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- Coursera's Content Strategy Change
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In the February 1, 2024 earnings call for Coursera’s Q4 2023, CFO Ken Hahn described an accounting change that I now believe underlies a significant strategic change [emphasis added].
And I'd like to begin with an update on our free cash flow definition. We have revised our definition to include cash outflows for purchases of content assets, a figure we already disclose in our statement of cash flows. We believe this change will be helpful to investors for 2 reasons. First, we continue to invest in the success of strategic content assets, particularly our entry-level Professional Certificates, while we are rapidly expanding with new and existing industry partners. In certain arrangements, we will help fund the production of courses and credentials in exchange for more attractive economics as well as exclusivity on Coursera's platform.
Historically, this amount was not large enough to have a meaningful impact, but we intend to increase these investments on a go-forward basis as part of our broader content strategy.
