, fair value assessments, and consolidation processes is invaluable for detecting and analyzing financial misstatements. The course helps refine the ability to scrutinize financial reports and trace illicit activities within organizations.
Chief Financial Officer
The Chief Financial Officer oversees all financial activities of a company, including financial planning, reporting, and risk management. The *Advanced Financial Accounting* course is useful for CFOs, particularly those in companies undergoing acquisitions or with complex subsidiary structures. The course's coverage of acquisition accounting, consolidation processes, and SEC reporting requirements equips them with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions. Having knowledge of intercompany transactions will also be helpful.
Controller
The Controller oversees a company's accounting operations, ensuring accurate financial reporting and internal controls. This *Advanced Financial Accounting* course helps build expertise in acquisition and consolidation accounting, which is essential for managing the financial affairs of companies with subsidiaries. The course's coverage of consolidation processes, intercompany transactions, and SEC reporting requirements equips the controller with the skills to ensure compliance and accuracy. The course may be useful to controllers or those looking to become controllers.
Accounting Manager
An Accounting Manager supervises accounting staff and ensures accurate and timely financial reporting. The *Advanced Financial Accounting* course helps accounting managers understand the complexities of acquisition and consolidation accounting. The course's coverage of consolidation processes, intercompany transactions, and SEC reporting requirements strengthens the manager's ability to oversee financial reporting. To be sure, this course may be very useful for accounting managers.
Tax Accountant
A Tax Accountant prepares and files tax returns, ensuring compliance with tax laws and regulations. While this *Advanced Financial Accounting* course primarily focuses on financial accounting, understanding consolidation and acquisition accounting can be beneficial for tax planning and compliance, particularly in the context of multinational corporations. The course's coverage of intercompany transactions and foreign currency transactions helps provide context. The course may be useful to those pursuing this line of work.
Business Valuator
A Business Valuator determines the economic value of a company or its assets using various valuation methods. This *Advanced Financial Accounting* course doesn't focus extensively on the mechanics of business valuation. However, the section about valuation of business entities may be helpful. It may also be useful to understand the impact of acquisitions on financial statements. The course may be useful to those in this line of work.
Management Consultant
A Management Consultant provides advice to organizations to improve their overall performance, particularly in the areas of strategy and operations. While this *Advanced Financial Accounting* course is very niche, a management consultant who wants to serve accounting departments may find exposure to this material beneficial. The course may provide context to those who want to practice in the areas discussed.

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Advanced Financial Accounting: Acquisitions & Consolidations.
Provides a detailed overview of accounting standards related to business combinations, including acquisitions and mergers. It offers practical examples and case studies to illustrate complex concepts. It is particularly useful for understanding the nuances of goodwill calculation and fair value accounting. This book serves as a valuable reference for accounting professionals and students alike.
Provides a comprehensive guide to SEC reporting requirements for publicly traded companies. It covers the preparation and filing of various SEC forms, including 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K. It is particularly useful for understanding the regulatory aspects of financial reporting and disclosure. This book valuable resource for accounting professionals working in publicly traded companies.

Share

Help others find this course page by sharing it with your friends and followers:

Similar courses

Similar courses are unavailable at this time. Please try again later.
Our mission

OpenCourser helps millions of learners each year. People visit us to learn workspace skills, ace their exams, and nurture their curiosity.

Our extensive catalog contains over 50,000 courses and twice as many books. Browse by search, by topic, or even by career interests. We'll match you to the right resources quickly.

Find this site helpful? Tell a friend about us.

Affiliate disclosure

We're supported by our community of learners. When you purchase or subscribe to courses and programs or purchase books, we may earn a commission from our partners.

Your purchases help us maintain our catalog and keep our servers humming without ads.

Thank you for supporting OpenCourser.

© 2016 - 2025 OpenCourser