Name: Corporate Finance Fundamentals
Rating: 4.760942760942761 (297 reviews)

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Overview

Corporate finance course overview

Interested in a career in corporate finance? Looking to move up the ladder at your current job? This introduction to corporate finance course will give an overview of all the key concepts you need for a high powered career in investment banking, equity research, private equity, corporate development, financial planning & analysis (FP&A), treasury, and much more.

Introduction to corporate finance curriculum

Our Corporate Finance 101 Course will teach you the fundamentals:

Who the key players in the capital markets are
What the capital raising process looks like
The main business valuation techniques
Types of valuation multiples
How to structure a deal
How to finance an acquisition
Types of debt securities
Types of equity securities

This course will also show you an overview of career paths as well as teach you how to prepare for interviews. Learn the fundamentals of corporate finance.

What will I learn in this corporate finance course?

This free corporate finance course will teach you about:

Different players in capital markets
Funding lifecycles
Business valuation methods
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) processes
Equity capital raising
Debt capital raising
Corporate finance career paths

Who should take this corporate finance class?

This free corporate finance class is perfect for anyone currently in or looking for a career in investment banking, equity research, private equity, corporate development, finance, and accounting. This course is an excellent primer for beginners and a great refresher for advanced practitioners.

About the Corporate Finance institute®

CFI is a leading provider of online courses and certifications for careers in investment banking, equity research, corporate development, and other areas of corporate finance. CFI students come from a wide range of prestigious institutions that include: Wharton, Harvard, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, BlackRock, KPMG, IBM, and more. Thank you for taking CFI’s free course on corporate finance.

Corporate Finance Fundamentals

Get Started Enroll For Free

Level 2

Approx 2.5h to complete

100% online and self-paced

Subscribe to get access to FMVA and other programs

From $497/year

Learn More

What you'll learn

Lesson

Multimedia

Exams

Files

Introduction

Course introduction

Download course notes presentation

Corporate finance overview

Players in corporate finance - primary market

Players in corporate finance - secondary market

Types of participants and transactions

Interactive exercises 1

Capital Investment

Capital investment overview

Net present value (NPV)

Terminal value

Interactive exercise 2

Unlocking the drivers of value

Enterprise value vs equity value

Internal rate of return (IRR)

Interactive exercise 3

Mergers and acquisitions

10-step acquisition process

Types of buyers

Acquisition valuation and analysis

Issues to consider when structuring a deal

Interactive Exercise 4

Dividends and Return of Capital

Three main activities of corporate finance recap

Dividends and return of capital

Retained earnings and excess cash

Dividends vs share buyback

Interactive exercise 10

Conclusion

Roles in corporate finance

Qualified Assessment

Become a certified Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)® Certification

Corporate Finance Fundamentals is part of the Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)® certification, which includes 29 courses.

Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)® Certification

Skills learned Financial modeling and valuation, sensitivity analysis, strategy
Career prep Investment banking and equity research, FP&A, corporate development

Learn more

Path to certification

Prerequisite courses

7 courses from beginner to intermediate level.

01 Optional

Core courses

11 courses from beginner to intermediate level.

02 Required

Elective courses

11 courses at an advanced level.

03 Required

Get Certified

Submit your FMVA® checklist and order your certificate.

04 Required

Join our community

Get access to the Global Corporate Finance Society.

05 Optional

How the certification works

FMVA® Financial Analyst Certification courses are offered 100% online, allowing you the flexibility to start the financial analyst program anytime and learn when it’s most convenient for you.

The program is a part of the All Access Subscription, which includes all programs and courses.

CFI courses are designed by instructors with over 21 years of financial analyst training experience.

Students must complete all core and elective courses (14 in total) and demonstrate mastery of the topics through successful completion of course materials, quizzes, and assessments.

Within 48 hours of program completion, your Blockchain Verified FMVA Certification will be emailed to you.

What our students say

Great course
Good for basic understanding of corporate finance

Ishita Lal

Introduction to Corporate Finance
A very useful course for aspirants building career in Finance field.

Radhika Dhokai

Introduction to Corporate Finance
very informative

Samuel Manda

Corporate Finance Review.
This course not only improved my basic knowledge of corporate finance but has built up my confidence to take a higher course in the coming future.

ABHISHEK ANAND

I LOVE IT

Martins Atandoh

The Introduction to Corporate Finance course was very practical and neatly delivered. Highly recommended.

Salvator Chibueze Opurum

All the classes are exactly relatable to the topic and clearly explained. The session was very interesting and interactive.

Nishant Agarwal

This course is lucid and engaging. Excellent for beginners and good for experienced professionals.

Partha Ghosh

It was a very insightful course, especially for someone who has just begun learning about corporate finance.

Riona Poojari

This was a great course and very insigthful

Jerome Ebai Atem

The course content was extremely helpful for a beginner like me in understanding corporate finance.

ASWIN SHAJI

Met my expectations and fulfilled everything needed

Veeresh Gullehalli Thippeshappa

Thank you. The experience was amazing.

RAJAT JALAN

I don't have any background knowledge in finance but this course has been a major eye-opener for me as I gained a simplified but detailed understanding of the topics.

Ayokunle Awosanya

A must-take course!

GAURAV MAHENDRA

The course was extremely insightful & enlightening.

Nirali Mehta

The introductory course was highly efficient in delivering all the majors concepts in a clear and engaging manner. The short duration of the videos makes it feel extremely easy to complete the full course. An ideal quick summary for major financing concepts.

Abha Naik

Fantastic tutorial content, excellent approach and easy to understand.

Benoy Philip

This course was very informative and the illustrations were very helpful to make me understand what was going on. I am very grateful I attended this course and very happy that it was free!

Khumo Mase

The course is really informative and covers the fundamentals of corporate as it should. Also easy to comprehend.

Elizabeth Benjamin

Found the course to the point, short and concise, perfect combination of explanatory diagrams and animation. Downloadable course notes are icing on the cake. Great job.

Sachin Chavan

This course is good for beginners and regular assessments helps in better understanding and revision.

Nehali Belnekar

For an introductory course, it has dense information that is very beneficial. I would recommend it if you have interest in the capital markets and if you want to understand corporate language.

Chiyaba Chiwala

These course has helped me improve my understating how companies raise their capital, how they invest the raised capital and how they return the proceeds of the investment efforts to investors thereafter.

BRIAN OKINDO

I find this course very helpful to understand basic concepts of corporate finance.

Abubakar Ismail

Excellent course for students who want to get knowledge about corporate finance

Ankit .

This course is not only just the introduction of corporate finance but also it touches a broad range of advanced topics of corporate finance. I really liked this course, and definitely recommend it to everyone.

Akash Paul

I would definitely recommend this introductory course to individuals aspiring to gain fundamental knowledge on Corporate Finance.

Loyiso Zinzombe

100% Recommended.Really helped a lot to gain knowledge about Finanace

Alo Ghosh

The course approach was very simple, direct and easy to understand. The end of modules test questions were very helpful to understanding each module better.

Kalu Uma

I have found this course very useful, engaging, and well designed. Thank you, CFI!

Simon Tareke Abay

I highly recommend this course as review of topics before taking required courses on the FMVA.

Edwin Serrano

The course gives an overall idea about corporate finance in a concise yet comprehensive manner.

Mandar Phadke

It was a very satisfying experience. All the lectures are clear and informative. The instructor is also top class.

Md. Sharif Mostafa Anik

Great overview of essential aspects of corporate finance for beginners or as a refresher for experienced professionals.

Solomon Egbo-Egbo

This course was very educative and engaging. I have come out more learned on the general overview of corporate finance and the prospective career paths attached to the subject matter. I will definitely be referring to friends.

EKENE NNAJI

The course provides a simplified module for first time learners to have a grasp of what Corporate Finance entails. The manner in which the course is structured really helped me as a person to be able to follow the course with ease. Thank you for this great platform.

ADEYINKA OLORODE

I recommend the program to those who want to venture on the corporate world. This program provides the basic understanding to corporate finance and is a one step forward to climbing up the corporate ladder. Thank you Corporate Finance Institute (CFI).

Jayson Laureta

This is really the best program from anyone wanting to learn about Finance.

Ana Norales

Taking this introductory course have resurrected my hunger to pursue a career in as a Financial Analyst. Thank you CFI!

Solomon Usman Fada

Very useful course for beginners due to easily access and good explanation of contents.

Rodrigo Pineda

I attained immense knowledge from this course and I am very happy to this course

Ariya Mohan M

The Graphs & diagrammatic presentation used in this course to explain are concise and to the point. Great work!

YASHPREET MAAN

The best course ever! Very detail and easy to understand! You guys must try!

Tennie Thesalonica

A very good course on Capital financing and it covers all minute aspects of the subject. Gives a thorough overview of capital financing, capital investment and dividend distribution.

Biswadeep Ghosh

Words alone cannot express how grateful I am to you cfi,you've turned my life around, I've barely graduated but what I'm capable of doing now us remarkably, I've been told so,not only have gained certificates, build an impressive CV but also you guys have provided me with commercial awareness, alot. Thank you very much and keep changing lives,you are the future. With all due respect and respect Michael

Michael Ochilo

You will get a big picture of corporate finance here within an hour. Check it out!

Tossaporn Choowuttichao

I ENROLLED ON THIS COURSE WITH NO OR LITTLE KNOWLEGE ON THE INTRODUCTION TO CORPORATE FINANCE AND GREAT TO SAY, AFTER COMPLETING THE COURSE, I HAVE GAINED INVALUABLE AND IN DEPTH KNOWLEGE ON EQUITY AND CAPITAL INVESTMENT. THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT INITITATIVE CFI

Raphael Nyarko

This course is really engaging and the material provided is self explanatory.

Rashi sharma

The course guide you through the key terms used in an Investment Banking deal so clearly.

Antulio Asdrúbal Tinoco Gutiérrez

The course from CFI has helped me to effectively learn about the basics of corporate finance. The exercises has helped me keep motivated and engaging. I would definitely recommend this to my friends.

Simi Banerjee

I am absolutely excited i decided to take this course it was really knowledge and it has helped enhance my knowledge in corporate finance

Levison Malawo

This course in an eye-opener to the corporate finance matters.

Kenton Mutethia Muthaura

This course is so informative and easy to understand. Graphics which was used is helping me to understand situations and transactions easily without any confusion. I only have some of replays during the course.

Shoyab Shikari

I'm a Mechanical Engineering graduate moving into Investment banking. This was a really great course that has helped me understand Corporate finance on a broad scale, and has helped align my interest. I wish I had found this course earlier, but it's all good. I'm moving to other courses on the CFI site.

Benjamin Annan

One of the best course I came across in the field of Finance. The course design is amazing as you have testes after every section and it helps in enhancing your understanding. Proper notes in form of PDF along with video lecture is provided. Would totally recommend you this course.

Vaishnavi Vinod Pillai

This course is very mind opening and for the fact that career opportunities are provided makes it important to actually take. The instructor speaks and uses a very clear language, provides valid examples and broader explanations. The test i's also possible to do.

Clifford Letuka

The course was immensely useful to understand the basic concepts of Corporate Finance. The way of putting things togther and explaining is great. The content is quite relevant . I am looking forward for few more important free courses so that i can judge much better.

SANJEEV DAS

As a professional that is proficient in accountancy but have very little to do with corporate finance, this course helped me improve my understanding of the fundamentals and identify the gaps in my knowledge of corporate finance. Hoping that in the future, those gaps will close by the time I finish this program.

Axel Hassan

I decided to try use this course as a trial and a decision factor whether to enroll for the entire certification. I am fully convinced to go ahead. I regret not coming across this program years ago.

Eric Amaefule

I am from a non-finance background, but looking to switch to this field. Hence I wanted a course that could help me learn basic corporate finance and related items. This course has massively helped me in accomplishing my goal. The concepts introduced are clear and concise, and the assessments are intriguing.

Vatsal Rai

I took an overview from the course which helped me to start with the basics of corporate finance covering areas of valuations, capital financing and capital investment and how the return of capital follows a cyclic process. I am thankful to corporate finance institute for providing a great platform where people can learn and practice the review questions in a more simple way. I am looking forward to the FMVA certification in the near future.

ARITRA MUKHERJEE

Amazing course, amazing experience. Looking forward for a similar experience throughout my FMVA journey.

Adithya Iyer

The course is well structured and very informative This course is highly recommended

Mostafa Mahmoud Ibrahim Mohamed

What a wonderful exciting journey and reaching destination is wonderful! Recommend every finance graduate post graduate, passionate about corporate finance should go through it.

Adil Kamal

Good

Suraj Pawar

Good

Santosh Vyavhare

Very interesting and easy learning course

Aishwarya Kulkarni

I AM glad that it covered the essential topics which will be taught in my 3rd year corporate finance course.

Aaron Mondoka

It covers all the relevant information regarding the topic. As a beginner, it is helpful in learning about the basics on corporate finance. I strongly recommend this course, might never disappoint you.

Manu M

loving it

ASIF YAKOOB

Knowledge is power and this course exemplifies it

Joan Kinya

I would like to thank CFI for this opportunity great learning and proud to refer about CFI to others

Ruksana Shaikh

The course content is relevant to industry needs. The presentation of course is cogent and direct on point. I gained insight into things I did not know. I recommend the continuous development of course content to meet current industry demand.

Obed Aryee

Excellent Exam

Shankar Sangnod

This course taught me how corporations deals with funding sources, capital structure and investment decisions

Anwan Sharif

this course helped me a lot to understand all the concepts very well. Highly knowledgeable and everyone should do this course to enhance their knowledge.

Nidhi Yadav

The course materials are awesome

Tamer Sarhan

It's really an amazing course as it clarifies the basic corporate finance for a beginner.

Fatema Begum

This is good for beginners in corporate finance roles and also a good refresher for anyone in the corporate finance roles across the various industries.

Emeka Nkemakolam

Corporate Finance provides that how to maximize the value of a business through planning and implementing management resources while balancing risk and probability. Its help an organization to spend and collect their fund by which way at lower cost. It also help to ensure utilization of an Corporation's asset properly. Its provide an actual idea abut capital structure and the way to increases.

Amanat Hosen Akash

Quite helpful

Ridhima Arora

Course is really organised and taught well.

Christ Offessah Aidoo

Very Awesome course, make me having a comprehensive understanding of corporate finance

Pijar Sulthan Muhammad

Awesome and informative course

Hardik gujarathi

This course covers a whole lot of concepts as an overview. For anyone new to the field of Corporate Finance, this course is really insightful.

Harmandeep Singh

Excelent

Celso Arão Zacarias

The calculations was not explicit enough. I really struggled to understand them, may be if i hadn't a finance background i would be more confused.

Edozie Nwuba

Proper knowledge aquired

Amit Kumar

Very informative and very interactive from the beginning to end.

OLAWOLE ADETOYESE

Excellent because it gives PDF of everything we have covered so that we can glance at it to improve muscle memory.

Saad Shakeel Fatmi

good course details

Kelvin Kamande Karanja

Allow certificate for free of cost plz

Kiran Kumar Reddy

This course will definitely help you if you are considering taking a finance related modules or programs in the future. It's a full package and since I am an Accounting student I really learned a lot from this course. Thank you Corporate Finance Institute for the opportunity

ONNEETSE SELELO

More time should be allocated to Book building process and pricing. Pricing should include some practical examples, preferably with some recent pricing cases.

venugopal rajamanuri

The course is very informative and easy to follow

Serah Karumbo

it was amazing to complete the course

arghya saha

Realy Very nice platform to learn finance.

TUSHAR RANJAN BARIK

One of the best introductory courses that I have come across and CFI does a brilliant job explaining the complex introduction to the world of Corporate Finance. I recommend doing this course for all the fellow students/graduates of the finance and accountancy field. It is a superb course for beginners and you do not necessarily require a huge base or knowledge in Finance or Accounting to do well in this course. Happy learning!

Aritra Chakraborty

Thanks for letting me take this course am from Sierra Leone,West Africa completing this course is an advantage in my career. This course is easy to navigate around and well resented thanks to the instructor

Matthew Brima Bockarie

VERY NICELY EXPLAINED

Md Mobashir Alam

This course has provided greater knowledge and understanding thank your cfi for providing such great courses.

shikha choukade

i have no words to express my feelings . thank you so much

Areeb Ali

It was really awesome course. I came to know about the different concepts as well some were known. I enjoyed a lot.

Ruchi Dike

Frequently asked questions

Can I download the Excel files and financial modeling templates for the course?

Absolutely! All the files and templates needed in a course are available for download. Just look for a module that shows Downloadable Files within the course dashboard. See here for a visual guide on how to do this.

How long do I have to complete the courses?

Depending on your enrollment type, you will either have two years, yearly, or monthly access to your courses. All the courses are self-paced as well so you can take your time in learning without worrying about any deadlines. Click here to compare our available enrollment options.

Are CFI courses officially accredited?

CFI is accredited by the Better Business Bureau® (BBB) to maintain training standards, and by the CPA Institutions in Canada, and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) in the USA. Most of our courses qualify for verified CPE credits for CPA charter holders. Please refer to this page to view all available CPE credits.

Are there any additional fees or costs?

No! The bundle price includes everything and there are no additional fees or charges to earn your digital certification. You can see our enrollment fees listed here.

What currency are your courses priced in?

All our online courses are priced in USD. We accept debit/credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), PayPal, and wire transfers for one-time course payments. If you wish to proceed with a wire transfer from your bank, please see instructions here.

How do I earn my certificates?

Students must complete all the video lessons, quizzes, and final assessments in each course. You can retake the assessments as many times as necessary until you reach an 80% passing grade. For more information on how to earn a course certificate, click HERE.

Will these courses help me advance my career?

Based on hundreds of reviews from thousands of students we know how CFI courses have helped so many people advance their finance careers. Our courses are designed to be extremely practical and simulate the experience of being trained as a professional financial analyst…the ultimate way to advance your career. For real-world examples and help delve even deeper into the course concepts, please look into our free career resources library.

Can I email the instructor if I have questions?

While the courses are designed mainly for self-study, we are happy to provide email assistance for general or technical support inquiries. The Full Immersion bundles include a premium email support function which allows you to communicate directly with in-house experts regarding course content. This is one of the key features that sets the Full Immersion bundle apart and makes it a worthwhile upgrade over the more affordable self-study bundle. You can compare more features in our bundles here.

What is the price of the subscription?

All Access Subscription is priced for $497 per year as Self-Study plan or $897 per year as Full Immersion plan.

What is included in the subscription?

All Access Subscription includes all courses from Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)® Certification, Commercial Banking & Credit Analyst (CBCA)™ Certification, Capital Markets & Securities Analyst (CMSA)® Certification, Business Intelligence & Data Analyst (BIDA)™ Certification, Commercial Real Estate Finance Specialization and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Specialization.