Undergraduate Department of Finance

College of Business

Website: https://business.fsu.edu/departments/finance

Chair: Don Autore; Professors: Ang, Autore, Cheng, Hutton, Peterson; Associate Professors: Christiansen, Dougal, Mityakov, Perfect; Assistant Professors: Kim; Senior Lecturer in Finance: Bliss, Mahon, G. Smith; Assistant Lecturers in Finance: Herring, Khoshnoud, Schrowang, D. Smith, Wang; Patty Hill Smith Eminent Scholar in Finance: Cheng; Bank of America Eminent Scholar in Finance: Ang; Bank of America Professor of Finance: Peterson; Truist Associate Professor of Finance: Christiansen; Gene Taylor Bank of America Professor of Finance: Hutton; Dean L. Cash Professor of Finance: Autore; Truist Associate Professor of Finance: Mityakov

Finance is considered one of the basic functions of our private enterprise system. Finance can be defined as the art and science of managing money. Each of the many firms, businesses, institutions, and governmental agencies in our economic system has the problems of obtaining, administering, and managing its funds efficiently and wisely. Nearly every decision made by an organization has important financial implications. Thus, the finance student is introduced to and studies the theory, concepts, applications, institutional environment, and analytical tools essential for proper decision making. Finance is designed as preparation for a broad variety of careers, since all organizations need individuals knowledgeable about finance. Careers may be in financial management and analysis, banking, financial institutions, financial markets, investments, portfolio analysis and management, financial planning, and multinational finance. Finance is also considered good preparation for graduate study in law or business. The department also offers a combined BS/MSF pathway and a combined BS/MBA pathway that allows highly qualified undergraduate students the opportunity to accelerate their coursework and take up to nine semester hours of graduate coursework, which may be counted toward both the BS and MSF or MBA degrees. Detailed descriptions of the MSF and MBA programs can be found in the Graduate Bulletin.

Digital Literacy Requirement

Students must complete at least one course designated as meeting the Digital Literacy Requirement with a grade of “C–” or higher. Courses fulfilling the Digital Literacy Requirement must accomplish at least three of the following outcomes:

• Evaluate and interpret the accuracy, credibility, and relevance of digital information
• Evaluate and interpret digital data and their implications
• Discuss the ways in which society and/or culture interact with digital technology
• Discuss digital technology trends and their professional implications
• Demonstrate the ability to use digital technology effectively
• Demonstrate the knowledge to use digital technology safely and ethically

Each academic major has determined the courses that fulfill the Digital Literacy requirement for that major. Students should contact their major department(s) to determine which courses will fulfill their Digital Literacy requirement.

Undergraduate majors in finance satisfy this requirement by earning a grade of “C–” or higher in CGS 2100 (state mandated business prerequisite requirement) or CGS 2518.

Note: CGS 2518 with a grade of “C–” or better is required for students in the Finance major and is a prerequisite to all 4000-level courses offered in the Finance Department.

Required Risk in Business and Society Course

All undergraduates at Florida State University intending to enter a business major should complete RMI 2302, Risk in Business and Society, with a “C–” or better by the end of their sophomore year, but no later than their fifth mapping term.

Required Professional Development Course

All undergraduates entering Florida State University in Fall 2019 and later must complete a one-credit course in professional development, GEB 1030, with a “C–” or better by the end of their fifth mapping term. However, students are encouraged to complete the course by the end of their sophomore year to take full advantage of the material.

State of Florida Common Program Prerequisites for Finance

The Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC) houses the statewide, internet-based catalog of distance learning courses, degree programs, and resources offered by Florida's public colleges and universities, and they have developed operational procedures and technical guidelines for the catalog that all institutions must follow. The statute governing this policy can be reviewed by visiting https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2021/1006.73.

FLVC has identified common program prerequisites for the degree program in Finance. To obtain the most up-to-date, state-approved prerequisites for this degree, visit: https://cpm.flvc.org/programs/138/1158.

Specific prerequisites are required for admission into the upper-division program and must be completed by the student at either a community college or a state university prior to being admitted to this program. Students may be admitted into the University without completing the prerequisites but may not be admitted into the program.

Requirements

Requirements for the Finance Program

Candidates for the Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree with a major in finance must complete a minimum of one hundred twenty semester hours. Normally, four semesters of work are devoted to the CoreFSU Curriculum and additional foundation courses in mathematics, economics, and statistics. The finance major must complete the business common body of knowledge, which includes work in accounting, quantitative methods, management, business law, marketing, computer science, business communications, and basic finance. The finance major requirements consist of an additional eighteen semester hours of work in advanced finance and accounting courses.

Requirements for a Major in Finance

All students must complete the following: (1) the University-wide baccalaureate degree requirements summarized in the “Undergraduate Degree Requirements” chapter of this General Bulletin; (2) the state of Florida common program prerequisites for finance majors; (3) the general business core requirements for finance majors; (4) the general business breadth requirements for finance majors; and (5) the major area requirements for finance majors.

Note: To be eligible to pursue finance major, students must meet the admission requirements for the AACSB accredited business programs in the College of Business. These admission requirements are described in the “College of Business” chapter of this General Bulletin.

General Business Core Requirements for Finance Majors

All finance majors must complete the following six courses. A grade of “C–” or better must be earned in each course*

BUL 3310 The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business (3)

*FIN 3403 Financial Management of the Firm (3)

GEB 3213 Business Communications (3)

ISM 3541 Introduction to Business Analytics (3)

MAN 3240 Organizational Behavior (3)

MAR 3023 Basic Marketing Concepts (3)

General Business Breadth Requirements for Finance Majors

All finance majors must complete the two courses as follows. Each course must be completed with a grade of “C–” or better.

FIN 3244 Financial Markets, Institutions, and International Finance Systems (3)

QMB 3200 Quantitative Methods for Business Decisions (3)

Capstone Course

All finance majors must complete the capstone class in Strategic Management and Business Policy (MAN 4720) with a grade of “C–” or better.

Major Area Requirements for Finance Majors

All finance majors must complete six courses (eighteen semester hours) as listed below.

A grade of “B–” or better must be earned in FIN 3403 and a grade of “C–” or better must be earned in CGS 2518 and FIN 3244 to be eligible to enroll in any 4000-level course offered by the Finance Department.

A grade of “C–” or better must be earned in FIN 4424, FIN 4504, and the two additional finance electives used to satisfy the finance major area requirements. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be earned in the courses used to satisfy the finance major area requirements.

Finance majors cannot repeat FIN 3403 more than three times. Non-finance majors are not subject to this repeat policy.

ACG 3171 Analysis of Financial Statement Presentation (3)

Note: The two course sequence, ACG 3101 (Financial Accounting and Reporting I) and ACG 3111 (Financial Accounting and Reporting II), may be substituted for ACG 3171.

ACG 3331 Cost Accounting and Analysis for Business Decisions (3)

Note: ACG 3341 (Cost Accounting) may be substituted for ACG 3331.

FIN 4424 Problems in Financial Management (3)

FIN 4504 Investments (3)

Plus two electives from the following list of courses:

FIN 4324 Commercial Bank Administration (3)

FIN 4433 Venture Capital and Private Equity

FIN 4412 Short-Term Financial Management (3)

FIN 4453 Financial Modeling and Forecasting (3)

FIN 4514 Security Analysis and Portfolio Management (3)

FIN 4604 Multinational Financial Management (3)

FIN 4730 Strategic Consulting for Finance (3)

FIN 4934r Senior Seminar in Finance (3)

GEB 4455 Perspectives on Free Enterprise (3)

*REE 4204 Real Estate Finance (3) or

*REE 4313 Real Estate Investment (3)

*Students may count only one of these REE courses as a Finance major elective.

Honors in the Major

The Department of Finance offers honors in the major to encourage talented students to undertake independent and original research as part of the undergraduate experience. For requirements and other information see the “University Honors Office and Honor Societies” chapter of this General Bulletin.

Definition of Prefixes

ECP—Economic Problems and Policy

FIN—Finance

GEB—General Business

MAN—Management

QMB—Quantitative Methods in Business

Undergraduate Courses

FIN 3140. Personal Finance (3). This course is a study of the concepts and processes in planning, analyzing, and controlling personal financial resources. The course emphasizes financial planning, cash and credit management, managing expenditures, income and asset protection, investment planning, and retirement and estate planning. For nonbusiness majors only. Credit not allowed for business majors.

FIN 3163. Psychology for Financial Planning (3). This course examines topics within Psychology that apply to personal and family financial planning. Emphasis is placed on the six Principal Knowledge Topics within the Psychology of Financial Planning domain assessed on the CFP® exam. These topics include: client and planner attitudes, values, and biases; behavioral finance; sources of money conflict; principles of counseling; etc.

FIN 3244. Financial Markets, Institutions, and International Finance Systems (3). Prerequisites: ACG 2021 and ECO 2013. This course focuses on money and capital markets, financial institutions, financial systems, and financial environment including an introduction to investments. Emphasizes the microfinancial decision-making process of the business firm.

FIN 3403. Financial Management of the Firm (3). Prerequisites: ACG 2021 and ECO 2023. This course is an examination of the basic concepts involved in the investment, financing, and dividend decisions of the business firm. Managerial orientation with emphasis on identification, analysis, and solution of financial problems confronting the firm.

FIN 4125. Advanced Financial Planning (3). Prerequisite: FIN 3124. This course provides an advanced and in-depth application of personal and family financial management principles with an emphasis on analyzing the elements of a personal financial plan: income and expenses, credit, savings, insurance, investments, taxes, and financial behavior. Completion demonstrates an understanding of the first give steps in financial planning.

FIN 4324. Commercial Bank Administration (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2518 (C-or better) and FIN 3244 (C- or better) and FIN3403 (B- or better). This course is a study of the operations and administration of commercial banks and their role in the money and capital markets. Examines banking regulation, the lending function, investments, and the financial decision-making process.

FIN 4412. Short-Term Financial Management (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2518 (C- or better) and FIN 3244 (C- or better) and FIN 3403 (B- or better). This course focuses on the decisions impacting the short-term cash flows of organizations—public, private, governmental, and non-profit. Topics include: cash management, treasury management, and working capital management.

FIN 4424. Problems in Financial Management (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2518, FIN 3244 and FIN 3403 with a grade of “B–” or better. This course gives students an understanding of the underlying principles of finance from the decision-making perspective of financial managers. Topics include: project valuation and capital budgeting decisions, return and risk analysis, capital structure, payout policy, and corporate governance. Case studies are included.

FIN 4433. Venture Capital and Private Equity (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2518, FIN 3244, and FIN 3403. This course provides a comprehensive overview of the private equity industry with an emphasis on venture capital investing. The private equity industry is the set of investment funds that raise capital to buy ownership (equity) in private companies. This industry provides an important source of capital and managerial expertise throughout the life cycle of a firm.

FIN 4453. Financial Modeling and Forecasting (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2518 (C- or better) and FIN 3244 (C- or better) and FIN 3403 (B- or better). This course is an introduction to financial modeling and forecasting. Emphasis is on computer models and forecasting financial variables.

FIN 4504. Investments (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2518, FIN 3244, and FIN 3403 with a grade of “B-” or better. This course is an introduction to investment/security analysis. Includes an examination of investment instruments, the investment environment, the concept of risk-return, and the interactive forces between the economy, industries, and individual firms.

FIN 4514. Security Analysis and Portfolio Management (3). Prerequisites: FIN 3244 (C- or better) and FIN 3403 (B- or better) and FIN 4504 (C- or better). This course is an advanced and comprehensive coverage of investment topics including bond analysis, stock options, interest rate futures, options on futures contracts, portfolio analysis and management, and security market efficiency.

FIN 4540. Fixed Income (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2518, FIN 3244, and FIN 3403. This course focuses on fixed income insecurities and global debt markets. This course defines the key characteristics of fixed income securities and discusses the primary types of bonds. Students receive an overview of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.

FIN 4604. Multinational Financial Management (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2518 (C- or better) and FIN 3244 (C- or better) and FIN 3403 (B- or better). This course introduces the environment of international capital and foreign exchange markets and examines the effects of the international business environment on risk, capital budgeting, working capital management, and capital structure decisions of the firm.

FIN 4730. Strategic Consulting for Finance (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2518 (C-or better) and FIN 3244 (C- or better) and FIN 3403 (B- or better). This course helps students leverage creative skills to find solutions for business challenges. The course teaches students how to gather data, transform it into useful information, locate problem areas, generate ideas, and choose optimal solutions rooted in ethics and values. Current consulting strategies and techniques, including best practices, continuous improvement, business process outsourcing and others will be reviewed and discussed.

FIN 4905r. Directed Individual Study (1–3). This course permits study or exploration into a specialized topic of finance that is not included in one of the other finance courses. It also permits advanced and extensive study of finance topics beyond that included in the other finance courses. The study is conducted with the direct supervision of an individual faculty member. This course may not be used as one of the two required finance electives detailed in the major requirements. May be repeated to a maximum of five times with the requirement that the topic changes each time. Consent of the department chairperson is required.

FIN 4934r. Senior Seminar in Finance (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2518 (C- or better) and FIN 3244 (C- or better) and FIN3403 (B- or better). May be repeated to a maximum of nine semester hours as topics vary. Additional prerequisites may be required depending on the topic.

FIN 4941. Finance Internship (3). (S/U grade only.) Prerequisite: FIN 3403 and FIN 3244. This internship is designed for College of Business students who desire to gain real world experience in the finance field through on-the-job practice. Students work under the direction of an approved industry professional, a faculty advisor, and the internship director.

FIN 4960. Securities Industry Essentials (1). Prerequisites: CGS 2518, FIN 3244, FIN 3403, and FIN 4504. This course is an introduction to the securities industry and provides preparation for the FINRA Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) examination. Individuals interested in pursuing employment as a representative-legal registrant (e.g., analysts at banks, brokerage firms, investment managers, and wealth managers) must pass the SIE examination.

FIN 4970r. Honors in the Major Research (1–6). Prerequisite: Admission to the honors program. In this course, students accepted into the Honors in the Major program complete an original research or creative project in their major area of study. This course must be repeated at least twice to complete a minimum of six (6) credit hours total but may be repeated up to a maximum of twelve credit hours in total.

GEB 4455. Perspectives on Free Enterprise (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2518 (C- or better) and FIN 3244 (C- or better) and FIN 3403 (B- or better). This course is an examination of the free enterprise system and the associated economic schools of thought. Sponsored by the BB&T Center for Free Enterprise.

QMB 3200. Quantitative Methods for Business Decisions (3). Prerequisites: CGS 2100 and STA 2023. This course examines classical and modern decision-making techniques based on probabilistic concepts. Emphasizes applications to all areas of business.

For listings relating to graduate coursework, consult the Graduate Bulletin.