Finance Concentration MBA Courses
- BFIN 2006—Financial Management—3 credits
- The objective of this course is to introduce the student to the basic principles of the modern theory of corporate finance. These principles are applied to the investment and financing decisions of individuals and firms. Emphasis is placed on the role of time and uncertainty in making investment and financing decisions. The main topics are the time value of money, capital budgeting, risk and return, basic financing instruments, and the choice of financial structure.
- Prerequisites: BACC 2401 (Accounting), BQOM 2401 (Statistical Analysis).
- BFIN 2013—Efficiency of Capital Markets—1.5 credits
- This course deals with one of the most fundamental intuitions in finance, which serves as the backbone of our understanding of financial theory and real-world practice. This intuition guides the financial managers and individual investors in their investment and financial decisions. The following issues are discussed: What can a financial manager learn from the stock market on how to maximize shareholder wealth? Why do stock prices fluctuate? Do they reflect available information about the firm? Do stock prices reflect the present value of future cash flows? We discuss topics such as information contained in insider trading, stock splits, changes in accounting earnings, and merger announcements, as well as understanding the performance of mutual funds. Various event study methodologies are taught and the financial and economic implications of various findings are discussed.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006.
- BFIN 2015—Short-Term Finance—1.5 credits
- The primary focus of this course is short-term financial management. Major topics include cash operating cycle, cash forecasting, accounts receivable management, inventory management, sources of short-term financing, credit analysis, and loan structuring.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006.
- BFIN 2030—Valuation 1—1.5 credits
- This course examines the discounted cash flow approach to valuing business firms. Students develop the skills necessary to project free cash flows, estimate the cost of capital, compute terminal values, conduct sensitivity analyses, identify value drivers, and estimate the values of firms. It is a "hands-on" course in which students are required to value an actual company.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006.
- BFIN 2130—Valuation 2—1.5 credits
- This course examines a number of topics in the area of business valuation, including alternatives to the discounted cash flow model, intricacies involved in estimates of the cost of capital and terminal values, and valuation of acquisition targets, private companies, financial institutions, foreign companies, and e-commerce companies.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2030.
- BFIN 2031—Creating Value Through Restructuring—1.5 credits
- Building on concepts developed in Valuation, this course examines how and why different types of corporate restructuring affect firm value. The topics include mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, leveraged recapitalization, takeover defenses, spinoffs, "carveouts," targeted stock, employee stock ownership plans, internal restructuring of decision rights in firms, and the use of EVA in compensation plans. The course uses both case studies and readings from the applied corporate finance literature.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2030.
- BFIN 2033—International Financial Management 1—1.5 credits
- The primary focus of this course is the understanding and application of the concepts of corporate finance, financial markets, and investments in an international context. Specific topics include an overview of the international financial markets (currency, equity, and bond markets), the "parity conditions" of international finance, foreign exchange risk management, global portfolio investment, and international capital budgeting.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006.
- BFIN 2039—Investment Management/Capital Markets—3 credits
- The objective of Investment Management/Capital Markets is to provide the student with a theoretical and practical background in the field of investments. The course will cover the major topics of financial markets, portfolio theory, security valuation, capital market equilibrium and risk-return trade-off, performance evaluation, and international diversification. The course is intended for those students who want to become investment professionals or those who want to be wise individual investors. Real-world examples will be given to make connections with the theoretical framework.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006.
- BFIN 2043—International Financial Management—3 credits
- IFM is of interest to all finance students. Individuals who expect to work in commercial banks; investment banks; major accounting firms; various financial institutions ranging from insurance companies to real estate firms to hedge funds; government regulatory agencies; and in corporations with exposure to international markets. The material is an essential building block for all students seeking a career in the financial services industry and who intend to pursue master's-level business training.
- Prerequisites: Financial Management (BFIN 2006) is the only pre-requisite for International Finance course (BFIN 2043).
- BFIN 2047—Topics in Investments—1.5 credits
- This is a course whose content depends on the instructor. Previously the course has covered topics including active and passive investment strategies, investment styles and benchmarks, arbitrage and hedge funds, fundamental and quantitative investment styles, and behavioral finance.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006.
- BFIN 2048—Applied Corporate Finance—1.5 credits
- This is a course whose content depends on the instructor. Previously the course has covered topics including mergers and acquisitions, management and leveraged buyouts, distressed debt investing, etc. The course may make use of guest speakers who have experience relevant to the topics being covered.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2030 (Valuation 1 is strongly recommended).
- BFIN 2051—Introduction to Derivatives—1.5 credits
- The purpose of this course is to introduce participants to derivative securities with particular focus on four basic derivatives: forwards, futures, options, and swaps. Toward this purpose, we will examine the structure of these contracts, discuss the techniques used for their valuation, and explore the various uses of these financial products in speculation and risk management.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006.
- BFIN 2056—Derivatives: Applications to Valuation and Value Creation—1.5 credits
- Over the past few decades, some of the most interesting developments in finance have been the results of financial engineering. Financial engineering is a process by which quantitative methods are used to design financial instruments and the financial structure of an organization in order to maximize that organization's effectiveness. The purpose of this course is to introduce participants to corporate financial engineering. Toward this purpose, we will explore how and why financial engineering is used in a variety of settings primarily with the use of cases.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2051.
- BFIN 2060—Independent Study in Finance—variable credits
- An independent course of study in finance may be arranged with a faculty member and a student advisor.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006.
- BFIN 2123—Commercial Banking—1.5 credits
- This course examines the role commercial banks play in facilitating the flow of capital between providers of capital (i.e., depositors) and users of capital (i.e., borrowers). Given that depositors could lend directly to borrowers without using banks, the course explores why banks may offer benefits to both depositors and borrowers relative to direct lending. The risks faced by banks and the effective management of these risks are central themes of the course. While the perspective will generally be that of a bank manager, the course will also examine financing transactions from the viewpoint of firms seeking financing from banks.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006.
- BFIN 2124—Investment Banking and Venture Capital—1.5 credits
- This course analyzes the services provided by investment banks, securities firms, and mutual, venture capital, and leveraged buyout funds. The focus is on the role of these institutions in the corporate capital acquisition process. The course will examine financing transactions from the viewpoints of managers of these financial institutions and managers of firms seeking financing.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006.
- BFIN 2140—Real Estate Finance—1.5 credits
- This course provides an introduction to real estate with a focus on the valuation and financing of real estate. The following topics are expected to be covered as the course focuses on income producing properties: economic theory of real estate; valuation techniques (including pro-forma cash flow projections); financing strategies; risk analysis; taxation; and the securitization of real property interests.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006.
- BFIN 2145—Financial Modeling—3 credits
- The course will apply finance theory to solve various problems in financial management and investments. It will take a hands-on approach in building financial spreadsheet models using Microsoft excel. Students will learn to address issues that arise in various areas of financial analyses. These issues include but are not limited to discounted cash flow valuation, cost of capital estimation, asset return calculations, portfolio theory, index models, option pricing models, bond pricing and investment performance analysis.
- Prerequisites: BFIN 2006 AND BFIN 2030 (Valuation 1).
- BQOM 2530—Distribution Networks—1.5 credits
- Distribution Networks is the first of a two-part course sequence in the domain of supply chains that focuses on critical issues associated with multi-facility supply and demand network management, and discusses not just its underlying tactical and operational aspects but also touches upon its strategic implications. The course emphasizes the creation and maintenance of value in the supply network, an activity critical to the survival of all organizations. Value creation can be accomplished by increasing revenue (e.g. by making the delivery system more flexible and responsive to the customer) and/or by decreasing cost (e.g., by eliminating unnecessary activities from the distribution channel and efficiently managing the others). The topics covered include network design and location logistics decisions, alternative distribution models, hierarchical network planning, and managing supply and demand. Using case studies and software packages, we examine the intricacies of demand network management and the underlying tools, methodologies, and decision support systems.
- Prerequisites: BQOM 2411.
