Course Overview
The Introduction to Careers in Finance course provides the fundamentals of the financial services industry in the United States and explores the jobs and career opportunities that the industry offers.
Unit 1 introduces the financial services industry and the financial systems that operate in the US and internationally.
Unit 2 examines securities markets and investment companies, looks at how companies evaluate and mitigate risk, and discusses the valuation of stocks and bonds.
Unit 3 discusses the roles and responsibilities of corporate finance and accounting, analysis of financial statements, capital budgeting, and capital structure.
Unit 4 focuses on banking services, including how the industry is organized and regulated and how risks are managed.
Unit 5 looks at the insurance industry, including how it is organized and regulated, how it addresses risks, and the career opportunities it offers.
Objectives
- Explain the financial system.
- Evaluate career opportunities in financial services.
- Describe the role of intermediaries in finance.
- Examine and define the key agencies governing US banking and securities industries.
- Characterize the impact of international finance on US financial system regulations.
- Review the attributes of a well-functioning financial system.
- Evaluate the role of regulatory bodies in ensuring compliance with regulations.
- Identify the importance of transparency in the financial system.
- Identify different types of securities and markets.
- Describe how diversification works with risk and return.
- Discuss how to analyze a bond for investment purposes.
- Describe, compare, and apply the main techniques used for equity valuation.
- Analyze the methods used to assess the value of a futures contract.
- Discuss the roles and responsibilities of corporate finance.
- Create a framework to understand the analysis of financial statements.
- Describe how money grows over time when invested through compounding.
- Identify issues affecting the cost of capital.
- Describe the elements of a company’s capital structure.
- Explain how a company can use its profits to increase its value.
- Describe the nature, structure, and functions of banking firms.
- Explain how banks mitigate their risks.
- Describe the role of the Federal Reserve in supporting banks.
- Summarize the nature and types of risks faced by businesses and how they use insurance to manage those risks.
- Explain nontraditional risks and how companies address them.
- Summarize the types of jobs and careers offered by insurance companies.
- Discuss the role of state insurance commissioners in regulating insurance companies.
Introduction to Careers in Finance Course Requirements
Students will need access to the Internet to conduct research for the lesson assignments. They will also need a paper or electronic notebook to record their “Reflections” or “Notebook” responses from the lessons and their assignments.
Introduction to Careers in Finance Course Outline
Unit 1 Finance Overview and Financial Services Systems
- Chapter 1: Market Organization and Structure
- Lesson: Introduction to the Financial Services Industry
- Project: Exploring Careers in Financial Services
- Lesson: Financial System and Financial Intermediaries
- Project: Exploring Stock Market Fraud
- Lesson: Dynamics of Financial Services Systems
- Lesson: Introduction to the Financial Services Industry
- Chapter 2: Constantly Changing Financial Systems
- Lesson: Traits of a Healthy Financial System
- Project: Mortgage Meltdown
- Lesson: Financial Regulation and Compliance
- Project: The Fiscal Cliff
- Lesson: International Finance
- Project: When Financial Services Fail to serve the Consumer
- Lesson: Traits of a Healthy Financial System
Unit 2 Securities Analysis and Investments
- Chapter 1: Basics of Securities Analysis
- Lesson: Securities Markets and Investment Companies
- Project: When It All Goes Wrong on Wall Street
- Lesson: Risk and Return, Efficient Diversification
- Lesson: Introduction to the Financial Services Industry
- Project: Risk Analysis
- Lesson: Securities Markets and Investment Companies
- Chapter 2: Securities Valuations
- Lesson: Bond Valuation
- Project: Evaluating Bonds
- Lesson: Equity Valuation
- Project: Researching Stock Valuations
- Lesson: Options and Futures Values
- Lesson: Bond Valuation
Unit 3 Principles of Corporate Finance
- Chapter 1: The Finance Function and Financial Reporting and Analysis
- Lesson: Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis
- Project: Financial Statement Analysis
- Lesson: Financial Statement Analysis
- Project: Application of Ratio Analysis
- Lesson: The Time Value of Money
- Lesson: Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis
- Chapter 2: Capital Structure
- Lesson: Capital Budgeting and the Cost of Capital
- Lesson: Financial Leverage and Capital Structure Policy
- Project: Financial Condition of the Energy Industry
- Lesson: Dividends and Payout Policy
- Project: Effects of the Mortgage Meltdown
Unit 4 Banking Services
- Chapter 1: Introduction to Banking
- Lesson: Organization and Structure of the Banking Industry
- Project: Bitcoin: A New Approch to Currency
- Lesson: Banking Regulation
- Project: The Dodd-Frank Act
- Lesson: Bank Financial Statements and Performance
- Project: Bank Solvency and Risk Measures
- Lesson: Organization and Structure of the Banking Industry
- Chapter 2: Bank Risk Management
- Lesson: Managing Liability and Liquidity Risk
- Lesson: Managing Deposit Insurance: Bank Capital and Capital Regulation
- Project: Bailing Out Troubled Banks
- Lesson: Asset-Backed Securities, Loan Sales, and Derivatives
- Project: Bank Financial Positions
Unit 5 Risk Management and Insurance
- Chapter 1: Risk Management
- Lesson: The Role of Insurance in Addressing Risk
- Project: Keystone: Yes or No
- Lesson: Introduction to Risk Management
- Project: Risk Assessment and Mitigation
- Lesson: Advanced Topics in Risk Management
- Lesson: The Role of Insurance in Addressing Risk
- Chapter 2: Insurance
- Lesson: Careers in Insurance
- Lesson: Financial Operations of Insurance
- Project: Advising the Client on an Annuity
- Lesson: Government Regulation of Insurance
- Project: Client Advice for Healthcare Compliance