Getting started in Corporate Finance

If you have never done corporate finance before, you can try this self-study plan.

Step 1: Get a grasp of basic accounting. Notwithstanding the overall disdain that we show for accountants and their wares, we are dependent upon their output for much of what we do. Consequently, it behooves us to know the difference between operating and net income. If you have an accounting background, you are ready to go. If your accounting is a little rusty, take a look at this primer before you get any further.

Step 2: It is amazing how much of finance is just present value. While we can go on for hours on the intuitive details, it is even more critical that the mechanics of computing present value are nailed down before we even start. If you feel this is trivial, you can move to step 3. If you still have issues with what exactly happens when you hit the PV button on your calculator, review the basics before you move on.

Step 3: There are several options that you have depending upon how much time you have available and how much corporate finance you want to get your hands around:

Option 1: The "I have all the time in the world" plan
Go to classes and click on the corporate finance class
Print off the lecture notes for the whole class
Watch all 26 webcasts for the class

Option 2: The " I have some time but not that much" plan
Go to classes and click on the executive corporate finance class
Print off this executive version of the lecture notes
Watch the webcasts that you can from the corporate finance class

Option 3: The "I really have no time for this" plan
Print off this really short version of the lecture notes
Watch these podcasts summarizing the topic