Course Descriptions
Finance FIN 250 Personal Financial Planning (3 credits) This course provides an overview of personal financial decision-making. The course uses the life-cycle approach and emphasizes financial planning for each phase of life. Topics covered include career planning, budgeting, use of credit, insurance, investments, retirement planning and income tax planning. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. FIN 260 Risk Management and Insurance (3 credits) This course examines the concept of risk, the principles of risk management, private and social insurance mechanisms and the insurance industry. Special attention is given to business and personal risks associated with loss of income, the ownership of property and legal liability. Students are required to prepare and submit a written business and/or personal plan of risk management. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. FIN 320 Principles of Finance (3 credits) This course is designed to provide students with a balanced introduction to the theory and practice of finance by presenting an overview of the central issues and topics in finance currently relevant to business decision-making and to provide students with the finance tools necessary to develop skills, knowledge, and wisdom in current demand by employers. This includes preparing students regardless of their business discipline, to make basic financial decisions and to understand as well as be able to critique decisions made by others. This course seeks to prepare students to excel in careers such as corporate managers, financial analysts, investment analysts, and business practitioners. Note: Students majoring in the B.S. in Economics/Finance or the B.S. in Accounting/ Finance degree programs, it is strongly recommended, following consultation with an academic advisor that FIN 320 be taken in the spring semester of the sophomore year. Prerequisites: ACC 202 and ECO 201. FIN 330 Corporate Finance (3 credits) This course is a corporate finance elective intended to extend and further develop the long-term investment and financing topics introduced in FIN 320 Principles of Finance. The course addresses issues that face modern corporate managers when making capital budgeting and capital structure decisions, and focuses on applied managerial decision-making. Corporate Finance is designed for students seeking a more thorough understanding of the economic analysis of strategic and tactical investments, the effect financial leverage has on firm value, and the integration of investment and financial corporate strategies. Topics addressed include advanced techniques in capital budgeting, firm valuation, capital structure, firm/division cost of capital, and quantitative risk assessment. Prerequisite: FIN 320. FIN 336 Multinational Corporate Finance (3 credits) This course emphasizes aspects of financial planning for corporations with overseas operations. The sources and uses of corporate funds abroad are evaluated and criteria for choosing among alternative foreign investments are analyzed. The effects of international corporate financial planning, including such factors as the characteristics of foreign money and
capital markets, international financial institutions, exchange rate changes, currency restrictions, tax regulations and accounting practices, are examined. This course is crosslisted with INT 336. Global Marker. Prerequisites: FIN 320 and Junior or Senior standing or permission of the instructor. FIN 340 Fundamentals of Investments (3 credits) This course introduces and examines various investment vehicles, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds and commodities. The course emphasizes the decision-making process that underlies all investment decisions. Prerequisite: FIN 320. FIN 345 Student Managed Investment Fund (3 credits) The Student Managed Investment Fund course is an undergraduate elective intended to provide rigorous academic training in money management, portfolio selection and risk management concepts. The course will also provide students with the opportunity to manage a small portion of the SNHU endowment fund. The SMIF course will require students to establish an investment philosophy and investment policy guidelines, prepare an investment process statement and to understand the administrative aspects of the fund’s brokerage account (i.e., trading authorizations, fiduciary issues and so forth). Students will also be responsible for researching potential stock investments, presenting recommendations to the class for consideration, executing trades, monitoring positions and writing fund reports. Prerequisite: FIN 320. FIN 426 Contemporary Issues in Finance (3 credits) This course offers an opportunity for students to examine advanced issues in corporate finance. This includes coverage of issues in capital and money markets, including derivative securities. Students will examine in detail these advanced topics in finance, their investment characteristics, various valuation approaches and portfolio strategies for using them. Prerequisite: FIN 330 and FIN 340. FIN 440 Investment Analysis (3 credits) This course offers an opportunity for students to examine modern theories and approaches in portfolio selection, security analysis and bond management. Particular emphasis is placed on integrating modern portfolio selection models with traditional valuation theory and analysis. Prerequisites: FIN 320 and FIN 340. FIN 445 Investment Analysis – NASD Series 7 (6 credits) FIN 445 is a specialty finance course designed for students with a strong interest in the financial services industry. The course will prepare students to write the NASD Series 7 examination, an important credential and requirement to work as a registered representative at a broker-dealer. The course will cover topics related to the investment brokerage field, including securities investments, securities rules and regulations, customer accounts and investment companies. Prerequisite: FIN 320 or permission of instructor. FIN 480 Independent Study (3 credits) This course allows the student to investigate any economic or finance subject not incorporated into the curriculum. Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor, program coordinator/department chair, and school dean. 131