Skip to Main Content
HBS Online
  • Courses
    Open Courses Mega Menu
    • Business Essentials
      • Credential of Readiness (CORe)
      • Business Analytics
      • Economics for Managers
      • Financial Accounting
    • Leadership & Management
      • Leadership Principles
      • Management Essentials
      • Negotiation Mastery
      • Organizational Leadership
      • Strategy Execution
      • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
      • Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
    • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
      • Entrepreneurship Essentials
      • Disruptive Strategy
      • Negotiation Mastery
      • Design Thinking and Innovation
      • Launching Tech Ventures
    • Strategy
      • Strategy Execution
      • Business Strategy
      • Economics for Managers
      • Disruptive Strategy
      • Global Business
      • Sustainable Business Strategy
    • Finance & Accounting
      • Financial Accounting
      • Leading with Finance
      • Alternative Investments
      • Sustainable Investing
    • Business in Society
      • Sustainable Business Strategy
      • Global Business
      • Sustainable Investing
      • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
      • Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
    • All Courses
  • For Organizations
    Open For Organizations Mega Menu
    • Corporate Learning
      Help your employees master essential business concepts, improve effectiveness, and expand leadership capabilities.
    • Academic Solutions
      Integrate HBS Online courses into your curriculum to support programs and create unique educational opportunities.
    • Need Help?
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Contact Us
    • Black, Latinx, and underrepresented minority professionals
      Pathways to Business

      Stories designed to inspire future business leaders.

  • Insights
    Open Insights Mega Menu
    • Business Insights Blog
      • Career Development
      • Communication
      • Decision-Making
      • Earning Your MBA
      • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
      • Finance
      • Leadership
      • Management
      • Negotiation
      • Strategy
    • All Topics
    • Sample Business Lessons and E-Books

      Gain new insights and knowledge from leading faculty and industry experts.

    • Free Guide

      Learn how to formulate a successful business strategy.

  • More Info
    Open More Info Mega Menu
    • Learning Experience
      Master real-world business skills with our immersive platform and engaged community.
    • Certificates, Credentials, & Credits
      Learn how completing courses can boost your resume and move your career forward.
    • Learning Tracks
      Take your career to the next level with this specialization.
    • Financing & Policies
      • Employer Reimbursement
      • Payment & Financial Aid
      • Policies
    • Connect
      • Student Stories
      • Community
    • Need Help?
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Request Information
      • Support Portal
    • Apply Now
Login
My Courses
Access your courses and engage with your peers
My Account
Manage your account, applications, and payments.
HBS Home
  • About HBS
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
HBS Online
  • Courses
  • Business Essentials
  • Leadership & Management
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Strategy
  • Finance & Accounting
  • Business in Society
  • For Organizations
  • Insights
  • More Info
  • About
  • Support Portal
  • Media Coverage
  • Founding Donors
  • Leadership Team
  • Careers
  • My Courses
  • My Account
  • Apply Now
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • HBS Online→
  • Business Insights→

Business Insights

Harvard Business School Online's Business Insights Blog provides the career insights you need to achieve your goals and gain confidence in your business skills.

 
Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up

Topics

Topics

  • Accounting
  • Analytics
  • Business Essentials
  • Business in Society
  • Career Development
  • Communication
  • Community
  • ConneXt
  • Decision-Making
  • Earning Your MBA
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Negotiation
  • News & Events
  • Productivity
  • Staff Spotlight
  • Strategy
  • Student Profiles
  • Technology
  • Work-Life Balance

Courses

Courses

  • Alternative Investments
  • Business Analytics
  • Business Strategy
  • CORe
  • Design Thinking and Innovation
  • Disruptive Strategy
  • Economics for Managers
  • Entrepreneurship Essentials
  • Financial Accounting
  • Global Business
  • Launching Tech Ventures
  • Leadership Principles
  • Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
  • Leading with Finance
  • Management Essentials
  • Negotiation Mastery
  • Organizational Leadership
  • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
  • Strategy Execution
  • Sustainable Business Strategy
  • Sustainable Investing
Subscribe to the Blog
*
Please complete this required field.
Email must be formatted correctly.
Please complete all required fields.
RSS feed

Filters

Topics

Topics

  • Accounting
  • Analytics
  • Business Essentials
  • Business in Society
  • Career Development
  • Communication
  • Community
  • ConneXt
  • Decision-Making
  • Earning Your MBA
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Negotiation
  • News & Events
  • Productivity
  • Staff Spotlight
  • Strategy
  • Student Profiles
  • Technology
  • Work-Life Balance

Courses

Courses

  • Alternative Investments
  • Business Analytics
  • Business Strategy
  • CORe
  • Design Thinking and Innovation
  • Disruptive Strategy
  • Economics for Managers
  • Entrepreneurship Essentials
  • Financial Accounting
  • Global Business
  • Launching Tech Ventures
  • Leadership Principles
  • Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
  • Leading with Finance
  • Management Essentials
  • Negotiation Mastery
  • Organizational Leadership
  • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
  • Strategy Execution
  • Sustainable Business Strategy
  • Sustainable Investing
Subscribe to the Blog
*
Please complete this required field.
Email must be formatted correctly.
Please complete all required fields.
RSS feed

5 Reasons Why You Should Study Finance

Female Finance Professional
  • 23 Apr 2019
Natalie Chladek Author Staff
tag
  • Career Development
  • Finance
  • Financial Accounting
  • Leading with Finance

If you find finance intimidating, you’re not alone. When many people think of finance, they envision Wall Street high-rises, fancy suits, and frantic stock tickers.

But it doesn’t need to be intimidating. In fact, anyone can—and should—have a basic understanding of finance.

Here are five reasons why finance is essential knowledge for all professionals, regardless of their role, industry, or seniority level.


Free E-Book: A Manager's Guide to Finance & Accounting

Access your free e-book today.



Why You Should Study Finance

1. Finance Is Ubiquitous

It doesn’t matter if you work in tech or education, consulting or advertising. Your company needs cash flow to do things like pay everyone’s salary, distribute dividends, and reinvest in product innovation.

Even if you don’t manage a budget yourself, finance is at the core of business decision-making. If you’re pitching a project or angling for additional funding, understanding and being able to communicate how you can turn that investment into revenue for your organization will help you make a more convincing argument.

Related: The 4 Finance Skills Every Leader Needs No Matter Their Industry

2. Finance Will Help Your Resume Stand Out

If you're looking for ways to differentiate your resume, finance is a good place to start. Especially if you’re entering the workforce as a young professional without extensive experience, showing you have business knowledge before you’re even in the field can make you a more attractive candidate. This is particularly relevant in non-finance fields, where financial education is less common but no less fundamental to running a successful business.

For example, if you’re hoping to land a managerial position, having an understanding of finance can demonstrate key competencies to employers. Managers with finance skills are able to better understand their team’s impact on the overall company and make well-informed business decisions.

"Whatever business decision that you're going to be making, you want to understand all facets of it," says Harvard Business School Professor V.G. Narayanan, who teaches the online course Financial Accounting. "So there are going to be human resource angles to it. There are going to be marketing angles to it. There are operational angles to it. But there's also: 'What is the impact on the financial statements of this particular decision that you're going to make?'"

Watch the video below featuring Professor Narayanan to learn more about why you should further your financial knowledge if you're in a non-finance role:

View Video

3. The Finance Industry Is Constantly Evolving

The world of finance has grown beyond traditional big banks. SoFi, Stripe, and Coinbase may not have existed a decade ago, but they have since revolutionized student loan financing, payment technology, and cryptocurrency, respectively. Understanding finance can help you keep up with the growing field of financial technology, also known as “fintech,” whether you want to work in the industry or become a conscious consumer of its products.

4. You’ll Become a Stronger Problem Solver

Yes, finance involves formulas, Excel spreadsheets, and ratios. But it also involves analyzing these numbers and turning them into actionable business insights. For example, consider the concept of value and its role in business decisions. Learning finance will teach you how to understand the difference between price and value, how to create value, and how the future affects value today.

Learning how to take quantitative data and use it to solve problems and make sound business decisions is a valuable skill that can serve you in your career now and in the future.

Related: Financial Terminology: 20 Financial Terms to Know

5. Finance Is Important Outside the Office, Too

While understanding finance is critical for work, it’s also critical for your fiscal well-being outside the office.

We're faced with financial decisions, small and large, every day. Whether it’s choosing to eat in or order out dinner, paying your gym fees in a lump sum or monthly installments, or turning your hobby into a side hustle, these choices require a basic knowledge of finance.

How to Study Finance

Having a clear understanding of basic financial concepts comes with various benefits and can help you excel professionally. Depending on your specific goals and needs, there are different avenues you can take to hone your financial know-how.

To brush up on your financial terminology and get familiar with some basic concepts, you can start by exploring finance- and business-related articles, websites, and newsletters.

To take a deeper dive into the world of finance, consider enrolling in an online finance course. Choosing a course offered by a top business school can enable you to gain a quality finance education in a format that works for your schedule. In addition, programs that award certificates of completion provide the opportunity to showcase your skills on your resume or LinkedIn profile to help advance your career.

Make and communicate better financial decisions | Explore Our Certificate Courses

Based on your personal and professional goals, your level of work experience, and other factors, you may choose to pursue a graduate degree in a finance-related field. This could be the right path for you if you’re looking to make a career change or land a position that requires advanced finance skills. In this case, you may find it helpful to prepare for a degree program by taking online courses to build a foundational knowledge of finance.

Related: Should You Go to Business School? 6 Benefits of Strong Business Skills

Understanding Finance Is Critical

No matter how you decide to learn about finance, having these skills can bring success in your professional and personal life.

Why is $1 today worth more than $1 tomorrow? How do you choose where to invest your 401(k)? Knowing these answers is fundamental to developing financial literacy and preparing yourself to make smarter decisions throughout your life.

Are you interested in developing financial literacy? Explore our online finance and accounting courses to discover how you can advance your career by gaining a thorough understanding of financial principles.

This post was updated on September 10, 2021. It was originally published on April 23, 2019.

About the Author

Natalie is an Associate Product Manager at Harvard Business School Online working on Alternative Investments, Leading with Finance, Negotiation Mastery, and Sustainable Business Strategy. She received her B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University and M.B.A. from UCLA Anderson. In her free time, she enjoys running, cooking, and staying up too late rooting for her Bay Area sports teams.
 
All FAQs

Top FAQs

How are HBS Online courses delivered?

+–

We offer self-paced programs (with weekly deadlines) on the HBS Online course platform.

Our platform features short, highly produced videos of HBS faculty and guest business experts, interactive graphs and exercises, cold calls to keep you engaged, and opportunities to contribute to a vibrant online community.

Are HBS Online programs available in languages other than English?

+–

We expect to offer our courses in additional languages in the future but, at this time, HBS Online can only be provided in English.

All course content is delivered in written English. Closed captioning in English is available for all videos. There are no live interactions during the course that requires the learner to speak English. Written English proficiency should suffice.

Do I need to come to campus to participate in HBS Online programs?

+–

No, all of our programs are 100 percent online, and available to participants regardless of their location.

How do I enroll in a course?

+–

All programs require the completion of a brief application. The applications vary slightly from program to program, but all ask for some personal background information. You can apply for and enroll in programs here. If you are new to HBS Online, you will be required to set up an account before starting an application for the program of your choice.

Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the program.

After submitting your application, you should receive an email confirmation from HBS Online. If you do not receive this email, please check your junk email folders and double-check your account to make sure the application was successfully submitted.

Updates to your application and enrollment status will be shown on your Dashboard. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application.

Does Harvard Business School Online offer an online MBA?

+–

No, Harvard Business School Online offers business certificate programs.

What are my payment options?

+–

We accept payments via credit card, wire transfer, Western Union, and (when available) bank loan. Some candidates may qualify for scholarships or financial aid, which will be credited against the Program Fee once eligibility is determined. Please refer to the Payment & Financial Aid page for further information.

We also allow you to split your payment across 2 separate credit card transactions or send a payment link email to another person on your behalf. If splitting your payment into 2 transactions, a minimum payment of $350 is required for the first transaction.

In all cases, net Program Fees must be paid in full (in US Dollars) to complete registration.

What are the policies for refunds and deferrals?

+–

After enrolling in a program, you may request a withdrawal with refund (minus a $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee) up until 24 hours after the start of your program. Please review the Program Policies page for more details on refunds and deferrals. If your employer has contracted with HBS Online for participation in a program, or if you elect to enroll in the undergraduate credit option of the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program, note that policies for these options may differ.

 

Sign up for News & Announcements


  • • Please complete this required field.
  • • Email must be formatted correctly.
  • • Please complete all required fields.

Subject Areas

  • Business Essentials
  • Leadership & Management
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Strategy
  • Finance & Accounting
  • Business & Society

Quick Links

  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Request Info
  • Apply Now
  • Support Portal

About

  • About Us
  • Media Coverage
  • Founding Donors
  • Leadership Team
  • Careers @ HBS Online

Legal

  • Legal
  • Policies
Harvard Business School
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College
  • Site Map
  • Trademark Notice
  • Digital Accessibility