Current version - Indiana University South Bend

883 SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
Finance
The ability to analyze a corporation’s financial status,
and to implement sound financial programs for raising
capital and for choosing from among competing
investment opportunities, is of the utmost importance to
any business organization.
Students who graduate with a finance concentration
are prepared for entry-level positions in finance. This
includes positions in financial institutions such as
commercial banks, savings and loans, credit unions,
brokerage and investment banking firms, investment
advisory organizations, insurance companies, mutual
funds, and pension funds. In addition to opportunities
in the financial services industry, extensive employment
opportunities exist in the corporate sector as well as in
government.
Courses on financial institutions, financial decision
making, business financial management, investments,
security analysis, and portfolio management enable
students to acquire a depth of understanding in areas of
particular interest.
The field of finance traditionally is divided into three
subfields: financial markets and institutions, investments,
and business financial management. Financial markets
and institutions examine the ways in which financial
intermediaries such as commercial banks, insurance
companies, and pension funds facilitate the transfer
of funds from savers/investors to demanders of funds
who engage in the production and consumption of real
economic goods and services.
Services provided by financial institutions include the
evaluation and bearing of risk and the repackaging
of funds in terms of maturity and size of investment.
Also examined, on a macro basis, are the markets for
financial securities created by corporations and financial
intermediaries.
Typical questions would be what sectors of government
and the economy are the foremost demanders of funds
in different segments of the business cycle and, in
aggregate, what proportion of corporate financing has
been provided by debt over time.
Investments is the study of how individuals and
institutions allocate funds to financial assets such
as stocks, bonds, options and futures contracts and,
to a lesser extent, real assets such as real estate and
precious metals. Investments is itself divided into two
areas: security analysis, concerned with the valuation
of individual securities; and portfolio management,
concerned with the selection of combinations of assets
such that return is maximized given the level of risk that
is borne.
Business financial management concentrates on the
management of a firm’s assets, both short-term working
capital and longer-term capital projects, and on the
financing of these assets. Financing considerations
include the choice of capital structure (proportions of
debt and equity used in the financing mix) and dividend
policy.
Concentration Requirements
(All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise designated.)
Junior and Senior Years
BUS-F 302 Financial Decision Making
BUS-F 345 Money, Banking, and Capital
Markets
BUS-F 420 Equity and Fixed Income
Investment
BUS-F 444 Applications in Financial
Management
Select three of the following:
BUS-A 311 Intermediate Accounting I
BUS-A 312 Intermediate Accounting II*
BUS-A 325 Cost Accounting*
BUS-F 423 Topics in Investment
BUS-F 446 Bank and Financial Intermediation
BUS-F 490 Independent Study in Finance
BUS-F 494 International Finance
Students must attain a grade of not less than C in each
course.
Minor in Finance for Business Majors
Students pursuing a four-year degree may combine
formal study in finance as they pursue a major
concentration in one of the functional areas. Students
who elect this program must notify their advisor before
the end of their junior year.
Requirements (12 cr.)
(All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise designated.)
BUS-F 301 Financial Management
BUS-F 302 Financial Decision Making
BUS-F 345 Money, Banking, and Capital
Markets
BUS-F 420 Equity and Fixed Income
Investment
Students must attain a minimum cumulative grade point
average of 2.0 (C) in all four of the courses taken for the
minor, and not less than a C in each course. Note that
these courses may not be taken by correspondence study
nor independent study; they also may not be studied
through an internship.
General Business
For students wishing to pursue a broad, general
degree program, this curriculum provides a vehicle for
organizing their studies. The integrating focus is the
responsibility for administering the multiple operations
of the business firm in a rapidly changing environment.
Emphasis is on the process involved in setting goals for
corporate effort, coordinating and controlling multiple
programs, and regulating inputs and outputs with varied
environments.
* Credit not given for both BUS-A 312 and BUS-A 325