Corporate Finance Fundamentals: Free Course

About this course

Explore the main decisions made in corporate finance through this free Corporate Finance Institute course. The classroom includes every numbered Part 1–7 and the original preview. It introduces the relationship between investment, financing and the return of capital, giving learners a framework for understanding business funding decisions.

Course at a glance

What you’ll learn

• Explain the purpose of capital investment and financing decisions within a business.
• Recognise common approaches to business valuation and their assumptions.
• Describe different sources of debt and equity financing.
• Connect a proposed transaction with its funding structure and business objectives.

Skills you’ll gain

• Corporate finance
• Capital investment
• Capital structure
• Valuation concepts
• Debt and equity
• Business funding

Course Overview

Corporate finance considers how a business uses and obtains capital in pursuit of its objectives. Investment decisions, financing choices and the treatment of returns are connected: a project can look attractive under one set of assumptions and less useful under another. The course introduces the vocabulary and techniques that help frame those choices, including market participants, valuation and transaction funding. Follow the complete seven-part YouTube teaching edition in numbered order. The preview remains available, while provider platform exercises, updated materials and qualified assessment are separate.

How to study the course

• Begin by mapping the relationship between a business objective, an investment proposal and the capital required to support it.
• As you study valuation and financing, identify the assumptions behind each method and the trade-offs associated with different funding structures.
• Use the closing material to connect the concepts in a simple business example. Explain the decision process without pretending that one measure settles every question.

Use the searchable classroom lesson list to revisit a specific explanation. Pause after a useful demonstration, reproduce a small example and explain the result in your own words. Keep a short note of what worked, what changed and what you still need to understand before moving on.

Who is this for?

This course suits students and professionals seeking an introductory corporate finance framework. It is particularly useful before deeper study of valuation, financial modelling or the financial implications of business strategy.

Before you start

Basic financial statement knowledge, arithmetic and spreadsheet familiarity will help. Recorded examples illustrate concepts; market conditions, regulation and business circumstances can differ. The course does not provide personalised financing or investment advice.

Put the lessons into practice

Create a fictional business considering a small expansion. Describe the purpose of the investment, its expected cash flows and the main uncertainties. Compare two possible funding approaches at a conceptual level and identify the information you would need before choosing one. Build a simple spreadsheet summary and test how a change in one assumption affects the result. Finish with a short recommendation for the fictional case that separates observed information from assumptions and unanswered questions.

This optional activity is provided by WikiFree for independent practice. It is not a graded assignment from the instructor. Keep your working notes, check the result against the task you defined and return to the relevant lesson when an assumption or technique is unclear.

Certificate / Assessment

Watching the public videos and using WikiFree progress tracking does not award a certificate, exam voucher, academic credit or instructor assessment. Separate CFI platform assessments, CPE credit and certification requirements are not included in this YouTube edition.

Use your practice output to review what you can now explain and repeat independently. Completion tracking records your study progress; it does not replace an assessed qualification or professional experience.

Frequently asked questions

Provider: Corporate Finance Institute. Videos play from the Corporate Finance Institute channel on YouTube.