Finance Courses (FNAN)

If a student takes noncore, upper-level business courses before acceptance to the School of Management, those courses will not count on an undergraduate degree application for any major in the School of Management (except as general elective credit). A grade of C or higher must be presented on the graduation application for each upper-level course in the major. Prerequisites are strictly enforced.

Related Catalog Entry: School of Management

Related Mason Website: School of Management (http://gbi-sba.gmu.edu/)

300 Personal Financial Management (3:3:0). Consideration of spending, saving, investing, and borrowing decisions within the household life-cycle framework. Examination of choices among investment alternatives, including assessment of risk exposure and suitability. (Course may not be taken for credit by business majors.) f,s

301 Financial Management (3:3:0).Prerequisite: Completion of at least 48 credits including ECON 103, ACCT 201, and DESC 210. Introduction to the management of a firm's financial resources given a wealth maximization decision criterion. This includes working capital management, fixed-asset investment, cost of capital, capital structure, and dividend decision analysis. Lecture, problems, and discussion. f,s,sum

302 Financial Analysis and Forecasting (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 301. Examination of techniques for analyzing, understanding, and applying financial information in decision situations. Topics include financial statement analysis, development of financial models, and financial planning and forecasting. f,s

311 Principles of Investment (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 301. Introduction to the analysis of the valuation of equity and debt securities given modern capital market theory. Also includes a discussion of portfolio analysis as related to the valuation of securities. Lecture, discussion, and computer-assisted research. f,s

321 Financial Institutions (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 301. Discussion of the basic objectives of financial institutions in light of industry structure and regulatory environment, and the decision variables that management should concentrate on in achieving its objectives. This includes the role that financial institutions play in the allocation of funds within the financial markets. Lecture, discussion, and computer-assisted research. f,s

351 Principles of Real Estate (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 301. Study of the dimensions and specialties involved in the public control and private development, sale, finance, and management of real estate. Subject areas include land planning, land use control, appraisal, finance, brokerage, property management, and investment. Lecture, discussion, and computer-assisted research. ir

401 Advanced Financial Management (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 301. Analysis of decision making within the firm, emphasizing the conceptual structure of problems and the use of advanced analytic techniques. Specific topics include current asset management, capital budgeting, capital structure, dividend policy, long-term financing, mergers, and corporate planning models. Lecture, discussion, and case analysis. f,s

411 Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 311. Analysis of the modern techniques of portfolio management including the evaluation of standards for the selection of individual securities for inclusion in or deletion from portfolios. Risk-return analysis for portfolios and portfolio performance measures are presented. Lecture, discussion, and computer-assisted research. ir

412 Futures and Options Markets (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 311. Introduction to options markets, commodity markets, and financial futures markets as they function to provide pricing mechanisms and alternative investment vehicles. Lecture, discussion, and computer-assisted research. ir

421 Money and Capital Markets (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 321. Discussion of how financial markets are organized, their role in the allocation of funds to various market segments, and the interaction between markets. Topics include aggregate flow of funds analysis as well as money markets, government markets, corporate markets, and mortgage markets. Lecture, discussion, and computer-assisted research. ir

423 Commercial Bank Management (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 321. Introduction to the management of commercial banks. Emphasis is placed on the management of deposits, cash and liquidity, lending, investing, trust services, capital structure and adequacy, international operations, and current banking laws and regulations. Includes a discussion of bank-holding companies, interstate banking proposals, and regulatory agency proposals for expanding banking powers. ir

440 International Financial Management (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 301. Introduction to the management of the contemporary firm's international financial operations. Topics include foreign exchange risk, political risk, returns and risks of international projects, international money and capital markets, financial accounting, capital structure, and the cost of capital. Lecture, discussion, readings, and problems. f,s

451 Real Estate Finance (3:3:0).Prerequisites: FNAN 301 and 351. Study of the mechanisms of real estate finance, sources of funds, loan contracts, principles of mortgage risk analysis, and secondary mortgage markets. Students develop analytical skills including use of the microcomputer and appropriate software. ir

452 Real Estate Appraisal (3:3:0).Prerequisites: FNAN 301 and 351. Discussion of economic theories of value applied to real estate; estimation of value through the cost, income, and market data approaches; valuation as a guide to business decisions; market analysis techniques for the major types of real estate; and development of analytical skills including use of the microcomputer and appropriate software. ir

453 Real Estate Investment (3:3:0).Prerequisites: FNAN 301 and 351. Introduction to the fundamentals of real estate investment, including an overall investment strategy, analytical skills, feasibility studies, and characteristics of various types of properties. Students learn to use microcomputers and appropriate software. ir

491 Seminar in Finance (3:3:0).Prerequisites: FNAN 311, 321, and 401. Seminar in contemporary developments in finance including financial management, financial institutions, financial markets, and investment management. Lecture, discussion, simulation, computer-assisted research. ir

492 Field Experience in Finance (3:3:0).Prerequisite: Senior standing. Faculty-governed field experience in a Northern Virginia business. Teams of students, matched with client firms through the Entrepreneurship Center, propose action plans relating to a major problem or opportunity faced by the company.

499 Independent Study (1-3:0:0).Prerequisite: Finance majors with at least nine upper-level finance credits. Research and analysis of selected problems or topics in finance. Must be arranged with an instructor and approved in writing by the undergraduate program director before registration. Written report required. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits if topics vary.

601 Managerial Microeconomics (3:3:0).Prerequisite: College calculus; corequisite: DESC 600. Provides a fundamental understanding of how economic principles are applied, along with mathematical and statistical analysis, and how managerial decisions are made. Principle of microeconomics theory explored thoroughly, including models of theories of choice under risk and uncertainty, market supply and demand, production and cost functions, monopoly, oligopoly, perfect competition, and product and resource pricing.

650 Managerial Finance (3:3:0).Prerequisites: ACCT 600, DESC 600, and FNAN 601. Introduces the theories of finance and their application to the formulation of business policy. Topics include internal financial analysis, financial forecasting, management of assets, rate of return analysis, and capital formation.

700 Applied Macroeconomics (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 650. Application of general equilibrium economic analysis to business management and government economic policy. Topics include the use of national economic statistics, the interpretation of economic trends and developments, and the practice of forecasting as applied to current economic problems.

711 Corporate Financial Policy (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 650. Analysis of capital budgeting and long-term asset financing. Capital budgeting and financing techniques for the fixed asset portion of balance sheet are considered.

717 International Finance (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 650. Advanced analysis of management of the firm's international financial operations. Topics include currency risk, political risk, returns and funding of international projects, international markets and accounting, and the cost of capital. Lecture, discussion, readings, and cases.

721 Investment Analysis (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 650. Analysis of equity securities and debt instruments given the implications of the efficient market hypothesis and modern capital market theory.

731 Financial Markets (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 650. Allocation of funds process accomplished by financial markets. Money and capital markets, including the organization, relative efficiency, and interaction between market segments.

741 Current Topics in Finance (3:3:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 650. Topics of interest in finance including industrial, governmental, international, or institutional applications. Techniques and methods of financial practice and influences of new legislation.

796 Independent Study and Directed Readings (3:0:0).Prerequisite: FNAN 650. By special arrangement with professor and approval from the director of Student Services.