The Online Master of Science in Finance

This course introduces students to the elements of financial statement analysis and increases students' ability to extract and use information from financial reports. In addition, students will learn how to use this information to forecast a complete set of financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Statement of Cash Flows) and prepare a three statement model.
Information from financial statements is used in many situations including setting targets for manager's bonus plans, determining loan covenants, setting prices for IPO's, setting prices for mergers or acquisitions, deciding whether to loan a company money, and deciding whether to purchase the stock of a company. When using financial statement information, people routinely make adjustments to net income to estimate what they believe is the true economic income of the firm (e.g., "core earnings" or "economic value-added"). In this class, students will learn how to evaluate the information provided in financial statements and draw your own conclusions about whether it accurately reflects the financial position of the firm.

This course analyzes how individuals, firms, and other organizations make decisions. Standard economic and financial models assume rational agents, even though people may not always act rationally. In this course, we will study theories and evidence from psychology on individual decision-making, focusing on biases, heuristics, and other factors that are missing from these standard models. We will discuss and analyze topical applications to economics (e.g., intertemporal choice, retirement savings, altruism) and finance (e.g., efficient markets, investor psychology, bubbles), including improved economic theory and potential public policy responses. The course will also improve students' understanding of individual behavior with an aim to improve their own decision-making in professional and personal settings.