Finance courses
FNCE 3200-3. Principles of Finance II. Fall, Spring, Summer. Focuses on the basic principles governing the management of capital in the business firm. Topics include financial statement analysis, principles of bond and stock valuation; cost of capital, capital budgeting, capital structure decisions and management of working capital. (Part of the required business core). Prereq: FNCE 3100 (and its prerequisites), ACCT 2220, DSCI 2010, MATH 1080 and junior standing.
FNCE 3500-3. Management of Business Capital. Fall, Spring, Summer. Students learn the basic principles of managing capital in the business firm. Topics include financial statement analysis, management of working capital, theory and management of capital structure and cost of capital. A grade of a ‘C’ or better must be earned to receive credit for this course and to take subsequent courses for which it is a prerequisite. Prereq: MATH 1080, DSCI 2010, ACCT 2220, FNCE 3000 with a grade of ‘C’ or better.
FNCE 3939-1 to 3. Internship/Cooperative Education. Supervised experiences involving the application of concepts and skills in an employment situation. Prereq: senior standing and 3.5 GPA.
FNCE 4330-3. Investment and Portfolio Management. In this course students will learn about the different types of investment vehicles, including methods to estimate their value and analyze their risk. They will also be introduced to portfolio management, including the identification of objectives and constraints and the analysis and use of investment information. Topics include functioning of security markets, asset allocation, security valuation and portfolio analysis. A grade of a ‘C’ or better must be earned to receive credit for the course and to take subsequent courses for which it is a prerequisite. Prereq: FNCE 3500 (and its prerequisites) and prereq and/or coreq FNCE 4350.
FNCE 4350-3. Financial Markets and Institutions. Fall, Spring. Focuses on the supply and demand for loanable funds, the process of money creation, the structure of interest rates and the role of banks and the Federal Reserve in the financial system. Special attention is devoted to the impact of monetary and fiscal policies on interest rates, the flow of funds and economic activity; and the operations of financial markets and institutions. A grade of a ‘C’ or better must be earned in this course to receive credit for the area of emphasis and to take subsequent courses for which it is a prerequisite. Prereq: FNCE 3000 and its prerequisites.
FNCE 4370-3. International Financial Management. Fall, Spring, Summer. Financial management in the international environment. Topics include international capital movements; international operations as they affect the financial functions; foreign and international institutions; and the foreign exchange process. Also considers foreign exchange theory and risk management, financial requirements, problems, sources and policies of firms doing business internationally. A grade of a ‘C’ or better must be earned to receive credit for the and to take subsequent courses for which it is a prerequisite. Prereq: FNCE 3000.
FNCE 4500-3. Corporate Financial Decisions. This is a required capstone course for the financial management emphasis. It uses the case method to develop the analytical and decision making skills of students. Students are required to apply theories and concepts learned in previous finance and accounting classes to real world scenarios. Topical coverage includes financial analysis, planning, control, working capital management, long-term investment and financing decisions and corporate valuation. A grade of a ‘C’ or better must be earned to receive credit towards graduation. Prereq: FNCE 3000, 3500 and 4330 all with a grade of ‘C’ or better and senior standing.
FNCE 4750-3. Business Intelligence and Financial Modeling. In this course, the student learns to analyze and solve financial problems with spreadsheet models, apply Oracle Financial and Business Intelligence software that is widely used in corporate financial operations and model risk and uncertainty with Monte Carlo software. Prereq: FNCE 3000 and 3500 with a grade of ‘C’ or better. Cross-listed with ISMG 4750.
FNCE 4840-1 to 8. Independent Study.
FNCE 4950-3. Special Topics. Research methods and results, special topics and professional development in finance. Prerequisites vary according to topic and instructor requirements.
FNCE 5939-1 to 3. Internship or Cooperative Education. Supervised experiences involving the application of concepts and skills in an employment situation. Prereq: 21 semester hours and 3.5 GPA.
FNCE 6290-3. Quantitative Methods for Finance. This course provides statistical foundation for subsequent courses in the Master of Science in Finance program. Major topics include descriptive statistics, probability theory, statistical estimation and inference and regression analysis. The emphasis is on finance applications, such as risk measurement, for portfolio diversification and the “market model”. In addition, students develop competence in the use of statistical software packages. This course provides preparation for the statistical portions of the Certified Financial Analyst professional examinations. Note: students cannot receive credit for both FNCE 6290 and BUSN 6530.
FNCE 6300-3. Macroeconomics and Financial Markets. Covers the U.S. financial system in the global economy. Specific topics include financial institutions, money creation and monetary policy; the Federal Reserve System and its operation; the international financial system; interest rate determination, yield curves and their relation to fiscal policy; the role of households and business in financial markets; stock markets; and money markets and instruments. (Required for the MS in Finance Finance degree.) Prereq: BUSN 6620 (may be taken concurrently if student has previous economics coursework).
FNCE 6310-3. Financial Decisions and Policies. Emphasizes investment and financing decisions and the analysis of the financial condition of the firm. Specific topics include capital budgeting, cost of capital, financing mix and strategy, firm valuation and management of working capital. Instruction is by the case method. Prereq: BUSN 6640.
FNCE 6330-3. Investment Management Analysis. In this course students will learn investment theories and how to apply them to portfolio management. Topics covered include asset allocation, security markets, the analysis and use of investment information, risk analysis and security valuation. This course is required for the Ms in Finance degree. Prereq: BUSN 6620 and 6640.
FNCE 6340-3. Security Analysis and Firm Valuation. Focuses on the practical application of fundamental analysis techniques to the diagnosis of firms’ financial condition; the valuation of publicly traded firms and privately owned businesses; and the valuation of debt and equity securities. These techniques are useful in a variety of situations such as qualifying firms for bank loans or partnerships, valuing firms for mergers and acquisitions and decisions and the valuation of stocks for investment decisions. Prereq: BUSN 6640.
FNCE 6350-3. Financial Innovations. Covers financial innovations in fixed income securities, including zero coupon bonds, floating rate instruments and inflation indexed bonds, asset backed securities, structured notes, collateralized mortgage obligations and the use of interest rate swaps in hedging. The student learns about the markets and pricing of these securities and how they are used to manage interest rate risk. The course prepares the student for careers in corporate treasury management, structured financing, swaps trading and mortgage backed securities. Prereq: BUSN 6640 or consent of instructor.
FNCE 6360-3. Management of Financial Institutions. Presents an analysis of the structure, markets, regulation, chartering of commercial banks and other financial institutions. Topics include problems and policies of the internal management of funds, loan practices and procedures, investment behavior, deposit and capital adequacy, liquidity and solvency. Analytical methodology for these problems is developed. (Case format) Prereq: BUSN 6640.
FNCE 6365-3 to 9. Banking Principles and Practices. Covers money and capital markets, commercial lending, asset and liability management, loan portfolio management and bank management. This class is only available to Colorado Graduate School of Banking students. Similar material is covered in FNCE 6300 and FNCE 6360. Therefore Business School students must enroll in those courses. Banking students cannot receive credit for FNCE 6300 or FNCE 6360.
FNCE 6370-3. International Financial Management. Addresses financial management in an international context that considers international capital movements and foreign exchange problems and international operations as they affect financial functions. It reviews foreign and international institutions and the foreign exchange process and considers financial requirements, problems, sources and policies of firms doing business internationally. (Meets concurrently with INTB 6372.) Prereq: BUSN 6640. Cross-listed with INTB 6372.
FNCE 6372-3. Business Forecasting. Modern businesses use forecasts in marketing, finance, accounting, human resources management and supply chain and production management decision making. This course focuses on practical application of forecasting techniques, choosing and comparing appropriate methods and applying the results to the business application. Prereq: BUSN 6530 or FNCE 6290. Cross-listed with BUSN 6824 and DSCI 6230.
FNCE 6380-3. Futures and Options. Covers both speculation and hedging using futures and options. The student learns about futures pricing, how futures are related to the underlying commodities and how to hedge risks. Stock index futures and How interest rates futures get particular attention. The course covers the theory and application of option pricing, focusing on the binomial and Black-Scholes models. Option trading strategies such as bull and bear spreads, straddles, strangles and other popular strategies are discussed. Prereq: BUSN 6640.
FNCE 6382-3. Survey of Financial Derivatives: Futures, Options and Swaps. This course provides an overview of financial derivatives and their markets. It covers futures, options, interest rate and currency swaps, convertible bonds, asset-backed securities and mortgage derivatives. Diagrams and simple mathematics are used to show how these instruments work and how they are used in corporate financing. This course is a less technical presentation of the topics covered in both
FNCE 6350, Financial Innovations and FNCE 6380, Futures and Options. The course is suitable for both MBA and MS-Finance students. However, MS-Finance students who are interested in the deeper knowledge necessary for trading derivatives are advised to take either or both FNCE 6350 and FNCE 6380. Prereq: BUSN 6640.
FNCE 6410-3. Corporate Financial Strategy Under Uncertainty. Because of future uncertainties, companies need to position themselves, not only to take advantage of future opportunities, but also prepare for the possible downside. Projects are structured to be able to respond to change. Strategic options arise from the ability to alter projects mid-course or to enter into new projects as a result of prior strategic investments. Methods are developed to quantitatively value: the option to wait and learn before investing; the option to make follow-on investments if a strategic investment project succeeds; the option to abandon a project; and the option to vary the firm’s output or production methods. Also, corporate hedging strategy which may protect against the downside of projects is developed. Prereq: BUSN 6640. (Good mathematical and analytical skills are needed.)
FNCE 6411-3. International Corporate Governance. Discusses the structure and goals of the modern corporation, the primary governance mechanisms used to help companies achieve these goals and how and why these roles, goals and mechanisms vary across nations. The topics to be covered in the course include how share ownership, particularly by institutional shareholders, managerial compensation and board of director activities are being used to improve corporate governance systems. The class compares the Codes of Best Governance Practices from several countries as well as recent innovations in individual company governance rating systems. Prereq: BUSN 6640. Note: students cannot receive credit for both FNCE 6411 and INTB 6411. Cross-listed with INTB 6411.
FNCE 6420-3. Mergers and Acquisitions. Examines the processes and decisions by which mergers, takeovers and other corporate restructuring ace, the transactions occur. Analyzes merger and acquisition decisions as part of strategic decision making and how firms are valued in mergers. Discusses the market for corporate control and the public policy implications of mergers and corporate governance. Prereq: BUSN 6640.
FNCE 6430-3. Practical Equity Analysis & Portfolio Management. This class focuses on the application of the concepts of portfolio theory and security valuation to the tasks of analyzing security investments and managing a security portfolio. Topics include the economic and financial analysis of the industry, understanding how financial statements are used in security analysis, security valuation methods and portfolio management. Prereq: BUSN 6640 and FNCE 6330.
FNCE 6450-3. Short-Term Financial Management. This course is a survey of methods for managing short term assets and liabilities. Specific topics include the analysis of the firm’s liquidity and cash flow, banking relationships; collection and disbursement systems; management of short term investment and financing; management of receivables, payables and inventory; and short term forecasting. This course is affiliated with the Association of Financial Professionals, allowing students earning at least a ‘B’ to sit for the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP-A) exam. Prereq: BUSN 6640.
FNCE 6460-3. Small Firm Financial Management. This course is no longer offered as a FNCE course, but is now offered as ENTP 6824: Entrepreneurial l Financial Management taught at the Bard Center, (also see course description under ENTP courses in the catalog). This course can be used as a graduate finance course elective and an entrepreneurship elective. Provides a foundation for the financial management of a small business, including financial and legal aspects of setting up different forms of a small business and overview of financial reporting and cash flow analysis, financial planning and budgeting techniques, working capital management and long-term asset decisions, practices in obtaining funds, business valuation, financial aspects of international trade and different methods of obtaining capital, including loans, franchising and venture capital. (Students cannot receive credit if they have taken ENTP 6824.) ENTP 6824.) Prereq: BUSN 6530 or previous course work in financial accounting.
FNCE 6480-3. Financial Modeling. Develops and implements financial models for purposes of financial planning and decision making. This course is intended to allow the student to increase her or his knowledge and skill in the development of various types of computer based financial planning models. The student are exposed to the uses of a variety of computer software packages that can be used for modeling financial planning problems. Prereq: BUSN 6640, knowledge of computer and spreadsheet software.
FNCE 6800-3. Special Topics. Experimental course offered irregularly for the purpose of presenting new subject matter in finance. Prerequisites vary depending upon topics covered. (Consult the ‘Schedule Planner’ for semester offerings.) Prereq: BUSN 6640
FNCE 6840-1 to 8. Independent Study. Instructor approval required. Allowed only under special and unusual circumstances. Regularly scheduled courses cannot be taken as independent study.