In Debt, we take on one of the most challenging financial questions that remains unresolved: How much to borrow? We start by demonstrating why using debt has always been and continues to be a great temptation, particularly when borrowing costs are historically low. We identify conditions for selecting the optimal amount of debt for a corporation looking to maximize its value. You’ll become fluent in related concepts like norms and benchmarks. You will explore these and other factors that influence debt for individuals and for public sector organizations -including governments, who are the largest consumers of debt. Like pollution, debt creates systemic risks even for the people and organizations that don’t create it. This course discusses the imperative of limiting and reducing debt and the costs to all of us if we don’t. We build on case based learning giving you opportunities to interpret, uncover and acquire financial information that is often hidden or missing. We also summarize important threads from previous courses to give you a deep and cohesive understanding of when debt works for you and when it becomes your worst enemy.
Offert par
Spécialisation La finance pour tousUniversité McMasterÀ propos de ce cours
Offert par
Université McMaster
Founded in 1887, McMaster University is committed to creativity, innovation, and excellence by inspiring critical thinking, personal growth, and a passion for learning. Ranked amongst the Top 100 universities in the world, McMaster pioneered a learner-centred, problem-based, interdisciplinary approach to learning that is now known worldwide as the “McMaster Model”.
Programme du cours : ce que vous apprendrez dans ce cours
Welcome & Personal Debt
Welcome! This first week will introduce you to a critical question for our time: how much debt is too much debt? We start by demonstrating why using debt has always been and continues to be a great temptation, particularly when borrowing costs are historically low. Then we’ll delve into Personal Debt and how building your financial literacy as well as tapping into your own motivations can help you manage your debt level, instead of it managing you. You will make connections between Debt and concepts in the prior three courses of this Specialization, and start examining what area of debt from your experiences that you would like to address as part of this course’s final assignment.
Corporate Debt
This week we will look at Corporate Debt and how this type of debt has significant advantages over equity under certain conditions. Taking a critical yet realistic lense, we’ll explore how debt favours and benefit firms who use it as financial leverage aimed at increasing a firm’s value, while impressing an understanding of why this is an advantage only during times of growth. We’ll also tap into each other’s thoughts on how this type of debt could influence our own investing decisions
Government Debt
This week we’ll move beyond the personal and corporate to the bigger picture of Government Debt. We’ll collectively understand why a measure of debt is often a requirement to grow national wealth. But, we’ll also discuss how this ‘measure’ of debt has become a ‘monolith’ of debt in many instances around the globe. The key aspect that we’ll work together to uncover is how this impacts you and the people and places surrounding you, and consider how we might plan and react to finding ourselves at an economic turning point in our history. This week will also be the launch of our peer review activity around your debt case study.
Debt Synthesis
Week 4 is the time to synthesize all that we have learned about debt - from our personal experiences, the state of corporations as well as the current level of government debt, and scrutinize and address it in a way that will increase your debt literacy. You will also reexamine your debt case study and share your biggest takeaways from the course, and look ahead to F4E: Capstone!
À propos du Spécialisation La finance pour tous
Watch this intro video to learn more about the Specialization curriculum and Capstone Project!
Foire Aux Questions
Quand aurai-je accès aux vidéos de cours et aux devoirs ?
L’accès à des vidéos de cours et des devoirs dépend de votre type d’inscription. Si vous suivez un cours en mode auditeur libre, vous pourrez voir la plupart des contenus de cours gratuitement. Pour accéder aux devoirs notés et obtenir un certificat, vous devrez acheter une expérience de certificat, pendant ou après avoir assister au cours en tant qu’auditeur libre. Si vous ne visualisez pas l’option auditeur libre :
- Il est possible que le cours ne propose pas d’option auditeur libre. Vous pouvez en revanche accéder à un essai gratuit ou faire une demande d'aide financière.
- Le cours propose peut-être « Cours complet, aucun certificat » à la place. Cette option vous permet de voir tous les contenus de cours, de soumettre les évaluations requises et d'obtenir une note finale. Cependant, vous ne pourrez pas acheter une expérience de certificat.
À quoi ai-je droit si je m'abonne à cette Spécialisation ?
Lorsque vous vous inscrivez au cours, vous bénéficiez d'un accès à tous les cours de la Spécialisation, et vous obtenez un Certificat lorsque vous avez réussi. Votre Certificat électronique est alors ajouté à votre page Accomplissements. À partir de cette page, vous pouvez imprimer votre Certificat ou l'ajouter à votre profil LinkedIn. Si vous souhaitez seulement lire et visualiser le contenu du cours, vous pouvez accéder gratuitement au cours en tant qu'auditeur libre.
Is financial aid available?
Oui, Coursera offre une Aide Financière aux étudiants qui n'ont pas les moyens d'acquitter les frais. Demandez-la en cliquant sur le lien Aide Financière sous le bouton S'inscrire situé à gauche. Vous devrez remplir un formulaire de demande et vous serez averti(e) si elle est acceptée. Vous devrez répéter cette procédure pour chaque cours de la Spécialisation, y compris pour le Projet Final. En savoir plus.
What will I be able to do upon completing the course?
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
1. Explain ways in which debt can be useful or detrimental to the individual, the company, and the country.
2. Relate important financial concepts and issues to experiences in your daily life or the real world.
3. Perform financial calculations with accuracy.
4. Build confidence in your ability to manage debt.
5. Engage in research in order to increase your knowledge of particular financial issues/scenarios.
6. Engage with news, issues, and communities that matters to you, inclusive of concepts of finance and debt.
7. Assess finance issues (ex. the debt position of a given entity) with confidence.
8. Analyze how financial concepts are applied by organizations.
How long does it take to complete this course?
The course is structured to be 4 weeks in length.
How often is this course offered?
This course will be offered every month.
What background knowledge is necessary?
No previous knowledge is required. It is recommended that learners have basic mathematics knowledge.
Puis-je obtenir des crédits universitaires si je réussis le Cours ?
Ce Cours n'est pas associé à des crédits universitaires, mais certaines universités peuvent décider d'accepter des Certificats de Cours pour des crédits. Vérifiez-le auprès de votre établissement pour en savoir plus. Les Diplômes en ligne et les Certificats Mastertrack™ sur Coursera apportent la possibilité d'obtenir des crédits universitaires.
D'autres questions ? Visitez le Centre d'Aide pour les Etudiants.
