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Cornell’s New Certificate Program Teaches How to Leverage Blockchain Technology

Interest in blockchain is rapidly growing, as companies in every industry begin to recognize the many benefits of this innovative new technology. From smart contracts to cloud and supply chain storage, applications of this technology extend well beyond cryptocurrency and financial transactions.

Cornell has launched the new Blockchain for Business certificate program online through eCornell. It will help learners explore blockchain’s cryptographic roots, demystify the technology and recognize how to use blockchain to solve myriad business problems.

“Many associate blockchains with cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, but they have many other applications,” says Ari Juels, professor of computer science at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech and author of the program. “Our Blockchain for Business certificate program will explore the full power of blockchains with learners, enabling them to leverage blockchains’ powerful capabilities, recognize their often-overlooked technical limitations and apply them to real-world business goals.”

Business and technology leaders, entrepreneurs, developers and software engineers interested in learning blockchain fundamentals, and anyone seeking to develop a greater understanding of blockchain and cryptocurrency will find value in the program.

Upon completion of the Blockchain for Business certificate program, learners can apply their new skillset back at work by identifying key areas where blockchain technology can help create efficiency, save time and money, and increase security. Further, learners will be able to recognize whether a blockchain is backed by solid cryptographic building blocks to avoid bad business decisions. Courses include:

  • Cryptocurrencies and ledgers;
  • Cryptography essentials;
  • Blockchain fundamentals; and
  • Applications of blockchain technology.

Upon successful completion of all four courses, learners earn a Blockchain for Business Certificate from Cornell Tech.

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Which Job Offer Should You Choose? Here’s a Great Tool To Evaluate Compensation Packages.

What matters most to you when it comes to your job compensation package? How do you decide which job to select if presented with multiple job offers or considering leaving one employer for another? 

Different people have different needs. As a result, pay matters differently to different people. Some employees prefer flexibility over a higher base pay. Others prefer options that will offer more long-term benefits. 

This unique total job compensation calculator, developed by Professor Kevin Hallock, a faculty member and dean in Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, can help guide you in your decision-making. You can compare different job offers and calculate their total rewards below. 

ACCESS THE JOB COMPENSATION CALCULATOR 

Feel free to put this tool to use on an individual level, to analyze your own offers, or within an organizational context, to design and evaluate competitive compensation systems. If you’re a manager or HR leader, you can use this tool to explore various types of rewards within the context of employee preferences and perceptions. Consider your organizational goals. What matters most to the talent you want to attract and retain? What components do they value most? 

This calculator is part of the curriculum in the Compensation Studies Certificate program developed by Cornell’s ILR School. If you’re an HR professional or  business leader, we invite you to learn more about this unique online program.

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New Online Certificate from CIPA Prepares Leaders to Manage Nonprofit Finances

Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA) launched its first online certificate, Financial Success for Nonprofits, to prepare professionals to guide nonprofits to financial sustainability amid rapid changes in technology, policy and wealth distribution. The certificate is offered through eCornell.

“This program provides a crucial orientation to today’s nonprofit world. We move beyond numbers to examine perceptions of impact, and what happens when things aren’t going well and leaders have to love an organization enough to make the hard decisions,” said Joseph Grasso, faculty author of the certificate and associate dean for finance, administration and corporate relations at the ILR School.

Financial Success for Nonprofits consists of four courses that can be completed over two months, in three to five hours per week and prepares students to:

  • use and interpret nonprofit financial statements and ratios;
  • create a realistic budget using good judgment and strategic analysis of programmatic impact;
  • assess opportunities for influence and develop a structured fundraising program; and
  • establish healthy board governance through consensus decision-making, awareness and fiduciary accountability.

The certificate is ideal for CEOs, executive directors, new board members, administrators and program staff from all types of nonprofits, and for lawyers who serve the nonprofit sector. Students who complete the certificate earn a Financial Success for Nonprofits Certificate from the College of Human Ecology, of which CIPA is a part.

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The Time Value of Money

As a manager, you may be asked to make financial decisions within your organization. However, the world of corporate finance can be an overwhelming one. There are a variety of new terms, concepts and tools to learn about in order to really understand your organization’s financial standing and to make a sound decision.

One of the primary concepts to understand is the time value of money (TVM); it is a critical element of financial management within organizations, and the principles being discussed below have relevance for personal financial management as well. As a non-financial manager within your company, you want to be conversant in the ways that the time value of money affects your company’s ability to borrow, invest, and expand in general, as well as to fund your projects. Professors Steve Carvell and Scott Gibson explain in this video.

eCornell’s Financial Management certificate will introduce you to the concepts and formulas you need to be able to understand, and speak to, the financial workings of your organization. Having a holistic understanding of this will allow you to more easily advance in your organization.

Tuesday, 5/17 at 1 pm EDT, we’ll be talking live with Professors Carvell & Gibson as they disucss key financial principles that are critical for every professional to understand – regardless of industry or level of experience. To attend for free, please sign up here. Learn more about our Financial Management certificate here.

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Basics of Startup Financial Planning

What goes into a useful set of financial projections for a startup?

How do you go about building a set of projections that meet your needs and best position you for success?

In this free webinar, Tom Schryver, Visiting Lecturer of Management at Cornell University, provides an overview of financial modeling and planning principles for startups. This session includes:

• How different reviewers of these projections look at them, and what they look for
• A high level overview of how to construct a set of projections
• How to break down the components of financial projections into actionable blocks

Tom is an experienced entrepreneur, having served as a startup founder and senior executive of high-growth companies. He has successfully structured new companies and raised capital in the form of private venture capital and venture debt as well as grants and loans from local, state and federal agencies. He has managed accounting and compliance functions from initial startup through successful financial audits by national accounting firms, and helped guide company strategy, growth and development.

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What Counts and What Gets Counted

Accountants and business leaders move up through the ranks not just because they know how to interpret financial reports (though that helps), but because they understand how organizational systems are designed, and how people respond and perform within those systems.

In this eBook What Counts and What Is Counted: Seeing Organizations Through an Accountant’s Eyes, Cornell professor Dr. Rob Bloomfield shows how business performance is measured and reported, and reviews essential concepts in cost accounting and financial reporting. Your vocabulary is one of the most visible markers of your business acumen. Business professionals listen, talk, and write for a living, and they judge you by the terms you use, and misuse. In essence, Prof. Bloomfield’s research and focus is on communicating the language of business.

 

For a primer on the eBook, check out Prof. Bloomfield’s webinar Measuring and Improving Business Performance, where he reviews several central topics and themes found throughout the book. You can watch the webinar replay and download the slide deck below.

If you want to learn how to measure and improve overall business performance at your organization, check out Prof. Bloomfield’s six-course online certificate program at eCornell.