5 credits
All responsible leaders consider the fiscal implications of the decisions they make on a daily basis, such as those involving growth, sustainability, and employee issues. In this course, students are provided with a survey of fundamental concepts in financial decision making. Students examine core principles, such as the time value of money, decision making under conditions of uncertainty, valuation, risk management, mergers and acquisitions, and capital budgeting. They also explore the legal, ethical, and global dimensions of financial economic decision-making theories and practices. Students will also consider the impact and limitations of financial markets in society, and how risk and return for firms is mediated and moderated by agency effects, information asymmetries, and both rational and irrational aspects of market behavior.
Topics that students are encouraged to explore include risk management, financial decision making, uncertainty valuations, mergers and acquisitions, global ethical decision making, managing growth and sustainability, legal and ethical decision making in finance, managing economic growth and sustainability, and time value of money and the capital structure puzzle. As scholars, students will need to work independently to develop their understanding about the various topics the class has selected for the discussions.