Online MHA Curriculum in Focus: Accounting for Healthcare Management
In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of financial accounting and investment analysis for healthcare organizations. Financial accounting is a specialized branch of accounting that is concerned with preparing, analyzing, and reporting financial statements that companies use to show their financial performance and position to people outside the company, including investors, creditors, suppliers, and customers. Topics include journalizing transactions into debits and credits, double-entry accounting, creating general ledger accounts, accounts receivable, and examples of both for-profit and nonprofit financial statements.
Professor Blair William explains how the course will help students in their healthcare careers: “Students will be able to prepare, interpret, and analyze financial statements; do investment analyses; and make financial decisions."
Course Takeaways
You will be prepared to:
- Record financial transactions, prepare financial statements, and perform financial analyses
- Utilize Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and differentiate between other international financial reporting standards
- Describe the fundamental accounting equation, the definitions of assets, liabilities, owner's equity/net assets, debits and credits
- Compare an organization’s financial performance and standing using liquidity, efficiency, solvency, profitability, and return on investment ratios
- Use data and evidence-based management practices to improve managerial decision-making and organizational performance
- Choose from the many available techniques learned throughout the course to record financial information, analyze the information, and make decisions
This course will provide you with the knowledge to analyze competitors and evaluate investment opportunities. By understanding financial accounting, you can manage internal and external investment decisions and provide a better experience for healthcare providers and patients.
Course Syllabus
Resources
Accounting Fundamentals for HealthCare Management, 3rd Edition, by Steven Finkler, Thad Calabrese, and David Ward. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2018.
Assessment, Assignments, and Evaluation
You will be assessed in the course through assignments, exams, quizzes, homework, case studies, and class participation. You will be expected to achieve a satisfactory level of competency corresponding to the course’s modules and objectives.
Course Topics
Module 1: Introduction to Financial Management and Healthcare Accounting
At the conclusion of this module, you should be able to outline the goals of financial management, differentiate how healthcare organizations are paid, and articulate how recent national healthcare reforms affect how healthcare organizations are reimbursed.
Module 2: How to Use Electronic Spreadsheets
At the conclusion of this module, you should be able to analyze electronic spreadsheets and how they are used in financial management.
Module 3: Accounting Concepts and Introduction to Financial Statements
At the conclusion of this module, you should be able to demonstrate and describe the fundamental accounting equation, including the definitions of assets, liabilities, and owner's equity/net assets.
Module 4: Asset and Equity Valuations
At the conclusion of this module, you should be able to articulate how asset, liability, and equity/net values reflected on the balance sheet are determined.
Module 5: Recording Financial Information
At the conclusion of this module, you should be able to record financial transactions using debits and credits using T-accounts.
Module 6: More on Financial Statements
At the conclusion of this module, you should be able to create financial statements following GAAP from accounting ledgers.
Module 7: Exam on Topics Through Module 6
Students’ skills and knowledge to date will be assessed.
Module 8: Depreciation and Cost Inventory
At the conclusion of this module, you should be able to distinguish between different techniques for recording the use of capital assets according to the GAAP
Module 9: More on Financial Statement Analysis and Notes and The Role of The Auditor
At the conclusion of this module, you should be able to quantify how the notes to the financial statements reveal key accounting policies of an organization.
Module 10: Ratio and Financial Statement Analysis
At the conclusion of this module, you should be able to compare an organization’s financial performance and standing using liquidity, efficiency, solvency, profitability, and return on investment ratios.
Module 11: Exam on Financial Statement Analysis
Students’ skills and knowledge to date will be assessed
Module 12: Investment Analysis
At the conclusion of this module, you should be able to assemble complete financial analyses using spreadsheet computer programs (such as Microsoft Excel).
Module 13: More on Investment Analysis and Bringing It All Together
At the conclusion of this module, you should be able to choose from the many available techniques learned throughout the course to record financial information, analyze the information, and make decisions.