Undergraduate Catalogue
Corporate Finance and Accounting Major
Students preparing for careers in corporate finance need strong backgrounds in finance, accounting and a whole lot more. The major in Corporate Finance and Accounting provides this background.
The widespread application of information technology (IT) by companies globally has dramatically changed the nature of corporate finance. Numerous studies show that corporate finance professionals have experienced dramatic reductions in the time they spend on transactions processing with consequent increases in time spent on cost and profitability analysis, strategic planning, process improvement and business performance management. The major in Corporate Finance and Accounting is a 10-course major jointly offered and jointly delivered by the departments of Accountancy and Finance. It aims to help students develop the key skills required of finance professionals, namely: accounting skills, finance skills, business analysis skills, communication skills, team skills, and business process skills. Familiarity with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is built into several courses to allow students an opportunity to better understand the integrated IT systems that most major companies in the U.S. and globally use to process transactions, prepare statutory and management reports, and evaluate operations throughout the organization. The combination of courses in accountancy and finance offers students a core of required courses and electives that will provide them with the skills, competencies and conceptual background that finance professionals need to operate effectively in the corporate environment.
The development of basic skills in financial and cost accounting will occur in Financial Accounting and Reporting I and II (AC 311 and AC 312) and in Cost Management (AC 310). An understanding of corporate financial decision-making within a valuation and international context is obtained from courses in Advanced Corporate Finance (FI 380), Financial Markets I (FI 310) and International Financial Management (FI 351).
Modern finance professionals need to evaluate the effectiveness of business strategy, which is very reliant on the way companies manage their internal processes and external opportunities to accomplish strategic objectives. Students will develop the necessary business analysis skills throughout the program and be given the opportunity to apply them to business situations in the Performance Measurement and Evaluation course (AF 450).
A required course in Managerial Communication (IDCC 320) is designed to help students develop the writing, speaking and presentation skills required of finance professionals. Applications of these principles and techniques will be made throughout the program.
Team projects and case analyses are expected throughout the program.
Required Courses
AC 310 Cost Management
AC 311 Financial Accounting and Reporting I
AC 312 Financial Accounting and Reporting II
FI 305 Principles of Accounting and Finance
FI 351 International Finance
FI 380 Advanced Managerial Finance
AF 450 Performance Measurement and Evaluation
IDCC 320 Managerial Communication
In addition, students select two electives in either finance or accounting or both in consultation with their faculty adviser.
