Investing Guidebook (CPE Course)

CPE Credit: 7 hours

Course Type: Downloaded PDF materials with online test

Price (with PDF Textbook): $60

Course Description
It can be difficult to earn a consistent return on your invested funds. In the Investing Guidebook, we cover how to set up a structured approach to investing that improves your ability to gain a good return on your investments. It addresses the basic investment types, the sequence of investing activities, individual retirement accounts, and how to invest in stocks, bonds, and funds. It also reveals a number of ways to extract useful information from company financial statements, and how to measure your investing performance. The tips included in this course can be of great assistance in improving your investing skill.

Author: Steven Bragg

Course Number: SK0002

Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Investing Basics
Chapter 2. Baseline Investing Activities
Chapter 3. Individual Retirement Accounts
Chapter 4. Investing in Stocks
Chapter 5. Investing in Lending Arrangements
Chapter 6. Investing in Funds
Chapter 7. Working with Brokerage Firms
Chapter 8. The Interpretation of Financial Statements
Chapter 9. Investing Metrics

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the different types of investments.

  • Specify how to calculate the return on investment.

  • Describe the investing goals associated with a high marginal tax rate.

  • Identify the investing goals associated with someone approaching retirement age.

  • Specify the investing actions to take when the market appears to be overheated.

  • Identify the characteristics of an individual retirement account.

  • Recall the characteristics of the most common stock indices.

  • Specify the strategies most commonly followed by hedge funds.

  • Describe the best practices for investing in stocks and funds.

  • Identify the investment criteria for a money market fund.

  • Specify the differences between a market order and a limit order.

  • Recall how the accounting equation is used.

  • Specify the scenarios in which a business may report a cash balance of zero.

  • Identify the businesses in which inventory is more or less likely to be a consideration.

  • Recall the competitive strategies that require a reduced inventory investment.

  • Recall the circumstances under which financial leverage is more beneficial.

  • Specify the threshold at which debt levels are considered to be minor.

  • Recall how to calculate book value.

  • Specify the type of investor that is attracted to rapid sales growth.

  • Identify the situation in which a business experiences highly-reliable sales.

  • Recall the methods used to improve gross margin.

  • Specify which expenses are classified as operating expenses.

  • Identify the business model that tends to experience high operating expenses.

  • Recall how the net profit margin can be improved.

  • Specify what may happen when a company’s price/earnings ratio is high.

  • Identify the contents of the total shareholder return calculation.

Level: Overview

Instructional Method: QAS Self-Study

NASBA Category: Specialized Knowledge

Prerequisites: None

Advance Preparation: None

Latest Review Date: April 2024

Program Registration Requirements: Click on "Purchase Course" near the top of this page to pay for and access the course. You will then be able to download the course as a PDF file, then take an on-line examination, and then download a certificate of completion if you pass the examination.

Program Refund Policy: For more information regarding administrative policies concerning complaints, refunds, and other matters, see our policies page.

AccountingTools, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have the final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

The NASBA sponsor identification number for Accountingtools, Inc. is 115881.

AccountingTools is an IRS Approved Continuing Education Provider. We are compliant with the requirements for continuing education providers (as described in sections 10.6 and 10.9 of the Department of Treasury’s Circular No. 230 and in other IRS guidance, forms, and instructions). Our IRS Approved Continuing Education Provider number is 72821.