2
NOV 2020
Adela Botello discusses what she has been up to since starting with EmployStats in September.
“To help improve my skills as an Operations Assistant, I am enrolled in an Introduction to Financial Account Course. In college, I registered for two accounting courses; however, my memory in how to debit and credit different accounts has become very hazy. In college, I would assume everyone had select courses they dreaded or simply wished they did not have to take. For me, accounting was that dreadful course. The first couple weeks of class I had to bribe myself to attend, but after those couple weeks, I began to enjoy the functions of accounting. I think all of the “rules” and the organization of journal entries pulled me in. Accounting was not my passion, but something I became to appreciate.
Since I only had to take two accounting classes for my Economics degree, I have not thought about accounting since. So, when I was offered this position, I decided to pull out my old notes and start refreshing my memory. Not only did I look over my notes, we enrolled me in a Coursera course. The amount of courses available was incredible! It took me a few hours to find a course that met my needs because the possibilities were endless. The specialization I chose was: Introduction to Finance and Accounting Specialization. This specialization has a total of four courses, but you are able to only enroll in what you need. For me, I only needed to take two of the four courses. Both courses are taught by Professor Brian Bushee of University of Pennsylvania, and I really enjoy learning from him.
The first course is about “master(ing) the technical skills needed to analyze financial statements and disclosures for use in financial analysis…”. The items we discuss include: the income statement, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, and analyzing different types of transactions. The course is broken down into four weeks, and each week ends with “homework”, which is really only a quiz about that week’s content. Professor Bushee has created videos, not longer than 20 minutes, to learn the course. At the end of each video, he offers pdf files of the slides he uses, which has helped me fully understand topics I had issues with while watching the videos.
Coursera has great tools when it comes to note taking and layout of the website. During videos, I am able to take a screenshot and Coursera will note exactly what the professor is saying at the time of the screenshot. So, not only am I able to go look at screenshots of notes I took, I can also read a small subscript of what was being said during the video. It has been very convenient because I can simply go to my “Notes” tab and review for the end of week quizzes a lot faster than having to rewatch several videos.
My experience with Coursera and this particular course has been extremely helpful and a great review of topics I had previously learned. Once I finish the courses, I will receive a certificate of completion and recognition of my new learned skills. The new skills will help me manage the accounts receivable, accounts payable, and payroll for EmployStats. As well, I will fully understand how invoices are incorporated into different accounts. These courses will prepare me for daily categorization of expenses, auditing of expenses, bank account balancing, and bank account reconciliations. This course will improve my financial analysis skills and help me achieve the task of recognizing underutilized and/or inefficient services and products. I am excited to use these new skills and knowledge towards my work with Employstats!”