Course Descriptions

FIN Course Descriptions

• FIN 330 EXCEL FOR FINANCIAL ANALYSIS (3)

  Provides students with skills in the use of EXCEL spreadsheets to prepare and present analyses for personal, corporate, real estate and investment finance. prerequisite: Prior or concurrent enrollment in FIN 331

• FIN 331 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (3)

  An overview and understanding of fundamental principles of financial decision-making and their application to internal and external problem-solving by the business enterprise. Topics include financial statement analysis and forecasting, time value of money and security valuation, corporate capital budgeting, cost of capital and capital structure. Thematic coverage encompasses the traditional, international and ethical dimensions of financial decision-making. prerequisites: ACCT 201, ECON 200 or 3 hours of micro- or macroeconomics, and MATH 115

• FIN 332 FINANCIAL MODELING AND COMMUNICATION (3)

  Designed to equip students with a working knowledge of the technical methods and tools of financial analysis, as well as to provide them with the ability to design and implement -professional-quality written, oral and electronic presentation of their results. Topics include financial statement constructions, creating exhibits for presentation of financial information, and analysis and communication of corporate financial policy. prerequisites: FIN 331 and INSS 300

• FIN 333 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT (3)

  An understanding of the basic valuation principles for financial instruments such as ­common stocks, bonds, and futures and options. These instruments are studied in the context of modern portfolio theory. Company and industry analysis projects provide the chance for practical experience. Prerequisite: FIN 331.

• FIN 340 FINANCIAL PLANNING (3)

  A practical introduction to applying financial concepts and tools such as the time value of money, risk-return tradeoffs, asset pricing models, and financial databases to personal financial decisions about budgeting, housing, debt, insurance, taxes, retirement planning, education planning and investments. Prerequisite: FIN 331.

• FIN 420 RISK AND INSURANCE (3)

  Fundamental concepts of insurance/reinsurance products as risk management tools for individuals and corporations. Topics include the regulatory environment, financial operations of insurance companies and the role of the capital market in the risk management process. Prerequisite: Merrick School of Business students or by permission of the instructor.

• FIN 430 ENTREPRENEURIAL ORGANIZATION AND FINANCE (3)

  Provides knowledge and training in the area of capital acquisition strategies and tactics through the life cycle of an entrepreneurial venture and coverage of valuation techniques as applied to the allocation of business areas. Topics include start-up and mezzanine financing and bridging to initial public offers on the capital budgeting and internal control techniques applied in the strategic context developed in earlier courses. Prerequisite: FIN 331.

• FIN 433 INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (3)

  In global financial markets, exchange rate risk exposure demands careful management and the use of financial instruments for hedging currency risk. These include currency options, futures and swaps. Working capital management and long-term financing and investment decisions are also crucial to today’s financial managers and need to be understood in the context of expanding global financial markets. Prerequisite: FIN 331.

• FIN 450 FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS AND FIRM VALUATION (3)

  Students learn how to apply the tools of financial ratio analysis, financial statement forecasting, and valuation taken from a wide variety of business settings and industries, including retail, manufacturing, distribution, service, and technology. Students also learn how to create well-crafted presentation exhibits and written documents, and develop the ability to present the findings of their analysis in verbal and written forms. Prerequisites: FIN 330 and FIN 331.

• FIN 470 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS (3)

  Introduces the fundamentals of real estate investment analysis, including elements of mortgage financing and taxation, and applies the standard tools of financial analysis and economics to real estate valuation. Topics include traditional and nontraditional appraisal methods, techniques of real estate financing, real estate work-outs, innovations in real estate financing and the relationship to the macroeconomic environment. prerequisites: FIN 331

• FIN 471 REAL ESTATE FINANCE (3)

  Analyzes the instruments, techniques and institutions of real estate finance. Emphasis is placed on the sources of funds, mortgage risk analysis and typical policies and procedures used in financing residential and commercial properties. Prerequisite: FIN 331

• FIN 493 HONORS SEMINAR (3)

  An advanced interdisciplinary seminar that focuses on important books and issues and encourages independent thinking, clear presentation and an understanding of the concerns and methods of various disciplines. The course may be team taught; topic and instructor(s) may change from semester to semester. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. prerequisites: 3.3 GPA and permission of the Denit Honors Program director

• FIN 494 HONORS PROJ/THESIS (3 - 6)

  Directed individual instruction in an advanced project of the student's choice; the project must be academically related to this discipline. Each student works closely with a faculty director who guides his/her progress. The project must be of honors quality and must be finally approved by both the faculty director and a second faculty member. Course is eligible for a continuing studies grade. prerequisites: 3.3 GPA and permission of both the Denit Honors Program director and the faculty director

• FIN 495 INTERNSHIP IN FINANCE (3)

  Provides students with practical real-world experience in an organization. The course requires a minimum of 120 hours of practical work with a qualified firm based on explicit statements of student responsibilities and faculty/firm monitoring mechanism. Students will work closely with both the firm and a faculty member. prerequisites: completion of 9 hours of finance courses, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 in these courses. Completion of MGMT 330 is recommended. Permission of the department chair is required.

• FIN 497 SPEC TOPIC: (3)

  The economics and finance faculty, from time to time, offer an opportunity to integrate new material into the undergraduate program reflecting changes in the field and in the educational needs of students. Prerequisites: FIN 331.

• FIN 499 INDEPENDENT STUDY : FINANCE (1 - 3)

  An independent study under the direction of a faculty member. For ­eligibility and procedures, refer to the Merrick School of Business Independent Study Policy. Prerequisites: Merrick School of Business students and by permission of the instructor.

• FIN 505 ESSENTIALS OF FINANCE (1.50)

  Provides introductory-level coverage of financial management. Topics include overview of financial markets, financial statement analysis, time value of money, risk-return tradeoff, security pricing and valuation, and capital budgeting decision tools.

• FIN 605 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (1.50)

  The course provides intermediate-level coverage of topics in financial statements and their analysis, financial forecasting, security risk and pricing and capital budgeting. The course is designed to build on the basic skills acquired in introductory finance courses. Prerequisites: FIN 505 or permission of MBA program director

• FIN 615 ENTREPRENEURIAL FINANCE (1.50)

  Provides intermediate-level coverage of topics in venture capital and private equity, asset allocation, security risk and pricing, decision-making and nonpublic corporate finance. prerequisite: FIN 605

• FIN 624 FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING ANALYTICS (3)

  This course focuses on applying cutting-edge analytics and artificial intelligence (e.g. machine learning and generative AI) techniques to examine 11big data" in finance, accounting, and auditing. Students will acquire working knowledge of common financial data analytics software packages (e.g. Python, SAS, Tableau, ChatGPT and similar generative AI packages). The course will heavily emphasize using data analytics techniques in solving common finance, accounting and auditing problems through using data preparation, data visualization, and analysis techniques. Prerequisite: FIN 605

• FIN 625 CORPORATE FINANCE (1.50)

  Provides advanced-level coverage of capital budgeting and intermediate-level coverage of topics in asset pricing, capital structure, dividend policy, and derivative instruments such as options and futures. prerequisite: FIN 605

• FIN 700 FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS (3)

  Integrates U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and International Financial Reporting Standards to develop students’ understanding of financial accounting transactions, reporting standards, and their resulting impact on companies’ financial statement analysis and forecasting. Topics include standard setting, financial statement presentation issues, measurement issues (including fair-value accounting) and classification and recognition issues, and their impact on financial statement analysis and forecasting. The course emphasizes the use of data analytics, data visualization, and report-writing techniques as part of financial statement analysis. Prerequisites: ACCT 505 and FIN 605

• FIN 704 FINANCIAL MARKETS AND INSTITUTIONS (3)

  Covers the theory and role of efficient financial markets in the general economy; the structure and regulation of the debt, equity and derivative markets; and the functional management of financial institutions, including commercial and investment banks, investment funds and regulatory agencies. prerequisite: FIN 605

• FIN 715 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS (3)

  Provides the theory and tools for measuring and managing the risk and return of financial instruments in the context of modern portfolio theory. A variety of stock, bond, option and other financial asset valuation techniques are presented throughout the course. The course utilizes data analytics skills in financial data analysis. Prerequisites: FIN 605.

• FIN 720 GLOBAL FINANCE (3)

  Emphasizes two aspects of global finance: 1) international capital market structure, interest rate and exchange rate determination; and 2) international corporate financial management of risk and return. Topics include: interest rate, purchasing power and international Fisher parities; hedging and management of international interest-rate and exchange-rate risk; and foreign exchange forecasting. The course utilizes data analytics skills in financial data analysis. Prerequisites: FIN 605.

• FIN 724 APPLICATIONS OF BUSINESS ANALYTICS AND MACHINE LEARNING (1.50)

  The course examines main algorithms of Supervised and Unsupervised Learning, and Reinforcement Learning, and will be able to use ML open source Python packages to design, test, and implement ML algorithms in Finance.

• FIN 725 RISK MANAGEMENT (3)

  Provides a comprehensive overview of concepts and tools of corporate risk management, including identification and measurement of value-added, risk and managing the trade-off between the two. Topics include: value-at-risk measures; application of options and futures contracts to risk management; and managing interest rate, credit and other forms of operating risk. The course utilizes financial data-processing and statistical dynamic modeling techniques as well as report writing used in financial data analytics. Prerequisite: FIN 605.

• FIN 750 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT (3)

  An advanced course in the analysis and valuation of income-producing real property with an emphasis on data analytics. Topics include real estate cash flow analysis, internal rate of return, analysis under risk and uncertainty, appraisal techniques, alternative financing forms, market analysis and the securitization of real property and mortgages. Both theory and case analysis are employed and students will get an understanding of the value of the ARGUS real estate analysis software. Prerequisite: FIN 605

• FIN 755 REAL ESTATE FINANCE (3)

  Analyzes the instruments, techniques and institutions of real estate finance. Emphasis is placed on the sources of funds, mortgage risk analysis and typical policies and procedures used in financing residential and commercial properties, as well as the use of data analytic skills. Prerequisite: FIN 605

• FIN 760 SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (3)

  This course provides a study of how successful nonprofit organizations respond to the challenges of expanding their impact, being socially responsible, fiscally accountable, and finding new sources of revenue. The course will investigate innovative ways to generate both financial and social returns on their investments. Students will engage with live social entrepreneurs to evaluate and respond to market opportunities to develop and grow social enterprises. Prerequisites: FIN 640.

• FIN 770 NEW VENTURE FINANCING (3)

  Covers financing and entrepreneurial organization from startup to initial public offering and beyond. Topics include identification and assessment of capital needs, financial planning, sources of capital and the role of venture capital, and the capital markets in financing entrepreneurial organizations. prerequisite: FIN 640 or FIN 605

• FIN 780 BUSINESS VALUATION (3)

  Business valuation arises in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, estate taxation, lost profits litigation, buy-out agreements, commercial lending, venture capital, IPOs, and other exit strategies. This course addresses valuation modeling, using asset pricing theory and practice and employing advanced applications such as data analytics applications and tools, and corporate databases. The course material is of interest to students who envision careers as CPAs, business valuation experts, corporate finance analysts and investment bankers. Prerequisite: FIN 605.

• FIN 792 SPECIAL TOPICS IN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (1.50)

  Enables the presentation of specialized topics in finance, allowing flexibility for both the changing developments in finance and the educational needs of students. Topic areas may include entrepreneurial finance, cash and liquidity. Exact topics and prerequisites are posted in the University schedule of classes. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. prerequisite: FIN 640 or FIN 605

• FIN 795 GRADUATE FINANCE INTERNSHIP (3)

  Students will attain professional experience in finance and work on assigned projects within a workplace finance environment. Requirements include a work supervisor evaluation, a journal detailing the work experience, and a self-assessment of the student's Internship experience. Graduate standing and permission of instructor.

• FIN 797 SPECIAL TOPICS IN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (3)

  Enables the presentation of specialized topics in finance, allowing flexibility for both the changing developments in finance and the educational needs of students. Topic areas may include entrepreneurial finance, cash and liquidity. Exact topics and prerequisites are posted in the University schedule of classes. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. prerequisite: FIN 640 or FIN 605

• FIN 799 INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH (1 - 3)

  Individual research in an area of interest to the student. The expectation is that work equivalent to a regular graduate course will be completed. Formal paper(s) will be written under the supervision of a full-time faculty member. prerequisites: approval of finance instructor, department chair and academic adviser