This course offers a thorough exploration of the key concepts and principles of economics, focusing on their practical application in business and accounting. You will begin by understanding the fundamental problem of scarcity and how it forces individuals and organizations to make choices, leading to the concept of opportunity cost - an essential tool for decision-making.
You will dive into the structure of economics, exploring the distinct areas of microeconomics, which examines individual economic units like households and firms, and macroeconomics, which looks at the broader economy, including inflation, unemployment, and GDP. Additionally, you’ll study international economics, learning how global trade, exchange rates, and international policies impact businesses.
The course will guide you through the intersection of economics and accounting, showing how economic principles inform key accounting practices such as budgeting, cost control, financial planning, and financial statement preparation. You’ll gain an understanding of how economic factors like inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates influence financial decision-making in areas such as investment appraisal, pricing strategies, and cost management.
You will also explore market mechanisms, studying the characteristics and determinants of demand and supply, and how they interact to create market equilibrium. The course will help you understand how shifts in demand and supply affect pricing, sales, profitability, and overall business strategies. You’ll also learn about price elasticity of demand and supply, and income elasticity of demand, which are critical for setting prices and forecasting revenue.
Moving forward, you will examine different market structures—perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly—and understand how each structure impacts pricing strategies, cost management, and profitability. Strategic decision-making in these different competitive environments will be analyzed through concepts like game theory and real-world examples.
The course also covers labor and capital markets, focusing on wage determination, labor productivity, and capital utilization. You’ll learn how to manage labor costs, optimize resource use, and navigate risks in these markets. Additionally, the course addresses unemployment, its types, and its economic implications for business operations.
In the international context, you’ll explore the theories of trade, the balance of payments, exchange rate systems, and how global trade policies and globalization affect business strategies. You will also learn how to manage currency risks and understand the financial reporting implications of international operations.
Finally, the course will examine the role of government in markets, including how governments address market failures through regulation, taxes, and subsidies. You will learn about the economic impact of externalities, public goods, and how these factors influence business practices and financial reporting.
By the end of this course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of economic principles and their application in business and accounting, equipping you with the knowledge and tools to make informed financial decisions, develop effective business strategies, and navigate the complexities of a global economy.