business finance degree

business finance degree

The Importance of a Business Finance Degree in Today’s Competitive Job Market

1. Introduction to Business Finance

Business owners hire survivors who have business finance degrees because the business owners think in numbers and thinkers replace decision makers. Finance assists a business owner’s plant and equipment to make a profit. Business degrees are often chosen because the number of people with business finance degrees has significantly increased since the turn of the century as companies began requiring people to obtain degrees to become a financial genius. Because a non-financial genius could not turn a business around and keep the business profitable. Furthermore, the earnings potential of people with Business Finance Degree is also high.

Students interested in studying business have a wide variety of college degrees from which to choose. However, a Business Finance Degree is one of the degrees most in demand today for graduates because the business world is so competitive today. Proper business money management is crucial for the profit of any business, big or small. Different types of business degrees can lead you to a long and rewarding career in the business world. A business is driven by numbers. It is a numbers game, and business finance is important to the success of any business. Business finance is similar to running a small to medium-sized business by yourself but can also help to get a well-paying job in the business world ahead of other jobs such as teaching, public relations, advertising, or the government.

2. Key Concepts and Principles in Business Finance

The skills learned in an introductory finance course are useful for almost any future direction a business student may wish to pursue. The ability to perform time value-of-money calculations can help a future marketing manager implement a useful sales-star bonus. The interpretation of financial ratios can help a future human resources manager select a firm that compensates its workers consistent with the firm’s value. The understanding of how corporate managers balance interests of stockholder, bondholder, and employee will help a small business manager determine his/her expectations for performance for hires in top executive positions. Long-term financial decision-making concepts will be crucial for future managers of small firms to both access and manage cash inflows that will drive the business operations. For small firms, the owner frequently makes all big decisions, which when examined closely, tend to revolve around funding.

Successful participants of the competitive business world must be knowledgeable in multiple course topics including accounting, economics, management, and marketing. Yet one essential academic area underserved in many contemporary business programs is business finance. One of the signatures of the business professions is the changing nature of the knowledge base that we must constantly update and adapt to provide real-world value to our students. This paper summarizes our experiences at providing important finance knowledge and skills to a wide variety of students through the Introduction to Business Finance course. Our approach is grounded in Budlong’s assertion that student interest can be engaged by discussion of popular culture themes with current financial happenings.

3. Career Opportunities with a Business Finance Degree

In all corporations today, finance considerations are paramount, so business finance has become an essential part of the business curriculum at every college. All business activities are directly or indirectly concerned with the exchange of goods or services for money or money’s worth. Helping an organization succeed through effective financial management would yield many rewards. There are many forms of businesses, so the value of good business finance managers is greater than ever. If you like to think about money, finance jobs could be interesting, challenging and financially rewarding. Small and large businesses all need finance professionals to keep track of all their expenses and revenues to help the business grow. With the help of advanced business software and an understanding of the subject, money matters do not have to be complicated. You do not need to be a millionaire in order to be successful at money management, but you do need a sharp mind, the right skills, and a good education.

Throughout the course of your business, you will be spending money and reinvesting your profits. As a college graduate with a degree in business finance, you are prepared for a variety of lucrative careers, such as chief financial officer, financial consultant, budget analyst, financial analyst, and stockbroker, among others. You also have the option of getting a job as a financial officer for a corporation, where you will be managing the corporation’s activities, its investments and profits, as well as making projections about future profits, sales and expenses. It is important for all business majors to understand finance well enough to apply their business skills in the financial world. The business major, and finance major in particular, will provide access to a career that requires considerable understanding of finance and its essential applications.

4. Skills and Competencies Developed in a Business Finance Program

Classes are taught in the Johnson College of Business and Economics classrooms, computer labs, and conference rooms. Here are some features that enrich these classes: Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange hand signals posters, NASDAQ exchange periodicals, and the New York Stock Exchange stock ticker. The Johnson College maintains subscriptions to many newsletters and internal datasets that students may access. As well as computer software for Bloomberg, Reuters, Economy.com, and the Center for Research on Security Prices and Ibbotson Assist in the teaching of business finance courses. All of the software is used in the financial markets lab and for investment competitions, some of which provide students with opportunities to manage large portfolios of stocks with significant amounts of money. The heft of these responsibilities can result in future job interviews and job opportunities.

Business finance faculty teach classes in economics, money and banking, financial markets and institutions, corporate finance, investments, international finance, and accounting. These classes provide students with the knowledge to be able to analyze federal monetary policy, perform risk management for corporate decision making, understand the nature of a firm’s financial structure, and evaluate domestic and international investment performances. Throughout the program, economics, finance, and accounting are all closely integrated to help students learn in settings that simulate real-world problems, settings that provide lasting value.

5. The Future of Business Finance Education

At the same time, it is important that business finance faculty avoid overly narrow specialization. The ever-broadening array of business enterprises, as well as the complexity of their strategic and operational tasks, mean that every key management team may have its own business finance specialty to be managed by someone in today’s and tomorrow’s business finance job markets. Rigid or overly narrow programs will simply not be responsive to the “midstream” changes which characterize the business finance industry. In addition, practical and applied education must respond to the demand for general “business knowledge” from the constituencies within the educational community. Educational institutions are seeking more “cross-discipline” content which can remind both students and faculty that knowledge is neither compartmentalized nor static.

The significance of the business finance degree is likely to increase rather than diminish in the future. In order to respond to rapid changes in business finance and the financial services industry, as well as to the never-ending demands of both regulatory agencies and the investing public, business finance education must emphasize flexible programs. These programs must allow for “midstream” changes in course offerings and in approaches to academic training. Business finance faculty need this flexibility to remain current and to maximize the “specialty” areas in which one institution can develop expertise. Such specialization can enable an institution to attract qualified graduates who possess unique skills.