10 Places to Learn Accounting for Free

Accounting, the study of sales, overhead, and purchases, is considered the lifeline of all businesses. However, since it involves numbers and formulations, it can be quite tough to learn for some students, even for some professionals. If you need to learn accounting, you need not spend a lot of money over refresher courses and lectures anymore. You can learn now learn it online – free of cost – with these top 10 online resources:

1) MIT Open CourseWare

(http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of-management/)

With the MIT Open CourseWare (part of MIT’s MOOC experiment), you can learn from one of the best American universities without having to apply for student loan. The website offers several accounting courses, right directly from the professors of the institute’s esteemed Sloan School of Management. Courses include Introduction to Financial and Managerial Accounting, Management Accounting and Control, to name a few. Resources range from lecture notes and assignments to solutions and examinations.

2) NJIT Open CourseWare

(http://ocw.njit.edu/som/acct/acct-615-anandarajan/index.php)

Like that of MIT, the New Jersey Institute of Technology also offers free accounting lessons through its own Open CourseWare website. The course, Acct 615, was created by Dr. Asokan Anandarajan. It offers important accounting concepts for effective decision-making. NJIT has a total of 17 lectures, all delivered through interactive video lessons. The website includes courses on basic accounting concepts, accounting equations, accounting laws and regulations, analysis of financial statements, internal decision making, transfer pricing and performance measurement, to name a few.

3) The Open University

(http://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-management/money/accounting-and-finance)

The Open University’s Money and Management section, aiming to fulfill its commitment of providing distance learning for all, features free accounting lessons for people from all walks of life. The website offers a wide range of course, from fundamentals, such as introduction to bookkeeping and accounting and financial accounting, to more complex studies such as accounting for strategy implementation, development of financial practice and management accounting, among many others. These lessons are delivered through lectures, course materials, and videos.

4) Accounting Coach

(http://www.accountingcoach.com/)

Accounting Coach is the best website for both students and professsionals, as it offers more than 1,000 lectures on the concepts of accounting. Founded by accountant Harold Averkamp in 2003, the website makes learning fun and easy with its practice questions, interactive drills and puzzles, all of which are warranted with immediate feedback by online instructors. Lessons featured in the website include accounting basics, equations, balance sheets, payroll accounting and standard costing, to name a few. Accounting Coach also features a blog where users can post questions and have their queries addressed instantly.

5) Coursera

(https://www.coursera.org/course/accounting)

Coursera offers a wide array of free online courses, with lessons coming from academicians from respected schools. Its Introduction to Financial Accounting course, which lasts 10 weeks, comes from Brian J. Bushee of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. The comprehensive syllabus features concepts about balance sheets, cash flows, working capital assets and deferred taxes, to name a few. Lessons are usually delivered through interactive lectures and case study videos, which are followed by short homeworks and examinations.

6) Small Biz U

(http://www.smallbizu.org/a101/)

Small Biz U is an informative website hosted by the Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. It paves the way for distance learning with its easy-to-learn accounting lessons, all presented in attractive Powerpoint slides. Small Biz U covers everything you need to know about the fundamentals of accountancy, as well as sales accounting, cash sales, loans, income statements and accounts payable, to name a few. After going through the slides, you can test your knowledge by taking three quizzes, all of which cover the different chapters of the lecture.

7) Simple Studies

(http://simplestudies.com/)

Another great website where you can learn accounting for free is Simple Studies, which focuses on all the aspects of bookkeeping. It offers tutorials and articles, as well as a dictionary for complex terms. With Simple Studies, accounting is definitely made easier. Unlike other websites, Simple Studies revolutionizes accounting with its bookmark topics, checkpoint questions, test questions and study notes. You can even track your progress with the use of the website’s study dashboard. After the completion of the lesson, you can get an accounting certificate as a proof your mastery on the concept.

8) Principles of Accounting

(http://www.principlesofaccounting.com/)

Principles of Accounting is a repository of knowledge for those who wish to learn financial and managerial accounting. The website features seven categories: the accounting cycle, current assets, long-term assets, liabilities and equities, using information, managerial and cost, and budgeting and decisions. Apart from textbooks and supplemental lectures, the website also provides video lessons through its same-named YouTube channel. Additionally, the website offers supplemental learning for students and professionals and transferable college credits that give learners an opportunity to enroll in the Utah State University – John Huntsman School of Business, should they wish to further their studies.

9) Accounting World

(http://www.accounting-world.com/)

Accounting World provides you with all the information that you need to know about accounting and its related disciplines. The category Accounting Explanation covers many topics, such as introduction to accounting, bank reconciliation statement, accruals, prepayments, and capital and revenue expenditures, to name a few.

If you have any questions, you can post your queries in the site’s Q&A section. You can learn more about accounting abridgments in the abbreviation section. Truncations for business and stock exchange are available as well. Finance and accounting formulas, time values of money tables, and a list of accountancy governing bodies are available for access, too. After browsing through the lessons, you can test your proficiency by taking Accounting World’s exams. The website also offers job openings for qualified applicants.

10) Miss CPA

(http://misscpa.com/)

Miss CPA is another efficient accounting website you ought to visit. It provides lessons and lectures that can help students, bookkeepers, and accounting professionals learn more about the important concepts of accountancy. Miss CPA offers a treasure trove of number knowledge. It covers the fundamentals of accounting, such as bookkeeping, managerial accounting, financial accounting, business and finance. Apart from tutorials and articles, the website also features illustrations and exam questions which can help you learn the basics immediately. Apart from lessons, Miss CPA also makes recommendations of the best books to learn accounting.