ACTG 610: INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING
Exposes students to the international aspects of accounting and financial management so that they can know how to use information from foreign financial statements to make decisions, be familiar with measurement and disclosure issues, and understand the international convergence of financial reporting. It addresses intermediate and advanced financial reporting topics, including the financial (U.S. GAAP) and tax consequences of cross-border transactions; developing an understanding of non-GAAP accounting standards and their implications for financial statement analysis, such as translations and the treatment of foreign currency transactions and exchange risk; and understanding the implications of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on U.S. companies. Students apply these concepts through cases and a financial statement project.
ACTG 610: PASS-THROUGH ENTITIES
This is an introduction to the taxation of pass-through entities—S corporations and partnerships (including limited liability companies)—as they form, operate, and dissolve. In addition, the course develops an understanding of the tax research process, including the hierarchy of research authority, issue identification/framing of “the question(s)”, identification and evaluation of relevant authoritative materials, and presentation of findings.
ACTG 612: FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
This course is an introduction to accounting, the language of business. An understanding of how financial accounting information is prepared and reported is one of the fundamental building blocks of a business education. This course is designed to assist you in developing an understanding of financial accounting concepts and techniques so you can be an effective and informed user of financial statement information. In this course students will learn to apply accounting rules to reflect underlying economic transactions; understand how differences in measurement rules affect financial statements; understand how manager judgment influences financial statements, and analyze financial statements to make business decisions.
ACTG 617: TAXATION OF BUSINESS
Covers the basic structure of federal tax law as it applies to corporations and shareholders; tax and economic consequences of the creation, operation and liquidation of a corporation; tax and economic consequences of withdrawals, payments or distributions of assets from corporations; tax and economic consequences of a reorganization; reasons for and rules regarding consolidated tax returns; and theory and application of accounting for corporate income taxes under financial accounting rules.
ACTG 618: TAXES AND BUSINESS STRATEGY
Focuses on the importance of tax considerations in making business decisions. Objectives for the course are to develop and apply a theoretical tax-planning framework that considers implications of a transaction on all parties, all explicit and implicit taxes, and all costs necessary to implement any tax plans. Among topics considered in the framework are how taxes are accounted for, the organizational form of the entity, the importance of tax planning, and nontax costs. After understanding the framework, the course applies these concepts to specific decision contexts, such as compensation plans, multinational tax planning, and mergers and acquisitions. At the conclusion of the class, students should be able to apply a framework to future decisions dealing with taxes, even as tax laws themselves continue to change.
ACTG 625: FINANCIAL REPORTING
Addresses two primary objectives. The first is to provide students with the technical knowledge necessary to understand the financial reporting system and the numbers produced by that system. The second is to provide students with an understanding of the context within which the financial statement numbers are used. Focused attention will be placed on issues in revenue recognition, receivables, leases, pensions, investments, income taxes, and cash flows. IFRS and U.S. GAAP comparisons are integrated into the course as well. The last section of the course spends time reviewing research linking financial reporting numbers to executive compensation. This course is user-focused rather than preparer-focused, and thus it is essential for any student who has an interest in a career in which financial statement information is an important ingredient to decisions.
ACTG 631: FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS
Part of business analysis, financial statement analysis encompasses the evaluation of a company's past performance and risk, as well as prediction of future performance and risk. Such analysis may be useful for financial decisions related to equity valuation, debt valuation, credit risk assessment, and so forth. This course is designed to give preparers and users of financial information a framework for business analysis and valuation using financial statement data. Students apply this framework to a variety of business decisions. The course covers many of the techniques commonly used to analyze financial statements, including disclosure analysis, financial ratios, cash-flow analysis, forecasting, and valuation methods. At the end of the course students have an understanding of how business events are reflected in financial statements; literacy in reading 10-K's and 10-Q's; a working knowledge of the residual income valuation model; experience in applying asset pricing and valuation theories to business decisions. The course assumes a basic working knowledge of accounting, finance, economics and business strategy. Through cases, valuation software, and analysis projects, the course integrates key concepts from each of these areas for application to financial decision-making.
BA 625: BUSINESS LAW AND ETHICS
Effective leadership and ethics are two sides of the same coin, whether in business, politics, or your personal affairs. That's why we made this course the culmination of the required core. Regardless of your chosen specialization, you and all your classmates will come together once more in your last term to take this course.
BE 607: BUSINESS LAW FOUNDATIONS
This course familiarizes students with the U.S. legal system, its procedures, and its basic substantive rules, as well as basic international law. it helps students understand more fully the legal issues they will encounter in business, as private individuals, and members of society.
FIN 510: IMPACT INVESTING
This course will explore the emerging tools and strategies in impact investing. It will ask the student to apply the core principles of finance and the tools learned in earlier coursework to create investment strategies that deliver both returns and solve a social/community and/or environmental challenge.
FIN 510: COMMERCIAL BANKING
This course will provide the student with an understanding of the operation of a commercial bank. Focus will be primarily on the management of institutions that take deposits and make loans and investments. Analysis of loans and investments will be contrasted with operating and pricing policies through the active use of a bank simulation. This experiential form of commercial bank management education is coincident with industry education and prepares students to enter the banking field with a well-rounded view of the entire institution’s operations.
FIN 562: DERIVATIVE MARKETS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Derivatives are some of the world’s most liquid and largest securities, playing a role in many investment portfolios. Their use has fundamentally changed asset and liability management. This course is intended to provide an understanding of various risks that corporations face, practical aspects of how these risks are managed, and the tools and instruments that are available to deal with them. The class looks at the role of the derivatives in risk management and uses and pricing of derivatives along with options, futures, swaps, and value-at-risk. By the end of the course, students understand the intuition and mechanics of equity derivatives, assess the values and risks of derivatives, comprehend innovations in derivative markets, and appreciate how these tools can assist managers’ ability to make better decisions.
FIN 607: FINANCE AND SECURITIES ANALYSIS SEMINAR
FIN 609: EMERGING MARKET INVESTMENT FUND
Finding market opportunities in emerging markets presents investors and managers with issues not just of understanding capital market behaviors but also of firm valuation. Students will research and present the risks and uncertainties in these markets alongside the potential for value creation. The Emerging Markets Investment Fund gives students the opportunity to manage an actual fund of emerging market equities, evaluate stock performance, examine future earnings and valuation, benchmark performance, and present results to investment professionals.
All EMF members are analysts. Analysts monitor the condition and activity of their assigned industry, region, and individual securities within the industry and region. Each analyst is responsible for the following:
- Monitoring the performance of his or her companies;
- Keeping apprised of current news within the assigned industry and region;
- Researching securities in the assigned region and industry; and
- Recommending securities to be bought or sold.
This course is open to all graduate students. It acts as the Strategic Planning Project (SPP) for MBA students who are pursuing the investment management/capital markets career.
