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Finance (FIN)

College of Business Administration
Department Chair: Robert Wolf
404A Wimberly Hall, (608)785-8115
e-mail: wolf.robe@uwlax.edu 
www.uwlax.edu/ba/fin/ 
 

Professors: Aiuppa, Carney, Colclough, Graham, Krueger 
Associate Professor: Wolf 
Lecturer: Morrison 

Finance Major (College of Business Administration) — 21 credits, including FIN 370, 380, 390, 485 plus the following: select one course from Group I: FIN 362, 410, 430, 440, 475, 477, 480. Select one course from Group II: FIN 360, 456, 465; ECO 301, 305, 308, 310; ACC 321, 325, 330; MGT 395 or any course listed in Group I. Select one from Group III: any course numbered 300 or higher which is offered through the College of Business Administration, including those listed in Group I and Group II. 

Finance Major — Risk and Insurance Concentration (College of Business Administration) — 21 credits, including FIN 360, 362, 370, 380, 390; FIN 361 or 465 or ECO 471; and FIN 460 or 485. 

FIN      207  Cr. 3
Personal Finance
A survey course covering personal financial issues; topics include goal setting, budgeting, major purchases, loan provisions, taxation, insurance coverages, investment opportunities (including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds) and retirement planning. Open to students in all colleges.
 

300/400 level finance courses are open only to those students who have been admitted to the Business Program and students in business related programs for which such a course is specifically required. Exceptions to this policy may be made only by the College of Business Administration dean.

 FIN      355  Cr. 3
Principles of Financial Management
Introduction to financial management of the firm. Topics include: relationship of the finance function with other functional areas of the firm, use of financial statements as measures of corporate performance and for financial forecasting, working capital management, time value of money and its use in the valuation of cash flows, security evaluation, capital budgeting, capital structure, financial intermediaries and investment banking, long-term debt, preferred and common stock, and the effect of these financial decisions on dividend policies. Prerequisite: ECO 110, 120 and ACC 222. 

FIN      360  Cr. 3
Principles of Insurance
A survey of insurance and risk management concepts, the insurance industry and common insurance contracts. Topics include: types of insurers, functions of insurers, legal principles of insurance, and analysis of property, liability, life and health contracts. Special emphasis will be placed on personal insurance for the home, automobile, life and health. Prerequisite: ACC 221. 

FIN      361  Cr. 3
Life Insurance
A study of life insurance and its relationship to financial planning. Topics covered are the determination of financial needs for survivors resulting from premature death of a family member, concepts of life insurance and annuities including quantitative foundations, policy provisions, comparisons of alternate products, and taxation issues. Prerequisite: FIN 355 and 360. Offered Sem. II. 

FIN      362  Cr. 3
Commercial Property/Liability Insurance and Risk Management
Risk management and insurance for the corporate entity. Topics include coverages for direct and indirect property, general liability, workers’ compensation, fidelity, crime, and boiler and machinery, property valuation, insurance surveys, and lease analysis. Prerequisite: FIN 355 and 360. Offered Sem. I. 

FIN      370  Cr. 3
Corporation Finance
Comprehensive study of current theories concerning the valuation of the firm and its capital structure. Topics emphasized are risk analysis, capital structure, dividend theories, cost of capital, capital budgeting and management of working capital. Prerequisite: FIN 355.

FIN      380  Cr. 3
Principles of Investment
The study of investment instruments. Topics include: valuation of common and preferred stocks, bonds, options, futures contracts, real estate, and several other securities and commodities. The risk associated with each form of investment, construction and management of investment portfolios, investment databases, and current trends in investments are studied. Prerequisite: FIN 355. 

FIN      390  Cr. 3
Money and Capital Markets
Examination of the factors influencing the level and structure of interest rates. Includes the processes, institutions, and public policy implications of markets for short-term and long-term debt instruments, the stock market, and current trends in capital markets. Prerequisite: FIN 355. 

FIN      400 Cr. 1-3
Finance Forum
Emphasis will be on the examination and study of current financial issues. Topics will vary by semester. Prerequisite: junior standing and consent of department. Repeatable for credit — maximum 6. Department option for Pass/Fail grading. 

FIN      410  Cr. 3
Management of Financial Institutions
The management of commercial banks and other deposit-type financial institutions. Emphasis is placed on the environment in which financial institutions operate, its changing nature, and managerial decision making within that environment. Specific topics include loan and investment policies, asset/liability management, management of investment risk, and regulation of financial institutions. Prerequisite: FIN 390 or ECO 301. Offered Sem. I. 

FIN      426/526             Cr. 3
Real Estate Finance
The contractual nature and legal implications of the instruments used in financing real estate. The structure and operation of the primary and secondary mortgage markets; instruments, techniques, and strategies in financing real property investments. Prerequisite: FIN 456. Offered occasionally. 

FIN      427  Cr. 3
Real Estate Appraisal
Development of the process of value determination for real properties in the context of a market setting. Development of the analytical tools to be used in implementing the valuation process. Development of the complex interactions among the site, the neighborhood, the community, and the region in value determination. Prerequisite: FIN 456. Offered occasionally. 

FIN      430/530             Cr. 3
Financial Planning and Strategy
Long-term planning as it relates to special problems of acquiring funds and selecting and deploying assets. Emphasis is placed on forecasting long-term funds requirements, and the suitability of specific financing vehicles for particular needs. Prerequisite: FIN 370. Offered occasionally. 

FIN      440/540             Cr. 3
Multinational Financial Management
The international financial system and the application of basic principles of business finance in an international context. Topics include: the finance function in the multinational firm, foreign exchange markets, cost of capital, and capital expenditure analysis in the multinational firm. International accounting and reporting  procedures are reviewed. Prerequisite: FIN 355. Offered Sem. II. 

FIN      450 Cr. 1-6
College of Business Administration Internship
The internship program as conceived and implemented is designed to provide an opportunity for students in the College of Business Administration at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to participate in an approved program with cooperating business, governmental or civic organization for usually 15 weeks of their undergraduate work. For additional information, see internship description under the College of Business Administration heading. Repeatable for credit. Pass/Fail grading. 

FIN      456/556             Cr. 3
Real Estate Principles
Survey of real estate principles and practices, the economic environment and valuation. Topics include: nature of real property; organization and structure of real-estate markets; alternative land uses; financing and valuation of real estate; and the legal environment. Prerequisite: FIN 355. 

FIN      460  Cr. 3
Seminar in Risk and Insurance
A seminar course focusing on the current problems and issues of liability, life and health insurance. Financial and insurance theory are used to assess proposed solutions. Broad topics include insurance company operations; problems of ratemaking, underwriting and regulation; confidentiality of life insurance applications; and problems of financing health care. Prerequisite: FIN 360, 370 and FIN 361 or 362 or 465 or ECO 471. Offered occasionally. 

FIN      465/565             Cr. 3
Health Care Financing
A broad micro and macro treatment of the health care financing from the insurer, consumer and institutional viewpoints. Topics include: reimbursement mechanisms, planning, capital allocation and organizational aspects of health care financing function. Prerequisite: FIN 355. Offered occasionally. 

FIN      475/575             Cr. 3
Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management
An in-depth investigation of modern concepts of asset ownership, risks and the reduction of risk through portfolio construction. An efficient markets approach to contemporary capital market and portfolio theory with applications to investment management. Prerequisite: FIN 380. Offered Sem. I. 

FIN      477/577             Cr. 3
International Investments
The international political, economic and legal environment in which investment decisions are made. An evaluation of security valuation theory and practice in the context of international money and capital markets. Topics include the motives for international investment, exchange risk, foreign money and capital market instruments and their markets, and construction and management of portfolios. Prerequisite: FIN 380. Offered occasionally. 

FIN      480/580             Cr. 3
Financial Management and Control
Focuses on the roles and responsibilities of the controller and treasurer in today’s business and economic environment. From a controller’s/treasurer’s perspective, the course content includes: functions, organization, characteristics, standards of ethical conduct, financial reporting, internal controls/operations analysis, cost  management and professional development. Prerequisite: 480 — senior status, FIN 370 or ACC 322, and ECO 301 or 305; 580 — BUS 730, 731. Offered occasionally. 

FIN      485  Cr. 3
Problems and Cases in Finance
Application of concepts and techniques to the solution of financial problems in a variety of areas using the case method and computer simulation games. Topic areas include corporation finance, security analysis and investment management, and commercial banking. Prerequisite: FIN 370 and 380. 

FIN      499 Cr. 1-3
Independent Study
Individual reading or research under the guidance of a staff member. Open to selected, advanced students who have excellent records in the department. Registration with the consent of the student’s regular adviser, the instructor and the department chairperson. Approval form available in department office. Form must be completed prior to registration. Repeatable for credit — maximum 6. Pass/Fail grading.

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