The Finance curriculum

at Franklin College Switzerland

Courses in Finance are offered and administered by the Area of Economics and Finance (ECN-coded courses) with the support of the Area of International Management (BUS-coded courses). Some courses are ECN/BUS cross-listed.

Financial economics and business finance indicate two approaches to deal with the world of finance. Both deal with the same fundamental topics, though they may differ on goals and methodology. Financial economics studies the behavior of traders in financial markets and the determinants of price formation. This includes the learning of concepts, theories and analytical frameworks essential for reading financial markets and making financial decisions, typically forming the skills of a financial analyst. Business finance studies business practices useful in devising strategies to attain financial goals. This includes the learning of concepts, procedures and techniques essential for processing financial information and handling financial planning and budgeting, typically forming the skills of a financial manager.

As these definitions make clear, the areas of business finance and financial economics are strongly interrelated. A student may be leaning towards a career as a financial manager, or rather towards a career as a financial analyst, but in neither case can one afford to concentrate exclusively in one single dimension of finance. A financial manager who is intimately familiar with economic analysis is more valuable than one who is not; also, a financial analyst who is intimately familiar with the operations of financial markets and managerial strategies is more valuable than one who is not. In the real world, financial economics and business finance must meet.

The Finance curriculum at Franklin optimally combines these two dimensions of the study of finance in the international perspective that has become essential in the current environment of high capital mobility and integrated financial markets. Students are given an appreciation of the financial decision-making process as determinants of the economic wealth of individuals, business enterprises, and nations, as well as an understanding of the opportunities and risks in the global arena. In most courses, special attention is given to the changes following the introduction of the Euro and to the problems of globalization of banking services and financial markets.

The Finance curriculum forms the core of the Major in International Banking and Finance (IBF). This program includes courses providing the necessary quantitative skills for the study of finance and a corollary of courses in economics that prepare students to the study of finance, as well as courses that complement the managerial dimension of finance. The major provides the knowledge and skills for employment in the financial division of commercial and industrial businesses, or in the banking and financial services sector. Students are also prepared for graduate study, where they can choose to upgrade their expertise in either direction, business-oriented or economics-oriented.

The Finance curriculum at Franklin College includes the following courses:

Although not part of the curriculum in Finance, the following courses provide the complementary quantitative dimension: