Bachelor of Business Administration Finance Concentration

Financial statements are an essential tool for business decision making. In this course, financial statement users’ needs and decisions will be examined, and the principles of the accounting cycle will be explored. Specific elements of financial statements will be examined, and the related accounting principles will be discussed. Financial statement analysis and internal control evaluation will supplement and support the exploration of financial reporting.

Industry use of analytics and business productivity applications is critical to office workflows and evidence informed decision making. This course introduces applied computing to develop skills in applications such as spreadsheet, word processing, and database through the structured query language (SQL).

Effective communication is crucial in today's business landscape. This course is designed to equip students with essential business communication skills. The objective is to enhance students' ability to communicate professionally and adeptly in diverse business settings. Key components of the course include developing fundamental research skills, honing critical reading and writing abilities, crafting structured business reports, delivering compelling oral presentations, and employing interpersonal communication techniques to effectively convey messages and forge robust relationships.

Microeconomics examines how individuals, firms, and societies use their scarce resources to attain economic goals, and how different economic systems try to solve this central problem of scarcity. Students will learn how individuals make consumption decisions and how firms determine how much to produce and what price to charge for products/services given their costs and the market structure of the industry they operate within. The topics of public sector economics, labour market fundamentals, environmental economics, and income inequality are also examined.

Governments focus on three key indicators of economic growth: real GDP, employment, and inflation. Managers need to understand how governments implement their fiscal and monetary policies to achieve the goals of economic growth, low unemployment and stable price changes at the national level. In this course, students will analyze and evaluate how changes in fiscal and monetary policy affect the economic and business environment. In addition, learners will explore the role and interconnectivity of consumers, businesses, government agencies, financial intermediaries, and trading partners, as they exchange goods, and services.

In the financial services industry, advisors/planners need to have a strong understanding of financial concepts; such as tax, banking, credit, investments, and retirement planning. In Introduction to Financial Planning, students will learn to recognize and work with financial planning tools related to areas such as financial management, tax, insurance and risk, investments, retirement, and estate planning.

Marketing is at the heart of business success and growth by meeting customer needs and generating revenue. Students will learn key concepts, strategic marketing planning, methods of analysis, and tactics critical to understanding buyer behaviour and creating value for customers. Emphasis is placed on understanding the strategic marketing planning process. Students will conduct an environmental scan, identify target audiences and apply the four marketing mix components of product, price, place, and promotion.

Mathematical reasoning skills are required to support day-to-day business operations. Students will build on their existing mathematical competencies and apply them to a business context. The learners will gain practice and confidence to evaluate transactions encountered in the business world.

The principal role of a manager is to achieve desired organizational outcomes through people. Students will discover principles that will enable them to recognize and influence human behavior in organizational settings. Utilizing a variety of models and frameworks, students will learn to support, develop, and motivate others to achieve individual, group/team, and organizational goals.

Accounting information is used for decision making, planning and control, as well as performance evaluation. This course is an introduction to managerial accounting that balances the preparation of accounting information with its use for decision making.

An understanding of Canada’s laws and legal system is necessary for business graduates as law is a fundamental part of business. Students will explore several important areas of the law, including constitutional, tort, insurance, contracts, intellectual property and employment. Students will learn how legal disputes are resolved and how an understanding of basic legal principles can help a business minimize potential liability.

Understanding Information Systems helps users of various systems support activities and processes within an organization. Students in Managing Business Information Systems examine key concepts and principles related to information systems. Students learn about cross-functional processes and the systems available to help manage a variety of processes.

The ability to effectively persuade and engage an audience through effective written and oral communication is a fundamental career skill. This course equips students with the necessary tools and techniques to excel in this essential aspect of business. Students will delve into current issues and problems, conducting research to develop documents, reports, and presentations. By applying critical thinking and analytical skills, students will enhance their proficiency in academic and business writing, enabling them to produce compelling and impactful content. A key focus of the course is the integration of evidence from various sources to construct persuasive arguments. Through the examination and analysis of sample texts, students will acquire a toolkit of professional-level writing and communication techniques. These skills can be applied across diverse communication scenarios, empowering students to excel in any professional setting.

Business insights developed through descriptive analytics have transformed and are key to evidence-informed decision making and efficiencies. In this course, students gain skills by completing analytics projects introducing design principles for creating meaningful displays of quantitative and qualitative data. A major focus is on descriptive analytics, including data analysis and data visualization. This focus is comprised of understanding, manipulating, evaluating, and presenting the many complex data and information streams that drive today’s businesses and organizations.

In the Financial services industry, credit is a tool used by advisors and lenders to help consumer and business clients achieve their financial goals. In Principles of Credit, students will advise clients about consumer and business lending from the perspective of a lender/finance manager. Students will prepare credit proposals and present credit solutions for both consumers and businesses. Students will also learn how to communicate lending decisions with clients to ensure that financial loss and risk are mitigated.

Financial professionals who advise clients every day to help them achieve their financial goals. This course will provide students with in depth knowledge of the various financial securities and their regulatory bodies. Students will evaluate investment portfolios and analyze the performance of financial securities by utilizing different quantitative and qualitative tools.

This course focuses on the application of calculus and matrix algebra in business. The course begins with a review of algebra, functions and graphs, and systems of equations. Students will then focus on the application of calculus to the problems encountered in business

Data analysis and statistical evidence can provide valuable insights for businesses and lead to better informed decisions. In this course, students will learn introductory statistical principles and methods. Students will apply descriptive statistics, probability theory, hypothesis testing and regression analysis to evaluate business problems and/or small case studies.

In the era of “alternative facts”, “fake news”, misinformation campaigns, and data overload, critical reading, and analysis of information is crucial for making decisions and supporting a particular course of action. Students will examine the various ways language can be used to motivate or manipulate an audience through written and audiovisual texts on pertinent and controversial issues. In addition to evaluating the credibility, intent, and veracity of texts by others, students will create their own texts individually and in collaboration with their peers.

Unethical behaviour can create risks and damage to businesses and their stakeholders. Some of the practices in the business world have led today’s managers to weigh the consequences of business decisions from an ethical lens. In Applied Business Ethics, students will develop a personal moral compass, review applicable concepts and theories, and utilize a conceptual framework to help guide ethical behaviour in a business environment. Students will apply relevant theories and ethical decision-making to common business ethical issues, including the corporate social responsibility of business organizations

Stocks are traded every day by fund managers, corporations, and individuals in order to capture ownership stake in corporations and to drive returns. In this course, students will participate in a real-time stock market simulation using portfolio, fundamental, and technical analysis tools to trade in a broad range of financial securities to preserve capital and to maximize returns.

Corporate Finance examines financial and investment decisions from the corporation's perspective. The financial markets, the tradeoff between risk and return, the firm’s cost of capital, capital budgeting decisions, the firm’s working capital management decisions and the derivatives markets are integral to the valuation of financial assets. This is the scope of corporate finance.

Finance Professionals are tasked with fostering strong relationships with clients, achieving client financial goals, expanding their client portfolio, all while elevating their professional practice. Students will learn the importance of creating valuable relationships with their clients and strategies to enhance and excel in their chosen profession.

Securities valuation is the process of estimating the value of publicly listed securities. Students in securities valuation will learn how to value a company through discounted cash flow and relative valuation techniques. Students learn about measuring cash flows, estimating discount rates, and relative market valuations to draw conclusions about a firm being under/overvalued.

Econometrics provides the statistical techniques to help translate data into models, to make forecasts and to support decision making in a wide variety of business-related fields. Students will learn multiple regression, analysis of variance and other advanced statistical techniques using a statistical / data analytics package. At the end of the course, students will be able to read and evaluate a research study that employs basic data analysis, regression analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and other statistical/ econometrics techniques.

For the successful operation of firms, leaders need to understand and evaluate public policy, government regulation and public expectations. Business and Its Environment provides tools to examine the political, regulatory, social and special interest elements that may affect operations from a leadership perspective. Students will develop the ability to assess the nonmarket environment and create integrated strategies to improve business decisions through case studies, discussions and other activities.

Economic History provided important lessons from the past to understand the principles that sustain economic growth. Students who take this course assess major economic events using the key determinants of economic development. Students learn about the main financial, industrial, and institutional factors that contributed to economic growth to enhance their understanding of the evolution of the global economy.

Alternative investments are nontraditional asset classes that are a powerful tool for effective diversification, volatility control, and returns enhancement. Students will acquire knowledge of the features and the applications of a wide variety of alternative investments, such as real assets, hedge funds, and private equity. They will learn to analyze and decompose different types of structured products. Students will assess and construct complex investment strategies along the dimensions of return and multimodal risk.

Retirement planning examines goal setting in the context of achieving financial security through government pensions, registered pensions and other savings. This course is suitable for individuals interested in financial planning and for those who aspire to pursue the QAFP and CFP designations.

Personal Risk Management is the process of identifying, measuring, treating, and monitoring personal risk (including, but not limited to, insurance); and Estate Planning prepares for the distribution of assets in a tax-efficient manner through wills, trusts, and donations to charity. Both areas are essential in the creation of a personal financial plan. Students will learn about the regulatory and legal aspects of the insurance industry, as well as the application of the 5 steps of the risk management process for A&C, health, and life insurance products. The estate planning component of this course prepares students with the basic legal and regulatory framework to be able to analyze the implication of disposition of assets before and after death. . This course is suitable for individuals interested in financial planning and for those who aspire to pursue the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation or the Qualified Associate Financial Planner (QAFP) designation.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the Canadian securities industry so individuals have the required knowledge to make prudent investment decisions and/or recommendations. Students focus on topics such as capital markets, Canadian securities regulation, the Canadian economy, financial products (fixed income securities, equities, and derivatives), how to interpret financial statements, and the mechanics of securities transactions. This course is suitable for students who are pursuing Part 1 of the Canadian Securities Course.

A successful and confident investment advisor requires sound knowledge to make smart investment decisions for their clients. This course provides foundational knowledge that prepares students to give effective advice to clients on portfolio analysis, including investment product selections and asset allocation strategies. This course is recommended for students who are pursuing Canadian Securities Course Part II.

The size of the global bond market of approximately $130 trillion is a testament to the importance of this asset class for investment, portfolio construction, risk management, and the functioning of the overall economy. Students will learn to perform analysis, valuation, structuring and trading strategy formulation of different fixed income securities and their derivatives. They will also learn the theoretical concepts and models of the term structure and the interest rate dynamics.

Businesses in Canada are called to action through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as a reconciliation framework. Through this course, students will learn to apply the principles, norms, and standards of UNDRIP to a business’ policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources.

Examining the advisory, oversight and reporting duties of directors on corporate boards in Canada is relevant to business students as directors, shareholders or stakeholders in the contemporary business environment.Students will explain different aspects of corporate governance, such as structures and perspectives. Additionally, they will analyze best practices and emerging issues in corporate governance as well as relate concepts drawn from other disciplines to this subject matter.

Tax planning is a critical component in financial planning to strengthen the clients’ financial position. Students will learn different types of incomes, deductions, and credits to maximize the client’s after-tax income. Students will also learn how to use available tax planning opportunities to minimize client’s current and future tax liabilities.

Machine Learning is quickly becoming an indispensable requirement for a good job in the Financial Industry. This course equips students with the knowledge and practical skills to apply machine learning algorithms to different problems and tasks encountered in the financial industry. It uses software to expose students to a wide range of machine learning techniques. Particular attention is paid to developing models for forecasting, pricing, investment, portfolio, and risk decision making.

The financial manager of a corporation makes decisions on the management of capital in terms of investments and payout policies. In this course practical tools and techniques for effective financial decision-making are synthesized with the theories of finance so that students can appraise these decisions in the context of value creation.

Globalization has made the international business landscape more complex than ever before. International Finance develops a basis for making financial decisions in a international corporate management setting. Students will examine drivers of foreign exchange rates, such as balance of payments and parity conditions. Additional topics discussed in this course are techniques that firms use to protect against adverse foreign exchange movements, the impact of sourcing funds globally on corporations, and dealing with foreign direct investment, multinational capital budgeting and international trade financing.

At the heart of a successful portfolio management lies the dynamic process of planning, execution, and feedback. Advanced Portfolio Theory will explore comprehensive issues in managing individual and institutional investor portfolios, capital market expectations, monitoring, rebalancing, and the evaluation of portfolio performance. Students will be equipped with the quantitative and qualitative skills of portfolio management through lectures, problem solving , case analyses and through studying real-life examples. The course is suitable for individuals who aspire to pursue a career in investments, a CFA designation or simply have an interest in the field of finance.

Trillions of dollars in securities are traded everyday by fund managers, corporations, and individuals in order to drive returns and manage risk. In advanced securities trading, students will explore the principles, strategies, and methods of trading systems development over different trading mandates, types of securities, execution venues and time horizons. Students will learn the techniques of algorithmic electronic trading, institutional, block trading, and open outcry. The theoretical background and the practical skills for trading strategy formulation, execution, back-testing, and performance measurement on a variety of basic securities and financial derivatives will also be discussed in this course.

Risk is a fundamental characteristic of financial markets and, derivatives are the most effective tools for managing this risk. This course introduces the fundamental principles and methods for risk management using derivative securities. It provides students with the theoretical background and the practical skills for valuation of all basic financial derivatives: options, futures, forwards, and swaps and the principles of structuring more advanced strategies for trading and hedging. The students will learn how to apply these strategies to the management of various types of risks, such as market risk, foreign exchange risk, and interest rate risk. The course also covers the essential details for market organization and the mechanics of derivatives trading.

Investment analysis is a fundamental knowledge and skill required to thrive in the highly competitive finance industry. This course allows students to gain analytical skills and knowledge in quantitative methods, economics, financial reporting, investments analysis, and portfolio management to make well-informed investment decisions.

Behavioral finance helps individuals identify the silent, often hidden factors, that may affect financial decision making. Traditional finance courses often ignore these factors and assume that everyone acts in a perfectly rational way all the time. Students will learn how psychological and social influences affect the decision-making processes of individuals, groups, and organizations.

Financial Risk is a complex multidimensional phenomenon and the need for dedicated professionals has been reflected on the marketplace. The course prepares students for the job of professional risk managers and supports the preparation of those seeking the corresponding professional designation. The course covers the fundamental principles, practices, and methods for management of different types of risk, such as market, credit and operational. It provides students with the theoretical background and the mathematical tools for identification, assessment, modeling, and control of different types of risks. The students will learn how to apply these strategies to the analysis of cases involving risk management failures of actual companies.

Replicating the work environment is one of the most efficient ways to prepare students for the realities of the job in the Investment Banking industry. This course provides students with an opportunity to develop further and apply in practice their knowledge of securities valuation and portfolio management. Students identify, select, and monitor a portfolio of securities, with real-world factors limiting or enhancing potential investment opportunities. They gain relevant valuation and portfolio management experience in a supervised setting. Course activities include the typical duties of a Security Analyst in the industry, such as valuation, reporting, risk analysis, portfolio construction and rebalancing, etc.

Models are the most powerful tool for understanding complex processes and relationships in Finance. Students will acquire knowledge and practical skills to build and analyze financial models. Students will use Excel and Python as tools to learn the principles of modeling and how to implement them in a wide range of financial areas. Particular attention will be paid to different market and valuation models for investment and risk decision making.

Finance theory examines the broader implications of financial accounting for the financial markets. Students will study accounting under ideal conditions, efficient markets, and game theory. Students also assess the different end users of financial statements and the potential conflicts that may arise from their different informational needs.

Entrepreneurs need to look at all sources of capital that will allow them to create value, reduce risk and position themselves for additional investment. In Entrepreneurial Finance, students will explore a variety of funding sources including angel investors, seed and venture capital, private equity, Initial Public Offering (IPO), and the latest trends in venture financing. This course will offer different perspectives, including that of the entrepreneur and that of a potential investor. Students will learn about navigating the investment world, determining appropriate capital sources for ventures, and the investment criteria employed by the different types of investors.

A financial planner is a qualified professional who helps individuals meet their financial goals and objectives by collecting and analyzing a client’s personal information. Financial Planners implement and monitor recommendations in the areas of financial management, asset management, tax planning, risk management, retirement planning and estate planning. Using the technical skills learned in the CFP core curriculum, students in this course will prepare an in-depth financial plan to demonstrate the competencies learned in the curriculum. To reinforce advanced financial planning topics, a series of case studies and complex financial planning problems will be studied prior to the completion of the final financial plan. This course is suitable for individuals interested in financial planning and for those who aspire to pursue the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.

Business valuation is the process of estimating the value of private businesses. Students in this course will study valuation techniques that apply to businesses when a notional valuation must be undertaken. At the completion of this course students will understand valuation terminology, methodologies and develop an awareness of issues surrounding this topic.