Instructor: Shenkai Wu

Prerequisites: Prerequisite: BUS 6a. Corequisite: BUS 51a. This course cannot be counted as an elective toward the Economics major or minor. Cannot be taken for credit by students who have taken BUS 71a in previous years.

Course Description: This course is formerly known as BUS 71a. </br>Introduces students to topics and methods in the field of finance. Covers how firms secure financing via equity and debt markets, valuation of stocks and bonds, fundamental analysis techniques, capital budgeting techniques, relationship of risk and return, and the time-value-of-money.</br></br>Learning Goals:</br> The primary goal of this course is to develop the financial skills and logical thought processes necessary to make and implement business decisions in a global environment. Upon successful completion of this course, students will have developed an understanding of key concepts of the financial environment within which management must operate, the processes of financial analysis, the time value of money, methods of stock and bond valuation and the relationship of valuation to risk and return. We will look at several basic questions: </br>1. What functions do financial markets serve?</br> 2. How do firms use and deal with financial markets to raise capital? </br>3. How do investors approach financial decisions? </br>4. How do we value financial securities, for example stocks and bonds? </br></br>We will analyze how financial managers make decisions within a framework that emphasizes the time value of money and the relationship between expected return and risk. In addition, we will examine the techniques that financial managers use to evaluate feasibility of undertaking new projects (i.e., capital budgeting).</br>

Session: Session I

Day: M, T, Th

Time: 9:00am - 11:30am

Credit Hours: 4 Credits

Course Format: Remote Learning Course for Summer 2026

Brandeis Graduation Requirement Fulfilled: DL, SS

Course Classification: Undergraduate Level Course

Course Tuition: $3,825

Course Fees: None

Open to High School Students: No