Database Basics for Financial Professionals

Author: Stephen M. Yoss

In today's digital age, databases have become the backbone of every business technology, application, platform, and service. Every system relies on databases to store and organize information, from financial records in Quickbooks and Xero to sales efforts in Salesforce and Hubspot. Popular reporting tools like Power BI and Excel utilize databases to create beautiful, insightful dashboards. Despite the widespread use and importance of databases, many financial professionals lack a basic understanding of how they operate. Traditionally, working with databases has been delegated to an organization's IT department, leaving the accounting team out of scope. However, in today's technology-driven environment, accountants need to have a basic understanding of how databases work and the ability to query data independently.

Our database basics course focuses on the knowledge most helpful for financial professionals. Through hands-on learning, participants will develop the skills to query data from a database or cloud provider and use it to create insightful reports in Excel or Power BI. By the end of the course, participants will feel empowered to design their dashboards and work more effectively with cloud data. With our database basics course, gain the knowledge you need to succeed in today's digital age and enhance your value as a financial professional.

Publication Date: July 2023

Designed For
A business professional who would like to learn more about using a database for reporting and analysis.

Topics Covered

• Introduction and Overview of Databases
• Review of Major Database Components
• Overview of Structured Query Language (SQL)
• Creating and Working with Tables Databases
• Creating and Managing Relationships
• Building Database Queries using SQL
• Using Power Query to Access Your Data in Excel
• Building Reports using Power BI, Excel, and MyDBR

Learning Objectives

• List the major database platforms such as MySQL, Microsoft SQL, Postgres, Oracle, and more and identify their major features and how they are best utilized in an organization
• Identify the major characteristics, features, and syntax of the structured query language (SQL) and how it interacts with a database
• Identify the various tools to assist with databases, such as DBeaver and SQL Management Studio
• Describe SQL abilities by using Microsoft Power Query (for Excel or Power BI) to query a database and create reports from multiple database tables

Level
Intermediate

Instructional Method
Self-Study

NASBA Field of Study
Computer Software & Applications (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
Good working knowledge of Excel and business reporting. Knowledge about Power Query would be helpful but not required.

Advance Preparation
None