Students who want to specialize a degree in corporate finance will make their degree even more valuable to future employers. The world of finance is broad, so a degree concentration helps graduates to focus on specific skills and in-demand areas.
Corporate Finance
Corporate finance studies the ways that money and accounting affect business operations. This degree is popular for those who want to become CFOs, controllers, financial analyst, corporate treasurers and cash or credit manager. The corporate finance-focused curriculum enhances the student’s understanding of topics such as cash forecasting, payment systems, liquidity analysis and quantitative risk assessments. Many of these programs are designed to prepare graduates to pass the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) states that the demand for personal financial advisors, such as those found in corporate financial departments, is projected to grow at 30 percent.
Corporate Finance Core Curriculum
These degree programs will study finance from the corporate perspectives of budgeting, financial markets, investments, capital re-structuring and portfolio management. Students are trained to analyze a company’s financial opportunities and categorical risk levels in order to evaluate the impacts on shareholder’s values. Money and capital markets coursework will evaluate the processes within financial systems, their objectives for assessing opportunities and procedures for pricing risks. Emphasis is usually placed on the functions of the Federal Reserve System and other macroeconomic programs. Cost accounting courses provide a comprehensive overview of the practices of accounting systems that record, classify and report financial data. Topics include cost behaviors, accounting tools and alternative cost systems.
Corporate Finance Elective Curriculum
Corporate finance programs will offer many engaging and interesting electives for students. For example, managerial economics involves the application of economic theories and decision making models to examine how organizations can efficiently achieve its objectives. Learning about capital structure theories will involve the application of long-term financing approaches to maximizing values. Topics covered include theories of financing sources, markets and structure determinants. Mergers and acquisitions coursework focuses on applied managerial decision-making, so students will have a thorough understanding of economic analyses and risk assessments on firm values. Students will study real world scenarios involving capital budgeting, division valuation and quantitative risk assessment.
Corporate Financial Analyst
This is one of the most popular jobs for graduates of corporate finance programs. Corporate financial analysts perform financial evaluations to support decisions regarding financial alternatives, capital raising initiatives and funding development strategies. Senior corporate financial analysts oversee the development of capital structure and allocation strategies. They prepare quarterly financial calculations and annual projections that support risk and debt management objectives. Some corporate financial analysts identify and research potential acquisition candidates by creating financial models, acquisition pipelines and ad hoc financial reports. They will support the development and implementation of analytical processes and reporting systems that empower executives to understand key financial issues.
Related Resource: Types of Finance Jobs in Insurance
Those who want to specialize a degree in corporate finance should consider earning a graduate level degree. This is because employers will expect corporate financial professionals to have a master’s degree with accreditation through organizations such as the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.
