What is a Finance Concentration?

The study of finance generally concerns aspects of analysis and decision-making. In its basic form, finance concerns how to pay for something. 

Finance as a discipline, however, is much broader. It can include work with (issuing or trading) financial instruments (notes, bonds, or drafts), financial planning (personal and business wealth), budgeting, valuation of cash flows or cash-generating assets/entities, funding transactions, etc.

Finance Related Skills

Some of the core skills applicable to finance include:

• Analysis - Concerning the financial position of a cash producing asset/business.
• Valuation - Of revenue-producing assets.
• Planning - Allocation of financial resources for the future.

Many of the skills related to finance are math based, such as comparative analysis, cash flow asset value, options valuation, project value, market comparisons, etc.

What are the Most Common Finance Courses

Students may enter into more in-depth study of business finance in the following course:

• Financial Management,
• Corporate Finance,
• Business (Financial Statement) Analysis,
• Asset Valuation,
• Money and Banking,
• Equity or Debt Assets,
• Mergers and Acquisitions,
• Investment Strategy,
• Derivative Assets,
• Investment Theory,
• Corporate Restructuring,
• Private Equity,
• Financial Markets,
• Real Estate Investment
• International Finance.

What Careers do Finance Students Pursue?

Some of the more popular career paths include:

• Financial Planner - Advises clients on how to manage their financial assets.
• Investment Advisor - These individuals provide advice to individuals concerning investment decisions.
• Financial Analysts - Financial analysts research stocks, bonds, companies, and industries
• Investment Banking - The investment bank facilitates the underwriting process. There are numerous positions available within this function.
• Merger and Acquisitions - This involves the combination of two or more separate businesses. Banks facilitate the financing, while attorneys facilitate the transactional aspects. There are numerous positions on each side of the transaction, company, bank, or legal.
• Commercial Banking - Commercial banks generally makes loans for businesses for any number of purposes.
• Consumer Banking - These banks provide banking services to individuals. The primary functions include loan officer or brand manager.
• Financial Manager - A financial manager works within an organization handling matters concerning budgeting and financial planning.
• Investor Relations - These individuals provide company information to answer investor queries.
• Financial Sales Agents - These are brokers of any type who work in the security or sometimes commodity industry.
• Bank Examiner - These individuals inspect bank operations and accounts for compliance with regulations.
• Venture Capital - Venture capital concerns the investment of private capital into a company. It can include angel investment, venture capital funds, and private equity funds. There are numerous roles from valuation, due diligence, and transactional matters.

Related Topics

• Management Concentration
• Marketing Concentration
• Finance
• Accounting
• Information Systems
• Business Analytics / Data & Decision Analysis
• Economics
• Human Resources
• Real Estate
• Operations Management
• Insurance & Risk Management
• Entrepreneurship
• International Business
• Business School & Changing Career Paths