England
Where do you live?
Key features
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Learn practical skills that you can apply to your work straight away -
Hands-on activities using case studies and financial statements from a range of businesses, including well-known household brands -
Interact with co-learners and a course mentor to further support your learning -
Created by academic experts from The Open University’s triple-accredited Business School (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS) with input from industry experts -
The course has a global focus and delivers transferable skills for diverse sectors and organisations
What you will study
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The origins and importance of financial reporting -
The three main financial statements: performance, position, and cash flow -
Simple analytical methods to help you begin interpreting these statements -
Company performance, considering more sophisticated ways of measuring financial performance, calculating simple returns and margins -
Company financial health, including the various ratios that can be used to check financial health -
The perspectives of various stakeholder groups and how these might be addressed in business -
Carrying out a financial analysis of the published statements of a complex business, interpreting and critiquing them
You will learn
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interpret financial accounting reports with confidence -
assess financial reports and suggest how to enhance performance and manage financial health, risk, and resilience -
classify cash flows into operating, investing, and financing activities and describe their impact on the financial health of a business -
identify who uses accounting information and what they need from it -
explain the value of financial statements.
Skills you will gain
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Financial literacy -
Cash-flow analysis -
Spreadsheet use and manipulation -
Communication -
Financial management -
Decision-making -
Financial performance and analysis
Vocational relevance
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non-financial and emerging managers from any discipline -
stakeholders interested in how businesses are performing -
professionals who would like to progress to management level -
those who are new to financial management but lack formal qualifications -
senior professionals looking to develop financial accounting skills -
self-employed professionals looking to develop skills and knowledge of financial accounting.
Created by academic experts from The Open University’s triple-accredited Business School
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Sabine Tuckett is an associate lecturer in accountancy with the OU. She is a chartered accountant with experience working in practice and teaches at the University of Exeter. -
Paul Ranford is a chartered accountant and has authored many OU accounting module materials. He was awarded SFHEA for his teaching leadership in October 2017. -
Elaine Telfer is a certified accountant and has worked for a variety of blue-chip companies. She is an associate lecturer at the OU and is an associate fellow (AFHEA).
You will gain
Teaching and assessment
Study support
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Learn 100% online on the OU’s learning platform with a mix of video, audio and written materials -
Engage in interactive learning through self-assessment questions, polls, tasks and reflection -
Share ideas and experiences in discussion with other learners, building skills, confidence and knowledge -
Receive support from mentors who guide discussions and answer questions -
Study at a time that suits you with the flexibility to access the course from your desktop, tablet or mobile device
Assessment
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End-of-module assessment
Course length
What's included
Future availability
Regulations
Entry requirements
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The course material doesn’t assume learners are working. Past experiences will be just as relevant. -
All teaching is in English, and your English proficiency needs to be adequate for undergraduate study. As a guide, this corresponds to Level 5.5 of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). However, you won’t need to provide a formal English language score to enrol.
Computing requirements
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Primary device – A desktop or laptop computer. It’s possible to access some materials on a mobile phone, tablet or Chromebook; however, they will not be suitable as your primary device. -
Our OU Study app operates on supported versions of Android and iOS. -
Operating systems – Windows 11 or the latest supported macOS. -
Internet access – Broadband or mobile connection.
If you have a disability
Course fee
| Start | End | Register by | England fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04 Jul 2026 | 31 Oct 2026 | 03 Jul 2026 | £550 |
