enterprise software course
Enterprise Database and Finance Applications Practice
Learn relational data, queries, and the core finance flows of a large business application suite.
about this course
What you will be able to do
- Remember Remember : data in tables.
- Apply Apply : asking questions with sql.
- Understand Understand : the general ledger and chart of accounts.
- Apply Apply : payables, receivables and cash.
- Analyse Analyse : reporting and month-end close.
- Evaluate Evaluate : controls, security and audit.
- Create Create : integration and performance design.
- Create Create : capstone: build and defend a finance data solution.
Task, condition and standard
Task
Learn relational data, queries, and the core finance flows of a large business application suite. Finish all 8 modules on a practice set-up.
Condition
A free trial or practice account, practice data only (never real customer data), a peer circle and a mentor for the final review.
Standard
Every module standard is met; records are kept; a peer and a mentor rate the work 'Meets' or better on the rubric.
Who it is for: Accountants, data staff, junior developers, finance operations staff, career changers. Requirements: a computer and internet. Materials: slides with notes, worked examples, activities, quiz, rubric.
How the ladder works: modules climb from L1 (remember) to L7 (create); the ladder section shows each level as a slide. Take them in order; the first three suit new learners, 4 and 5 suit practitioners, 6 and 7 suit advanced staff.
lesson by lesson
8 modules with worked examples
Module 1 Data in tables 2 hRememberL1 Basic
A database is a set of tables linked by keys.
- Table, row, column, key.
- Types: text, number, date.
- Why we do not store the same fact twice.
Activity. Sketch three linked tables for a small shop.
Standard to meet. Name the keys and repeat no facts.
Slides with notes
Module 2 Asking questions with SQL 3 hApplyL2 Awareness
SQL asks for exactly the rows and columns you need.
- SELECT, FROM, WHERE, ORDER BY.
- JOIN two tables.
- GROUP BY with totals and counts.
- Read before write: never run change commands on live data without a test.
Activity. Write six queries on the practice data set.
Standard to meet. Produce six correct results and run no write commands on live data.
Slides with notes
Module 3 The general ledger and chart of accounts 3 hUnderstandL3 Foundation
The ledger is the book where every money event lands.
- Chart of accounts: assets, liabilities, equity, income, expense.
- Double entry: debit equals credit.
- Periods, open and close.
Activity. Post ten practice journals and balance the trial.
Standard to meet. Balance the trial balance to zero.
Slides with notes
Module 4 Payables, receivables and cash 4 hApplyL4 Practitioner
Two flows run the business: what we owe and what we are owed.
- Purchase to pay: order, receipt, invoice, match, pay.
- Order to cash: quote, order, invoice, receipt, match.
- Three-way match and approval limits.
- Ageing report and follow-up.
Activity. Process five purchase invoices and five sales invoices; run an ageing report.
Standard to meet. Match or explain everything, and check that the ageing report is correct.
Slides with notes
Module 5 Reporting and month-end close 4 hAnalyseL5 Specialist
A calm close is a checked list, done the same way each month.
- Close calendar and owners.
- Accruals, reconciliations, review.
- Management reports and variance notes.
Activity. Run a practice month-end close with a check list.
Standard to meet. List fully ticked; variances explained in plain words.
Slides with notes
Module 6 Controls, security and audit 4 hEvaluateL6 Advanced
Controls stop mistakes and fraud without stopping work.
- Segregation of duties.
- Approval limits and logs.
- Backup, restore and access reviews.
Activity. Review a practice setup and list five control gaps with fixes.
Standard to meet. Identify five real gaps, each with a fix and owner.
Slides with notes
Module 7 Integration and performance design 5 hCreateL7 Super expert
At the top you design how systems talk and how fast they answer.
- Interfaces: files, services, messages.
- Indexes, query plans, batch windows.
- Data migration plan with reconciliation.
- Disaster recovery targets.
Activity. Write a design for a finance integration with migration and recovery plan.
Standard to meet. Design reviewed; recovery time and data loss limits stated.
Slides with notes
Module 8 Capstone: build and defend a finance data solution 4 hCreateL7 Super expert
The final task joins data, reports and controls in one small solution. You design the tables, write the queries, post and reconcile the entries, and then explain and defend your design to a reviewer.
- Design: sketch the tables and keys, then list the reports the finance team needs.
- Build: write queries for totals by month and by customer, and check them against the ledger.
- Control: list who can create, approve and pay, and show that no one person does all three.
- Defend: present the design in five minutes, including risks, test results and a restore plan.
Activity. Design and test a small finance reporting solution on the practice data set, reconcile it to the ledger and present it to a reviewer.
Standard to meet. Check that query totals equal ledger totals, pass three control checks, and confirm that the reviewer finds the design clear and the recovery plan realistic.
Slides with notes
assessment
How you are checked
Evidence: your records from each activity. A peer and a mentor mark it. Pass: no criterion at 'Not yet'.
| Criterion | Not yet | Meets | Exceeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | Steps wrong | Steps right on practice data | Right and explained to a peer |
| Evidence | No records | Records for each module | Records and a lessons note |
| Safety and privacy | Real data used | Practice data only | Rules written for others |
| Standard | Misses the standard | Meets every module standard | Meets and improves it |
Ten-question check, with model answers
Q1. A customer table and an invoice table are linked. What is the link called and why not repeat the customer address on every invoice?
Model answer: They are linked by a key, such as customer number. Storing the address once avoids mistakes when it changes. (Covered in module 1: Data in tables. To pass that module: Name the keys and repeat no facts.)
Q2. Write what this query does: SELECT region, SUM(amount) FROM sales GROUP BY region.
Model answer: It adds up the sales amount for each region and returns one row per region. (Covered in module 2: Asking questions with SQL. To pass that module: Produce six correct results and run no write commands on live data.)
Q3. In the capstone your query total for sales differs from the ledger by 40. What do you do?
Model answer: Trace the difference to its source, for example an invoice posted in the wrong period, fix the entry and write down the cause. Then re-run the reconciliation until the totals agree. (Covered in module 8: Capstone: build and defend a finance data solution. To pass that module: Check that query totals equal ledger totals, pass three control checks, and confirm that the reviewer finds the design clear and the recovery plan realistic.)
Q4. Buying a laptop for 1,000 by bank transfer: which accounts are debited and credited?
Model answer: Debit the equipment account by 1,000 and credit the bank account by 1,000. Debits equal credits. (Covered in module 3: The general ledger and chart of accounts. To pass that module: Balance the trial balance to zero.)
Q5. A trial balance shows debits of 52,300 and credits of 51,900. What does this tell you?
Model answer: The books do not balance, with a difference of 400. Look for a one-sided entry or a typing error. (Covered in module 3: The general ledger and chart of accounts. To pass that module: Balance the trial balance to zero.)
Q6. An invoice for 1,030 arrives for an order of 1,000 and the match allows 2 percent. What happens?
Model answer: The 3 percent difference is over the limit, so the invoice goes for approval. A person decides whether to pay. (Covered in module 4: Payables, receivables and cash. To pass that module: Match or explain everything, and check that the ageing report is correct.)
Q7. What three documents are compared in a three-way match?
Model answer: The purchase order, the goods receipt and the supplier invoice. They must agree before payment. (Covered in module 4: Payables, receivables and cash. To pass that module: Match or explain everything, and check that the ageing report is correct.)
Q8. Why does running reconciliations weekly shorten the month-end close?
Model answer: Problems are found and fixed early, so fewer surprises remain at month end. The close then follows a calm checklist. (Covered in module 5: Reporting and month-end close. To pass that module: List fully ticked; variances explained in plain words.)
Q9. Give one example of segregation of duties in payables.
Model answer: The person who creates a supplier is not the person who pays that supplier. This reduces the chance of fraud. (Covered in module 6: Controls, security and audit. To pass that module: Identify five real gaps, each with a fix and owner.)
Q10. A nightly interface of 200,000 rows takes too long. Name one fix and one thing to include in the recovery plan.
Model answer: Add an index on the column used to find rows and check the query plan. The plan should state recovery time and the limit of data loss. (Covered in module 7: Integration and performance design. To pass that module: Design reviewed; recovery time and data loss limits stated.)
levels L1 to L7
The ladder, slide by slide
Seven slides, one per level. Open each for the slide text and the speaker notes.
Slide 1 L1 Basic: L1 Basic
Remember the words table, row, column and key. Point to them on a small data example and say why one fact is stored once.
Speaker notes. Draw two linked tables on the board. Common mistake: copying the same customer details into many rows.
Slide 2 L2 Awareness: L2 Awareness
Understand how SQL asks for chosen rows and columns, and why you read before you write. Explain the difference between a query and a change command.
Speaker notes. Run a simple query together and ask what it returns. Common mistake: running update commands on live data.
Slide 3 L3 Foundation: L3 Foundation
Apply double entry to post journals and balance a trial. Explain how a period is opened and closed.
Speaker notes. Check that debits equal credits on every entry. Common mistake: posting one side only.
Slide 4 L4 Practitioner: L4 Practitioner
Apply the purchase-to-pay and order-to-cash flows with a three-way match and an ageing report. Resolve differences with a clear note.
Speaker notes. Ask learners to trace one invoice from order to payment. Common mistake: paying before the goods receipt.
Slide 5 L5 Specialist: L5 Specialist
Analyse a month-end close by using a calendar, reconciliations and plain-word variance notes. Find why numbers moved.
Speaker notes. Review a variance note for clarity. Common mistake: notes that repeat the number without giving the reason.
Slide 6 L6 Advanced: L6 Advanced
Evaluate a setup for control gaps such as missing segregation of duties, weak approvals and untested backups. Rank the gaps by risk.
Speaker notes. Ask for a fix and an owner for each gap. Common mistake: controls so strict that staff avoid them.
Slide 7 L7 Super expert: L7 Super expert
Create a full design for interfaces, indexes, migration and recovery, and defend it to a reviewer. State recovery time and data loss limits.
Speaker notes. Check that the design has numbers, not only words. Common mistake: no test of the restore plan.
jobs this leads to
Where this takes you
- Database support analyst. Runs queries and checks data.
- Finance systems analyst. Maintains ledger, payables, receivables.
- Report developer. Builds management reports.
- Application support lead. Handles incidents and changes.
- Finance systems architect. Designs integration and controls.
Next courses: data skills, process improvement, a sector course for your target employer.
ten locations and global
Your place
Local law changes how you store customer data and issue invoices. Check it for your place first.
India (Bengaluru)
Language: English, Hindi, Kannada. Use INR for amounts. Personal data rule: Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023. Skills frame to cite: National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) and the national credit framework.
Netherlands (Eindhoven area)
Language: Dutch, English. Use EUR for amounts. Personal data rule: EU GDPR (Dutch: AVG), supervised by the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens. Skills frame to cite: the Dutch qualification framework (NLQF) linked to the European Qualifications Framework.
UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi)
Language: Arabic, English. Use AED for amounts. Personal data rule: Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 (personal data protection). Skills frame to cite: the emirate education and training regulators (for example KHDA in Dubai) and the national qualifications framework.
Brazil (Sao Paulo)
Language: Portuguese (Spanish and English support). Use BRL for amounts. Personal data rule: LGPD (Lei Geral de Protecao de Dados). Skills frame to cite: the national technical-education catalogue and the national S-system training bodies.
Canada (Toronto)
Language: English, French. Use CAD for amounts. Personal data rule: PIPEDA, with provincial rules where they apply. Skills frame to cite: the provincial colleges framework and the national credential-recognition guidance.
United States
Language: English, Spanish. Use USD for amounts. Personal data rule: state privacy laws (for example California), and COPPA for children under 13. Skills frame to cite: state and community-college credit systems.
Singapore
Language: English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil. Use SGD for amounts. Personal data rule: Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). Skills frame to cite: the Singapore national skills frameworks and the national credit system.
Australia
Language: English. Use AUD for amounts. Personal data rule: the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles. Skills frame to cite: the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) levels.
Hong Kong (Eastern Asia)
Language: Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), English. Use HKD for amounts. Personal data rule: the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. Skills frame to cite: the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework.
Georgia and Israel (Western Asia)
Language: Georgian, Hebrew, Arabic, English. Use GEL or ILS for amounts. Personal data rule: the personal data law of the country where the learner lives. Skills frame to cite: the national qualifications framework of that country.
Cayman Islands (Caribbean)
Language: English. Use KYD for amounts. Personal data rule: the Data Protection Act. Skills frame to cite: the local education and training framework.
Mexico
Language: Spanish, English. Use MXN for amounts. Personal data rule: the federal law on personal data held by private parties. Skills frame to cite: the national competency certification system and the education ministry levels.
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Draft
Draft course. Written in our own words from our own training outlines; no third-party text is used. Not live.