Overview

Finance is a specialty that works with the development, allocation and use of monetary resources within established legal and ethical frameworks, while understanding and mitigating the associated risks. Money is a critical component of the economic system and its flow is the sustaining force of the U.S. and global economy. Therefore, in working with how governments, corporations, intermediaries, and households utilize their financial assets finance professionals are an integral part of how the economy perpetuates the standard of living that we enjoy.

Traditionally there are three separate but related fields within finance: 1) corporate financial management or "business finance" which focuses on the internal decisions of companies to raise funds and invest in corporate assets; 2) investment management which focuses on the purchase and sale of stocks and bonds or their derivatives by individuals and institutions; and 3) financial services management, which focuses on the management and regulation of institutions and the role that financial institutions play in the economy.

The undergraduate program in Finance meets the requirements of students who desire specialized careers in financial management. Students gain expertise in both accounting and finance, essential for success as a financial professional. The case-oriented focus of coursework requires students to apply their knowledge and strengthen their oral and written communication skills. The department offers specializations in (i) Corporate Financial Management, (ii) Investment Management and CFA© (Chartered Financial Analyst), based on the CFA© curriculum as recognized and approved by the CFA Institute, (iii) Banking and Financial Institutions Management, (iv) Financial Accounting, and (v) CFP© Certification Education with approval of CFP Board of Standards. Students also have the opportunity to participate in student management funds focused on investments in bonds (BASIS) and in stocks (SEED).

The curriculum offers courses in finance, insurance, and business law, but a major only in finance.

Degree Requirements

The graduation requirements in effect at the time of graduation apply. When choosing the degree requirements information, always choose the year of your expected date of graduation. Requirements for graduation are referred to via university publications as "Checksheets". The number of credit hours required for degree completion varies among curricula. Students must satisfactorily complete all requirements and university obligations for degree completion.

The university reserves the right to modify requirements in a degree program. However, the university will not alter degree requirements less than two years from the expected graduation year unless there is a transition plan for students already in the degree program.

Please visit the University Registrar website at http://registrar.vt.edu/graduation-multi-brief/index1.html for degree requirements.

Students select different combinations of elective courses to fulfill the requirements of one or more of the six options offered. The six options are: (i) Corporate Financial Management, (ii) Investment Management and CFA© (Chartered Financial Analyst), (iii) Banking and Financial Institutions Management, (iv) Financial Accounting, and (v) CFP© Certification Education with approval of CFP Board of Standards

Undergraduate Course Descriptions (FIN)

2104 (AAEC 2104): PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING
Survey of fundamental personal financial planning needs and decisions of young professionals. Introduction to the personal financial planning needs that special household circumstances or non-traditional household situations may precipitate. (3H,3C)

2114: INVESTMENTS AND FINANCIAL LITERACY
Examines budgeting; taxes; long- and short-term borrowing; credit card debt; student loan debt; ethical issues in both lending and investments; insurance; the investment process; the financial markets; investing in common stock, bonds, and mutual funds; major financial decisions, and retirement planning. Coverage of time value of money and risk and return will provide fundamental tools for valuation and financial decision-making. (3H,3C)

2164: SURVEY OF FINANCE AND CAREER PLANNING
Career opportunities and job search strategies in the finance field with reference to the finance courses that best help the student identify a career in his/her selected field. Pass/Fail only. Pass/Fail only. (1H,1C)

2954: BUSINESS STUDY ABROAD
This course provides students with an international business experience. It is only offered as part of a program outside of the United States. Students will learn from the structured educational experience developed by the faculty leader. Pre: Instructor’s consent and the completion of 30 SH with a minimum GPA of 3.0 or departmental consent. Variable credit course.

2974: INDEPENDENT STUDY
Variable credit course.

2984: SPECIAL STUDY
Variable credit course.

3044 (REAL 3044): FINANCING REAL ESTATE PROJECTS
Methods and tools for analyzing commercial real estate from the perspective of a developer. Land valuation, equity and debt financing, measuring project returns, public private partnerships, and real estate capital markets. Pre: REAL 2004 or UAP 2004, REAL 2034, FIN 3104 or FIN 3134. (3H,3C)

3054: LEGAL AND ETHICAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS
Key concepts of law, ethics, and regulation applicable to business operations and management; includes international aspects. Legal and ethical decision-making, critical applications, and relationship of business to society. Legal systems, torts, contracts, property, administrative law topics, agency, ethical frameworks. Pre: Junior Standing. (3H,3C)

3074: LEGAL, ETHICAL, AND FINANCING ISSUES FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Introduction of key legal, ethical, and financing topics for new ventures. Ethical decision making in entrepreneurial situations. Choosing among legal entities for financing and ownership goals. Company governance. Creating and protecting intellectual property. Identifying and choosing financing options for new ventures. Employment issues for entrepreneurial firms. Basics of contracts. Enterprise risk management and compliance. Exit strategies. Partially duplicates FIN 3054 (Legal and Ethical Environment of Business). Students may not receive credit for both courses. Junior Standing. (3H,3C)

3104: INTRODUCTION TO FINANCE
Overview of financial decision-making process focusing on the creation of wealth. Topics covered include the time value of money, how stocks and bonds are valued, financial decision-making within a firm, an overview of financial markets, and investment banking. The course is designed for finance and non-finance majors. Pre: ACIS 2115, (BIT 2405 or STAT 3005 or STAT 3604 or STAT 4604 or STAT 4705 or STAT 4714 or STAT 3615 or STAT 3616), (ECON 2005 or ECON 2025H). (3H,3C)

3124: FINANCIAL PLANNING FOR PROFESSIONALS
Analysis of financial needs, from the context of the individual, household or small business owner, related to financial situation (cash management and use of debt), income taxes, risk management, retirement planning, investment planning, estate planning, and other special needs. Utilizes mathematical and computing skills. FIN students may be excused from the AAEC 2104 prerequisite with instructor permission. FIN 3134 may be taken prior to or concurrent with course. Co: 3134. (3H,3C)

3134: FINANCIAL ANALYTICS
This course provides an understanding of the theory and practice of making financial decisions for corporations. Key concepts and computational skills in finance. Time value of money, risk and return, security valuation and interest rate determination. Pre: (ECON 2005 or ECON 2025H), ACIS 2115, (BIT 2405 or STAT 3005 or STAT 3604 or STA T 4604 or STAT 4705 or STAT 4714 or STAT 3615 or STAT 3616). Co: ACIS 2504. (3H,3C)

3144: INVESTMENTS: DEBT, EQUITY AND DERIVATIVES
Risk, return and portfolio theory, knowledge of financial securities and markets. Introduction to mutual funds, financial securities and markets, portfolio analysis, market efficiency and performance evaluation, bond valuation, term structure of interest rates, interest rate risk, security analysis and stock valuation, options, Black-Scholes option pricing model, and futures. Must have a grade of C or better in prerequisite of FIN 3134, and Junior standing required. Pre: 3134. (3H,3C)

3154: CORPORATE FINANCE
Types of financial management decisions that firms make, the environment in which decisions are made, the available choices and decision criteria, and valuation consequences of these choices. Determination of a firm’s optimal debt- equity ratio, estimation of cost of capital, evaluation of capital investments, divided policy, and sources of financing. Must have a grade of C or better in prerequisite of FIN 3134, and Junior standing required. Pre: 3134. (3H,3C)

3174: FINANCE CAREER STRATEGIES
Analysis and research of career opportunities in financial industry. Study of future trends in careers in financial industry. Development of short and long-term career goals. Building and developing a professional network. Identify types of finance interviews. Ethical negotiation of job offers. (1H,1C)

3204: RISK AND INSURANCE
Surveys the concept of risk as it applies to the nuclear family and as a socio-economic force in society. Risk management techniques utilizing social and proprietary insurance to neutralize the effect of risks inherent in daily life: termination or suspension of earnings, liability exposures, and potential losses of real and personal property values. Junior standing required. (3H,3C)

3254: CREDIT RISK ANALYSIS
Analysis of the risks inherent in credit/lending decisions. Pricing of loans, appropriate documentation, and monitoring of the creditworthiness of businesses and individuals. Emphasis on making credit decisions and structuring of credit agreements. Pre: 3134. (3H,3C)

3954: STUDY ABROAD
Variable credit course.

4004: WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES
Examines the control of assets through the creation and use of trusts, and the control of property through estate planning. The course emphasizes financial planning through estate management both personally and as a part of a business plan. Pre: 3055 or 3054 or 3074. (3H,3C)

4014: INTERNET, ELECTRONIC AND ONLINE LAW
Study of the international legal environment and regulation of the electronic world, including electronic commerce, computer and media communication issues, and speech over the Internet. Webpage design, copyright, electronic payment, electronic contract, encryption, and privacy are some issues to be examined. Topics will be updated continually to reflect the newest developments of the law as applied to the electronic world of commerce. Pre: Junior/Senior standing or consent of instructor. (3H,3C)

4104: RETIREMENT PLANNING
Overview of planning needs, products, and strategies used by financial professionals to help businesses, small business owners, and individuals choose and implement an effective retirement plan. Must have prerequisite or permission of instructor. Pre: 3124 or AAEC 3104. (3H,3C)

4114 (AAEC 4114): FINANCIAL PLANNING TECHNOLOGY & MODELING
Use of professional software applications that support financial planning analyses, plan preparation, wealth management, and client relationships. Principles of personal investment portfolio research, construction, and performance applied to comprehensive financial planning and wealth management. Pre: (AAEC 3104 or FIN 3124), FIN 3144. (3H,3C)

4124: CLIENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Investigation of socio-psychological factors and communication/interviewing strategies that foster trust-based relationships essential to the success of financial advisors and other financial service professionals. Graduate students are expected to have completed AAEC 3104 or FIN 3124 or an equivalent course or may enroll with permission of the instructor. Pre: AAEC 2104 or AAEC 3104 or FIN 3124. (3H,3C)

4134: FINANCIAL PLANNING APPLICATIONS
Integration of financial planning content in the resolution of client situations in the context of ethical and compliant workplace practices. Utilizes a case analysis approach applying financial planning processes and procedures. Graduate students are expected to have similar background from equivalent courses or professional experience or may enroll by permission of the instructor. ACIS 4344 or FIN 4004 taken simultaneously with the course can be substituted for the prerequisites. Co: AAEC 4104 or FIN 4104. Pre: (AAEC 3104 or FIN 3124), FIN 3144, FIN 3204. Co: 4104. (3H,3C)

4144: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Explores the environmental challenges facing the financial manager of a multinational corporation and the tools and techniques developed to meet such challenges. Pre: 3104. (3H,3C)

4154: REAL ESTATE FINANCE
This course introduces the fundamentals of both real estate financing and investment. Conventional mortgages as well as more creative financing methods will be analyzed. The secondary market for mortgages and relevant institutional factors also will be examined. Investment analysis of real estate will be viewed in a capital budgeting framework; appropriate tax law will be discussed as it affects real estate cash flows. Pre: 3134. (3H,3C)

4214: FINANCIAL MODELING IN EXCEL
Concepts of finance applied to the construction of models in Excel. Construct models of financial statement to evaluate financial strategies for a firm; design risk/return models for investment portfolio strategies using equity and/or debt securities; build models to optimize bond portfolios including interest rate sensitivities, duration and convexity; develop models to analyze and dynamically hedge option and futures portfolios; assemble binomial tree models on American options; build simulation models to evaluate different types of options. Pre: 3144. (3H,3C)

4224: FIXED INCOME SECURITIES: ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT
Analysis of fixed income securities, including corporate bonds, U.S. Treasury notes and bonds, municipal bonds, money market securities, and home mortgages. The analysis include interest rate risk, credit risk, bond valuation theory, and the valuation of embedded options in the bond contract. Theories of the term structure of interest rates are presented. Must have a grade of C or better in prerequisites of FIN 3144 and 3154. Pre: 3144, 3154. (3H,3C)

4225-4226: ANALYTICS FOR FIXED INCOME SECURITIES AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
4225: Management of fixed income securities in an experiential setting. Bond pricing and investment. Credit analysis and portfolio strategies in fixed income. Introduction to advanced analytical techniques in bond and portfolio analytics. Conduct research on individual companies, industries, and countries. Membership in BASIS (Bond And Securities Investing by Students). Must have a B- or better in prereq. Pass/Fail Only. Pass/Fail only. Pre: 3134 for 4225; 4224, 4225 for 4226. Co: 4224 for 4225. (3H,3C)

4234: VENTURE CAPITAL AND INVESTMENT BANKING
Explores the venture capital cycles of fund-raising, investing in portfolio firms, and exiting the investment. Focuses on the role of investment banking in the exiting of investments by taking the portfolio firms public through initial public offerings. Includes a conceptual component and an applied component in which the case method is used. Must have a grade of C or better in prerequisites of FIN 3144 and 3154. Pre: 3144, 3154. (3H,3C)

4244: ASSET VALUATION AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The effect of corporate governance on asset-valuation. Case oriented course focusing on the valuation of non-financial assets such as projects, business units, private and public firms. Topics include method of comparables, discounted cash flow methods and the real options approach to valuation. Examines the external and internal governance mechanisms for preserving and enhancing the value of a firm. Must have a grade of C or better in prerequisites of FIN 3144 and 3154. Pre: 3144, 3154. (3H,3C)

4254: BANK MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
The functions of financial service providers and the risks inherent in the provision of banking and other financial services. Regulatory background and issues. Case oriented course. Must have a grade of C or better in prerequisites of FIN 3144 and 3154. Pre: 3144, 3154. (3H,3C)

4264: MANAGING RISK WITH DERIVATIVES
The types, payoff, and pricing of derivative securities and contracts and their application in managing financial risks faced by corporations. Topics include options, forwards, futures and swaps; managing foreign currency risk, interest rate risk, stock price risk, and commodity price risk; and risk management techniques. Must have a grade of C or better in prerequisites of FIN 3144 and 3154. Pre: 3144, 3154. (3H,3C)

4274: EQUITY SECURITIES: ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT
Advanced valuation and analysis of equity securities with case applications. Critical analysis of advanced equity asset pricing models. Analysis of advanced equity portfolio management techniques, equity portfolio performance measurement, and equity portfolio performance attribution analysis. Identification and analysis of market anomalies and recent developments in equity analysis. Must have grade of C or better in prerequisites of FIN 3144 and 3154. Pre: 3144, 3154. (3H,3C)

4275-4276: ANALYTICS FOR EQUITY SECURITIES AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Selection and management of equity securities in an experimental setting. Analysis, selection, and investment in common stocks. Introduction to advanced analytical techniques in equity evaluation and portfolio analytics. Research individual companies, industries, economic sectors, and national and global macroeconomic trends. Use appropriate software to develop financial models. Present buy and sell recommendations for actual execution in the portfolio. Maintain a high level of fiduciary responsibility. Pass/Fail only. Membership in SEED (Student-Managed Endowment for Educational Development). Pass/Fail only. Pre: 3134 for 4275; 4274, 4275 for 4276. Co: 4274 for 4275. (3H,3C)

4284: FREE MARKETS, INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM, AND ECONOMIC WELFARE
Course exposes students to various viewpoints on the role free markets can and do play in promoting individual freedom. Allocation of scarce resources, and in enhancing welfare. Explores the strengths and weaknesses of capitalism by critically evaluating the relationship between the economic efficiency achieved by capitalism and the attainment of welfare objectives. Other topics include current items such as globalization, price controls, income equality, outsourcing, corporate pricing power though monopoly/oligopoly, and government regulation of the economy. (3H,3C)

4294: COMMODITY INVT. PORTFOLIOS
Application of fundamental commodity analysis and valuation techniques utilized to create a commodity investment portfolio in an experiential setting. Analysis, selection, and advanced analytical techniques in domestic and international agricultural, energy and metal commodities applied to a simulated investment in a commodity portfolio. Maintain a high level of fiduciary responsibility through developing, maintaining, and interpreting portfolio performance on a daily basis. Pre: 3144. (3H,3C)

4314: FIELD PROJECTS IN FINANCE
Finance-related business projects with external clients, which will include gathering and analyzing data, understanding relevant financial issues in a business context, formulating recommendations, and presenting analyses and recommendations in oral and written form. Pre: 3144, 3154. (3H,3C)

4954: STUDY ABROAD
Variable credit course.

4974: INDEPENDENT STUDY
Variable credit course.

4984: SPECIAL STUDY
Variable credit course.

4994: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Variable credit course.

4994H: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Variable credit course.