Master of Science in Finance and Financial Services – Financial Planning Track online

This course provides students with an introduction to basic accounting fundamentals and skills necessary to analyze financial information of firms from a decision-maker perspective. Financial information is presented in the form of financial statements, principally, the income statement, balance sheet, statement of retained earnings, and cash flow statement. We will discuss how accountants organize the results of business transactions and report them to external users who will then use the reports to make decisions.

This course will help students to develop a comprehensive analysis of the micro and macroeconomic forces that shape and modify our economy. Supply and Demand, Revenue and Cost, wages, employment, regulations and taxation are discussed as they affect production, consumption, investment, trade, prices, quantities, profits, inequality, and the economy as a whole.

A study of the basic principles and practices of financial management of private (as opposed to government owned or affiliated) business operations. The principles and models discussed in the course can be equally applied to publicly listed companies as well as privately owned ones. This course includes an operational framework for financial analysis, financial planning including capital budgeting, along with valuation analysis and cost of capital. The basic framework of analysis used is that of risk and return, emphasizing that the objective of the firm is to maximize shareholder return, subject to satisfying societal and other stakeholder concerns.

The main objective of this course is to introduce the basic statistical concepts and tools in order to form the foundation through which students can analyze data used for decision-making. The course is application-oriented and focuses on topics that are useful in business and industry such as descriptive statistics, probability, conceptual modeling, and problem formulation and decision analysis. The course prepares students to develop an understanding of how to deal with new trends in the industry such as big data and data mining.

This course provides an analysis of the Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and valuation of securities. It explores the risk and return characteristics of various financial investment instruments, such as stocks, fixed income securities, options, and other derivatives. The student develops an understanding of pricing processes, valuation models, efficient markets, international capital markets, and rational expectations. The student is also exposed to global financial markets from the perspective of long-term investments. A simulation portfolio investment game is conducted in the class. The course extensively uses both global and domestic real-time data available at the trading floor.

This course provides a study of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code with emphasis on income taxation of individuals. The course looks at tax-minimizing decision-making of individuals. The course is a practical study of federal income taxes and emphasizes research techniques and tax planning principles; it provides practice in the preparation of tax returns and solution of case problems.

This course deals with the environment in which international business is conducted, including economic and financial relations, environmental and strategic factors that affect business operations within different nations. Topics include the balance of payment, exchange rate determination, fundamental theories, efficiency theories, technical theories, hedging of foreign exchange exposure, transaction foreign exchange exposure and its management, translation foreign exchange exposure and its management, Operating currency exposure and its management. Multinational capital budgeting. Also reviewed are the economic, political and cultural conditions that influence international business.

This course introduces students to insurance concepts, and strategies used for the evaluation and management of risk.   Student will cover in detail different types of insurance including property, health, disability and life insurance and their usage.

This course is designed to advance students’ skills and competence in retirement planning service. This course will focus on the rules, regulatory consideration of retirement plans, household retirement planning needs analysis, process and investment vehicles in retirement income and distribution management.

Estate Planning focuses on the efficient conservation and transfer of wealth, consistent with the client’s goals. It is a study of the legal, tax, financial and non-financial aspects of this process, covering topics such as trusts, wills, probate, advanced directives, charitable giving, wealth transfers and related taxes.

This course is designed to for students to integrate the personal financial planning knowledge acquired in all courses and apply that knowledge to create a comprehensive financial plan using professional planning software. Student will need to collect data, analyze the data and identify the problems, and apply critical thinking and problem solving in order to determine a set of recommendations for a given client

Managers need resources to succeed, and successful managers tend to negotiate well to give themselves the best chance to succeed. They negotiate with customers and suppliers for better prices, and they negotiate with internal functions to get better support and key resources to deliver value to both internal and external stakeholders. As managers move up the corporate ladder, they negotiate with their team members for better commitment and they negotiate with their superiors for domain independence. This course will focus on managers’ need to influence others, manage conflict, and negotiate agreements in a wide range of business scenarios both within and outside the organization. Students will be introduced to basic theories of negotiation, practices and frameworks of negotiation. Students will be provided with opportunities to reshape their understanding of negotiation, discover their own negotiation styles, and apply negotiation principles to critical issues. The course takes a view that negotiation is also a life skill that comes in handy in career growth and addresses the managers need to understand that influencing often occurs without formal power or authority. The course uses a combination of lectures, discussions, role-play exercises, cases, and exams.

This course deals with the environment in which international business is conducted, including economic and financial relations, environmental and strategic factors that affect business operations within different nations. Topics include international trade, the balance of payment, exchange rate determination, hedging of foreign exchange exposure, tariffs and other trade restrictions, economic development, economic integration, and international economic organizations within different nations. Also reviewed are the economic, political and cultural conditions that influence international business.

A study of the theoretical and empirical bases for international economic transactions among nations. Emphasis is placed on understanding various theories of trade; cost and benefits of international specialization; and protectionism, quotas, tariffs, and trade policy. In addition, the course examines several topics in international finance such as exchange rate determination, balance of payments, and open economy macroeconomics.

This course discusses various cases pertaining to corporate finance following the case study approach. Complex financial problems are explored in depth. Students are expected to analyze multi-faceted financial problems from the standpoint of the financial manager of a business enterprise, including domestic, global, and multinational firms. The students are primarily exposed to the concept of value creation, which encompasses capital investment analysis including risk analysis; financing, including evaluating sources of capital; and major strategic decision making, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.

The primary objective of this course is to discuss the process of portfolio management. It covers the concepts of management of individual investor portfolios, management of institutional investor portfolios, professional ethical standards of practice, equity portfolio management strategies, debt portfolio management strategies, real estate and alternative investments in portfolio management, portfolio risk management, and portfolio performance measurement and presentation.

This course covers introduction to derivatives and basic trading strategies. Attention is paid to two primary types of derivative securities: options and futures. It examines the nature of various strategies involving futures and options on stocks, stock indexes, currencies, and underlying futures. Both the standard binomial and Black-Scholes option pricing models are developed to value the options and futures. The feature of embedded options in convertible bond and other exotic options is discussed.

The course provides a rigorous introduction to the world of commercial banking and related financial services which includes an overview of field, an analysis of commercial banks, including how to analyze and evaluate bank financial statements; profit drivers in banking; managing principal risks in banking, including credit (loan management) and interest rate (asset liability management) risks, and finally the evolving role of commercial banking in the twenty first century. The course is designed for students who are interested in a career in banking and financial services, or for those who are already there and would like to upgrade their discipline based analytical and other skills.

This course is an in-depth study of the information contained in the financial statements and the techniques to analyze corporate profitability and risk, and to make credit and investment decisions

This course is directed toward students interested in understanding how large-scale complex risk can be quantified, managed, and hedged. We identify the enterprise and business risks; regulatory requirements such as Basel I, II, III; and techniques to measure and report risk. This course will enhance MBA students' potential ability to pursue career opportunities in financial banks, credit analysis, and other related areas.

This course focuses on data-driven analytic techniques for valuation and decision making using financial market information. The course will cultivate students quantitative thinking and modeling skills by emphasizing application of financial econometrics in modern data sets. This course weighs equally on both theoretical and practical learning. As for theories regarding financial time series, we will learn linear time series models for stationary series (AR, MA, ARMA) and for unit-root non-stationary series; volatility analysis (ARCH, GARCH). The course will also cover entry-level topics in empirical asset pricing models (CAPM and other factor models) Practical learning involves using R to read, manipulate, and analyze financial data with real applications.

This course is designed to provide in-depth overview of financial management concepts and tools and their applications. The topics include cost of capital, discounted cash flow analysis, optimal capital structure theory, dividend payout policy, real options valuation in capital budgeting decision, valuation of risky debt and term structure of interest rates, warrants and convertibles, lease analysis, and the analysis of mergers and acquisitions.

This course is designed to provide rigorous introduction to the world of entrepreneurship and its financing needs that are synergistic with the business strategy of a new venture. The course discusses development of a business plan, and given such a plan, provides an analysis, assessment of the financing needs of the venture and development of a financing plan to provide the needed funding. In the process, the course provides a comprehensive introduction to the question of enterprise valuation, from the points of view of both the outside investor and the entrepreneur. Basically, this course is designed for a student who will, at some point of time in his/her career, will get involved in a traditional entrepreneurial activity, either as a startup, as a significant expansion of an existing venture, or in a large corporation as part of a corporate entrepreneurial activity building a new venture.