Finance

• Degree Requirements
• Upper Level Business Common Core Courses
• Course Listing

Dr. Paul Haensly
Associate Professor and Coordinator of Finance
Dr. Paul Haensly is a financial economist and wannabe mathematician. His teaching and research interests are primarily in modern portfolio theory, asset pricing models, market efficiency, and financial derivatives. His work has been published in Journal of Accounting and Finance Research; Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics; Southwest Business and Economics Journal; Oil, Gas & Energy Quarterly; Journal of Asset Management; and The Credit and Financial Management Review. Dr. Haensly earned a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of North Texas in 1994. His dissertation topic was "The Application of Statistical Classification to Business Failure Prediction." Prior to graduate school in Finance, he worked as a Systems Analyst for a defense contractor in Huntsville, Alabama, where he did mathematical modeling and computer simulations. He also earned an M.A. in Mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin and two B.S. degrees, one in Mathematics and one in Physics, from Texas A&M University. In addition to teaching Finance at UTPB, Dr. Haensly also has taught at the University of North Texas as a Visiting Assistant Professor and at Texas Christian University and Our Lady of the Lake University as an Adjunct.

The School of Business administers the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) with a major in Finance. The degree provides an understanding of financial markets, financial institutions, and financial decision-making of businesses. The course work provides training in conceptual and quantitative tools that a financial professional needs to know to be successful. Finance is a discipline that is grounded in economics and draws many of its tools from accounting. Thus a Finance major takes courses in economics and accounting beyond those required of all business majors.

Back to top

Degree Requirements

The minimum total credits required for a BBA degree in Finance is 122.

Sample Degree Plan

General Education 44 Credits

Complete the requirements shown in the General Education Requirements section on pages 51-52 of this catalog, including the following courses:

Computer Use

Finance majors obtain skills in using computers in problem-solving in COSC 1335 (BCIS 1405), a required lower-division course. ACCT 3333/MNGT3333, a required core business course, includes further development of these skills and their application in a business context.

Lower Level Business Courses  18 Credits

Complete the 18 credit hour requirements shown in the Lower Level Business Courses section on page 63 of this catalog. 

Back to top

Upper Level Business Common Core Courses 

Complete the requirements shown in the Upper Level Business Common Core Courses section on page 64 of this catalog. Finance majors are required to take the following courses for their upper level economics elective in the Business Common Core:

Advice to Students Interested in Pursuing a Finance Major

The Degree Plan for a BBA in Finance requires Lower Level General Education Courses (44 hours), Lower Level Business Courses (18 hours), Upper Level Business Core Courses (27 hours), Major Courses (30 hours), and the Business Capstone course (3 hours) for a total of 122 credit hours. For more details, see "Specific Requirements for BBA Degrees in Accountancy, Finance, Management and Marketing" in the School of Business section of this Catalog on pages 63-64.

A full time student might follow the hypothetical course schedule shown at the end of this section on Finance. However, keep in mind that most business and economics courses beyond the Business Core are offered at most only once a year and many electives are offered less frequently. In addition, these courses may not be offered in the semesters shown in the hypothetical course schedule due to changes in faculty or teaching assignments. Finally, if you are a part-time student who needs to plan around work and family, the hypothetical course schedule is a poor guide.

Hence we recommend that you meet with your academic advisor at the latest in the long semester before the start of your junior year and prior to the start of every succeeding academic semester to discuss your scheduling alternatives. If you are a part-time student, you have greater flexibility. If you are a full time student, you will need to plan carefully to get the courses you want and still graduate on schedule.

The Finance faculty recommend that you take the following Lower Level Courses as soon as possible, because each is a direct prerequisite for at least one upper level course that you must take and is an indirect prerequisite for others: ENGL 1301, ENGL 1302, MATH 1324 (or 2412), MATH 1325 (or 2413), COMM 1315/1321 (COMM 1321 recommended), COSC 1335, ACCT 2301, ACCT 2302, MNGT 2301, ECON 2301, ECON 2302. You must earn a GPA of 2.25 or better in these 33 hours (11 courses) to earn a BBA.

The Finance faculty recommends that you take the following Business Core Courses as soon as possible: ECON 3322, MNGT 3302, MNGT 3311, and FINA 3320. These courses provide important tools and foundational concepts that will help you do well in your Major Courses. You do not need to complete all of your lower level coursework prior to taking these courses. The remaining Business Core courses may be taken while working on your Major Courses.

The Finance faculty recommends that you take the following Major Courses first: Accounting Tools Elective, Economics Tools Elective, FINA 4323, FINA 4325, and FINA 4327. While these courses are not prerequisites for other finance courses, you will gain more from your remaining finance courses if you complete these courses first. Your remaining Major course-work includes FINA 4321, two Upper Level Finance Electives, and two Upper Level Business and Economics Electives.

You must complete 42 hours of upper level Business and Economics courses, including all of your Business Core courses, prior to enrolling in the Capstone Course, MNGT 4375. We recommend that you take the capstone course in your last semester.

You have a limited number of slots for electives in your degree plan: two Upper Level Finance Electives and two Upper Level Business and Economics Electives. Choose wisely. If you plan to continue working for your current employer, ask your supervisors and mentors which courses are most likely to advance your career. If you have a specific career in mind, e.g., in the banking industry, conduct research to determine which courses will help you most when you apply for a job. If intend to go immediately to graduate school, find out which undergraduate courses will prepare you the best for graduate level course work. With these general guidelines in mind, the Finance faculty offers the following recommendations for your electives.

At the time this Catalog is being written, we offer the following finance electives: International Finance (FINA 4320), Management of Financial Institutions (FINA 4322), Market Microstructure (FINA 4324), Entrepreneurial and Small Business Finance (FINA 4329), and Financial Statement Analysis (FINA 4340). From time to time, we may develop a new elective and pilot it as a FINA 4389 course. Your two required Finance Electives must come from this list. You may take additional finance electives to meet your Business and Economics Electives requirements.

If your career plans are international in scope, then we recommend that you take International Finance (FINA 4320) as one of your Finance Electives and two of the following courses as your Business and Economics Electives: International Trade (ECON 4320), International Management (MNGT 4320), International Marketing (MRKT 4320), and International Entrepreneurship (MNGT 4370).

If your career plans are in the banking industry, then we suggest that you rank the following courses high on your list of potential electives: Management of Financial Institutions (FINA 4322) and Service Marketing (MRKT 4359).

If your career plans are in the securities industry, then we suggest that you rank the following courses high on your list of potential electives: International Finance (FINA 4320), Market Microstructure (FINA 4324), Financial Statement Analysis (FINA 4340), Federal Income Tax (ACCT 3305), Intermediate Microeconomics (ECON 3303) or Econometrics (ECON 4307) (whichever one you did not take as your Economics Tools course), and Intermediate Macroeconomics (ECON 4323).

In general, the Finance faculty recommends that the following courses be high on your list of potential Upper Level Business and Economics Electives.

• Intermediate Accounting II (ACCT 3302) if you take Intermediate Accounting I (ACCT 3301) as your Accounting Tools Elective.
  
• Federal Income Tax (ACCT 3305). This course would be especially valuable to anyone who plans to work in the securities industry or in financial planning.
  
• Financial Statement Analysis (FINA 4340). In our discussion with local companies that hire finance graduates, this course is the first one that they typically mention when we ask, "what course would be most valuable to your new hires?"
  
• Intermediate Microeconomics (ECON 3303) (if you did not take this course as your Economics Tools Elective). This course covers the economic theory that underlies much of finance.
  
• Econometrics (ECON 4307) (if you did not take this course as your Economics Tools Elective). If you plan to go to graduate school or work as a securities analyst, this course is a "must take."
  
• Intermediate Macroeconomics (ECON 4323). Alan Greenspan thinks that macroeconomics is critical to understanding the economy. Need we say more?
  
• Law and Economics (ECON 4331). Markets cannot function effectively without the structure of law. An understanding of contract, tort, and property law is essential to making sense of why markets function the way that they do. This course would be especially valuable if you plan to go to graduate school in economics or finance.
  
• Human Resource Management (MNGT 3312) and Organizational Behavior (MNGT 3330). If you currently are a supervisor or are likely to become one in the near future, these courses may help you understand how to manage people better.
  

Finance Minor

A minor in Finance consists of a total of 21 credit hours.

All majors outside the School of Business must satisfy the following requirements to earn a minor in Finance.

Economics majors must satisfy the following requirements to earn a minor in Finance.

Back to top

Course Listing

FINA 3320 Principles of Finance (3)
Survey of foundational concepts in finance; in particular, discounted cash flow analysis and its application to valuation of bonds, stocks, and corporate capital assets. Introduction to the following topics: bond and stock markets; pricing mechanisms in those markets; relationship between risk and return; capital budgeting methods based on discounted cash flow valuation. Prerequisites: ACCT 2301 and MNGT 2301.

FINA 4320 International Finance (3)
Comprehensive study of two broad topics: currency exchange mechanisms in theory and practice, including international monetary systems; and currency risk management, including interest rate and currency derivatives. Prerequisite: FINA 3320.

FINA 4321 Corporate Financial Management (3)
Foundational concepts of modern corporate finance that every financial professional should know. Core topics include capital budgeting and long-term financing. Capital budgeting: application of valuation methods to long-term investment decisions. Long-term financing: how the corporation will raise funds to pay for its investments. Key issues include leverage, capital structure, and financial distress; dividend policy; methods for raising capital; and corporate control and governance. Prerequisite: FINA 3320.

FINA 4322 Management of Financial Institutions (3)
Management of financial institutions in the post Glass-Steagall world where integrated financial service companies play a greater role. Examination of risk measurement, risk management, regulatory compliance, and profitability from a manager’s perspective. Risk management topics include hedging with futures and options, interest rate swaps, and loan securitization. Prerequisite: FINA 3320. ECON 3322 is recommended but not required.

FINA 4323 Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments (3)
Comprehensive survey of institutions and instruments of modern financial markets. Topics may include depository institutions, non-depository financial intermediaries, investment banking, underwriting and issuance of securities, brokerage services, government and corporate debt, determinants of interest rates, mortgage-backed securities and other types of securitized assets. Prerequisite: FINA 3320.

FINA 4324 Market Microstructure (3)
Study of the structure of capital markets and the behavior of traders in those markets. In-depth exploration of one or more of the following topics: capital market microstructure; informed and uninformed traders; liquidity and volatility in capital markets; market efficiency and its consequences for financial decision making. Prerequisite: FINA 3320.

FINA 4325 Options and Futures (3)
Introduction to options, futures, and other derivative securities. Topics include option valuation models, principles of forward and futures pricing, structure of markets for derivative securities, and strategies for hedging and speculation. Prerequisite: FINA 3320.

FINA 4327 Portfolio Theory & Management (3)
Comprehensive investigation of modern portfolio theory. Unifying theme: optimization of the trade-off between risk and return. Examination of asset pricing models and security analysis issues within this framework. Course culminates in a discussion about investment companies, portfolio management, and performance evaluation. Prerequisite: FINA 3320.

FINA 4329 Entrepreneurial & Small Business Finance (3)
Course covers how venture capital industry works in the U.S. and issues influencing investment in entrepreneurial start-ups. Topics covered include how to plan a small business, assess financial needs of new ventures, find alternative sources of financing, estimate value of new ventures, and conduct financial contracting. Organization design, uses of financial statements and financial techniques to negotiate deals, and building relationships with venture capitalists also covered. Prerequisite: FINA 3320.

FINA 4340 Financial Statement Analysis (3)
This integrative course uses ratio and trend analysis to evaluate a company’s financial position through time, among its domestic and international industry competitors, and within the global economy. Accounting recognition and disclosure requirements are used to interpret publicly available information and apply conclusions to investment and lending decisions. Relevant macroeconomic and financial information resources are applied. Prerequisites: ACCT 2301, ACCT 2302, and FINA 3320. Crosslisted with ACCT 4340.

FINA 4389 Selected Topics in Finance (3)
Undergraduate courses which will be offered only once or will be offered infrequently or which are being developed before a regular listing in the catalog. Prerequisite varies.

FINA 4391 Contract Study in Finance (1-3)
An individual independent study course or research project that addresses a topic not offered in the curriculum. Prerequisite varies.

FINA 4392 Internship (3)
A supervised field experience as a financial professional that enables the student to explore career options. Internship must involve work that is substantially financial in nature with job responsibilities similar to those that a full-time employee would face. May be taken only once for credit. Prerequisites: FINA 3320, 4321, 4327, and completed internship application form with permission of academic advisor, area coordinator, and experiential learning program coordinator. Prerequisites MUST be completed PRIOR to the internship activity.

Back to top