Finance is concerned with how firms and other entities raise money, how it is invested in capital projects after it has been raised, how the financial assets (e.g. stocks and bonds) issued to raise monies are valued, how financial assets are held in portfolios, and how the cash flows from financial assets can be rearranged to meet specific objectives (such as the funding of pension liabilities).
Here are three excellent reasons why a person would study finance:
They desire a career in finance. (Career opportunities in finance are discussed in the next section.) A career in finance can be rewarding--both monetarily and emotionally--for individuals who are interested in analyzing and solving problems. As many, but not all, of these problems are quantitatively oriented, most finance majors have above-average mathematical skills.
They are majoring in other fields, but are interested in understanding the firm (or other enterprise) as a whole. The finance department is typically charged with evaluating and approving large projects that originate in other departments within the firm. Many non-financial managers find that an understanding of the financial function is necessary in order to further their own careers, particularly as their own responsibilities become more general in nature.
They are interested in learning about finance for personal reasons. Virtually all students can benefit from an understanding of how finance affects their personal lives. This concerns areas such as income and tax planning, insurance and risk management, personal investing and portfolio management, and estate planning.
Career opportunities in finance are many and varied. They can be broadly broken down into three categories:
Corporate Finance. People who work in a corporate setting are concerned with acquiring funds for the operation and growth of the firm, the firm's investment decisions, and the analysis of the firm's operations and performance. An example of a corporate finance position would be a financial analyst working for Ford Motor Company, or a risk manager working for IBM.
Institutional Finance. The people who work in institutional finance settings are those who make the wheels of finance turn. Financial institutions serve as financial intermediaries between savers and users of financial capital. People in these types of careers often work in banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, pension funds, and other financial institutions. Examples of institutional finance positions include loan officer at Wells Fargo Bank, or operations manager at Merrill Lynch & Co.
Investments. The people who have careers in the investments area are concerned with how stocks and bonds are valued, and the management of investment portfolios. Many of these jobs are with banks, brokerage houses, mutual funds, and pension funds. Examples of investment positions include securities analyst at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, trust officer at Bank One, or portfolio manager at Fidelity.
Degree requirements for the Bachelors Degree in Business Administration (BSBA), Finance Concentration are provided in the document below. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view this document. If you do not have this application, it can be downloaded for free from Adobe's Acrobat download page.
Flow Diagram