Subject name

Finance Management and International Financial Instruments
Study
Master in Business Administration
ECTS
3
Four-month period
First four-month period, first module
Type of subject Compulsory

Presentation

The subject Finance Management and International Financial Instruments aims at providing a global view of the financial function and the role of financial instruments in the company.

In an interconnected and globalized world, financial information is relevant in order to make decisions regarding investment profitability, cost of capital, solvency or liquidity.

Some years ago having a relatively updated information was sufficient in order to take decisions. Nowadays, it is necessary that the company’s financial role is connected not just with the other company’s departments but also with the market. Customers’ demand and competitiveness require having real-time financial information in order to manage the company effectively.

That means that the evolution of the company’s financial professionals is changing and the degree of knowledge they must have about financial instruments and markets is necessary. Maybe, some of the financial instruments seen in this subject may not be used in a short-term basis. However, in conditions of growth, the necessities of a company may change and it will need different tools apart from the traditional ones, as the credit or loan.

In this subject the following issues, among others, will be approached: economic and financial analysis of the company’s global financial strategy, market typology and financial instruments available to companies, non-bank and bank financial instruments and financial tools for international trade.

 

Competences

General Competences

  • GC1. To control and to integrate the techniques, instruments and methods of management needed in the development of the professional activity.
  • GC2. To delve into the business management and into the different administration areas.
  • GC4. That the students can communicate their conclusions, present their projects, results, plans, the knowledge and the reasons that support them before a specialized or an ordinary public in a clear and in an ambiguity free manner.
  • GC5. That the students are able to integrate their knowledge in the different working areas of the business with information, usually incomplete or limited, in the business environment in order to manage the decision making and troubleshooting processes through complex and multidisciplinary situations.

Basic Competences

  • BC6. To have and to understand the knowledge that will provide a base or the opportunity of being original in the development and/or in the application of an idea, often in an investigating context.
  • BC7. That the students can apply the acquired knowledge and their troubleshooting skills in new or barely known environments within the widest context (or multidisciplinary context) related to their area of study.
  • BC8. That the students are capable to integrate the knowledge and to face the complexity of judging from the information that, being incomplete or limited, includes reflections on the social and ethical responsibilities bounded to the application of their own knowledge and judgements.
  • BC9. That the students can communicate their own conclusions, knowledge and reasoning of the same before a specialized or an ordinary public in a clear and in an ambiguity free manner.
  • BC10. That the students have the learning skills that will allow them to continue in their studies in a self-guided or autonomous manner most of the time.

Specífic Competences

  • SC5. Learning to manage the managing indicator in the business decision-making depending on the same.
  • SC12. To understand the functional organization of the business. Areas interrelation. To identify and to understand the factors and dimensions that belongs to the functional part of the business, and the features of its administration system.
  • SC20. Ability of business decision-making according to the information of the analysis and interpretation on the four business fundamental accounting concepts: Balance sheets, Profit and Loss accounts, Cash Flow statement and Net Worth statement and of the main ratios and indicators of business and finance management.
  • SC21. To understand fixed and current assets funding, the project funding and the self-generated funds of products or business areas.
  • SC22. To be able to relate the business management decision-making with the macroeconomic changes.

Transversal Competences

  • TC6. To communicate efficiently, in a structured and organised manner, the most relevant aspects of a project.
  • TC8. To ease the process of transition to the business professional career.
  • TC9. To provide the students with learning skills that will allow them to continue their studies in an autonomous manner.

Program

Unit 1. Financial Leadership and Business Management
Introduction
The figure of the Financial Manager in the firm
Introduction to Business Profitability
Responsibility of Financial Manager in the firm
The Capital Investment and Operating Cycles
Master class

Unit 2. Financial Markets and Instruments
Introduction
Preliminary Considerations
Globalization and International Markets
Functions of a Financial System
Financial Assets or Instruments
Financial Intermediaries
Financial Markets
Regulators
Financial Markets in Practice
Other important International Financial Markets
Master class

Unit 3. Business Financial Solutions and other Financial Instruments
Introduction
The Concept of Business Finance
Business Worth
The Balance Sheet
Type of Business Finance
Main Financial Products on the Market
Master class

Unit 4. International Trade and Instruments for Financing it
Introduction
International Payment and Collection Methods
International Risk Management
Master class

Unit 5. Instruments to Finance Net Working Capital and Cash Management
Introduction
Management of Net Working Capital
Average Maturation Period and Working Capital Turnover
Working Capital and Business Solvency
Liquidity and Management of Net Working Capital
Management of Liquidity in the Firm
Master class

Unit 6. Approaching Financial Strategy in the Firm
Introduction
Financial Profitability and Shareholder Value Creation
Weighted Average Cost of Capital and How to Interpret It
Responsibility of Financial Manager in the firm
Interpretation of Operating Needs for Funds and Growth
Approximation of Economic and Financial Ratios
Financial Strategy in the Firm: Goals in the Short, Medium and Long Term
Master class

Methodology

Metodología

The different tasks and activities programmed during the semester have been developed with the goal of adapting the learning process to the different capabilities, necessities and interests of the students.

The activities included in the subject are:

  • Practical cases: will provide the student with actual business situations that will need to analyse and, after that, make decisions, evaluate the consequences and alternatives. They will allow acquiring intellectual skills to face sudden situations or to plan action programs adapted to a changing environment where there is no math logic.
  • Participation in events. During the course you will be participating in different events. Some of those events are attendance to online classes, forums, self-evaluation tests.

In the weekly program you can find the specific tasks you need to complete in this subject.

Descarga el pdf de la programación

These activities are combined with the following aspects:

  • Personal Study
  • Tutoring. The tutoring class can be implemented through different tools and means. During the course of the subject, the teacher-tutor plans the individual tutoring on specific days for the resolution of academic-oriented doubts through “Consultation sessions”. Supplementing these sessions, students have also available the “Ask your teacher” forum through which they can formulate questions and check the corresponding answers on general aspects of the subject.  Due to the very nature of the media used, there are no fixed schedules for the students.
  • Mandatory on-site final exam

The hours dedicated to each activity are detailed as follows:

Assignments
Hours
Assistance to virtual classes       9,0  
Basic material study     22,0
Additional resources readings       4,0  
Task and practice cases       9,0  
Self-evaluation test      18,0  
Individual and group tutoring      18,0  
Collaborative work, forums, debates, etc.       9,0  
Master's Dissertation work development           -    
Final evaluation           -    
Total
        90  

 

You can personalize your study plan choosing the type of activity that best matches your profile. The tutor will advise you and help you elaborate your study plan. S/he will always be available to guide throughout the course..

Bibliography

Basic bibliography

The section Basic Bibliography is essential for the course. If any document (reading, article,…) is not available in the virtual classroom, you will have to find it by other means: UNIR bookshop, virtual library…

The necessary texts for the study of this subject have been elaborated by UNIR and are available in a digital format to consult, download or print inthe virtual classroom.

evaluación

Evaluation and Assessment

The evaluation system is based on the following numerical chart:

0 - 4.9

Suspenso (D)

(SS)

5.0 - 6.9

Aprobado (C)

(AP)

7.0 - 8.9

Notable (B)

(NT)

9.0 - 10

Sobresaliente (A)

(SB)

The grade is made up of two components:

calificación

On-site final exam (60%). At the end of the semester, you need to assist a mandatory on-site final exam. You need to pass the final exam so the grade obtained from the assignments (continuous assessment) is summed up to the final grade of the subject. 

Continuous assessment (40%): this type of assessment will be measured through the different assignments you need to complete during the course:

    • Active participation and involvement in forums, online classes.
    • Tasks. The completion of the different activities the students need to send through our virtual classroom such as research, critical thinking, practice cases.
    • Self-evaluation tests. At the end of each unit, students will find a short quiz which will help the students to check the knowledge acquired during the course.

Remember that you can check the points (value) of each assignment in the weekly program.

Assessment method

Min. Score

Max. Score

Participation in forums, classes, etc.

0%

15%

Task, practice cases and activities

0%

15%

Additional readings

0%

10%

On-site final exam

0%

60%

 

Bear in mind…
That if you decide to only take the final exam, you will need to have 5 points out of 6 to pass the subject. .

Professor

Manuel Costescu

Education
Mr. Costescu earned his MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, MA in International Development from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a BA in Economics from Brandeis University.

Professional experience
Manuel is currently a London based independent change management and finance consultant. 
Until March 2017, he served as Member of the Romanian Parliament as member of the Intelligence Commission. Prior to that, he was State Secretary for Trade and Investment in the Romanian Government under Prime Minister Ciolos.  In that capacity, he built and ran InvestRomania, the country's foreign investment promotion agency; during his mandate FDI increased by 22%, compared to flat in neighbouring countries. Prior to entering politics, Manuel was Executive Director for J.P. Morgan, where he acted as client executive for European public sector institutions, including central banks, governments, multi-laterals, public pension funds.  As such he was responsible for designing and delivering solutions to clients across all areas of the bank including Markets, DCM, Treasury Services, Corporate Bank, Asset Management. Before, he was a consultant in the New York office of McKinsey and Company, specializing in asset managers and other financial institutions across Europe, US, Canada.  In this capacity, he also became the consultant lead for the BA training programs. Before joining McKinsey, Manuel worked for The Brattle Group, an energy consulting firm in Cambridge, MA, where he specialized in risk management and hedging strategies in the energy sector.

Throughout his career, Mr. Costescu has been a trainer and mentor, delivering lectures at Oxford University, London Business School, Maastricht School of Management, Economics Academy Bucharest.

Lines of research 
His projects include interim management roles, large capacity building programs, corporate transformations, implementation of strategies, preparation of companies for corporate financial transactions. Industries covered include finance, healthcare, logistics, consumer goods, government.

Tips

Orientación para el estudio

Studying online means you can organize your study as you wish, as long as you meet the due dates of the different assignments (activities, tasks and tests). In order to help you, we propose the following steps:

  1. From our online platform you will have access to each of the subjects you are enrolled. Apart from this, you can access to the virtual classroom of the master. In this section, you have available all the documents on how to use the different tools included in the virtual classroom, how a subject is organized and you will also have the possibility to organize your study plan with the tutor.
  2. Do not forget to check the weekly program. You will see which part of the content of the course you have to work on every week.
  3. After knowing your work for the week, go to Units in your virtual classroom. There, you will have access to the study material (theory and practice) from the unit you need to study throughout the week.
  4. Start by reading thethe Basic Knowledge of the unit, this section is the basic study material of the unit. Always read the first part of the same, Introduction, as we will show you here all the material you need to study. Visit, as well, the Resources section, you will find here the complementary readings, videos, experiences, etc.
  5. Devote some time when doing the Practical Cases and Test. In the subject Program we will detail which are the corresponding activities for each week and the max. grade you can achieve in each one.
  6. We strongly recommend to take part in the events of the course (On-site virtual classes, debate forums, etc.). To know the exact date for each one of these events you must visit the communication media on the Virtual Classroom. Your teacher and your tutor will inform of the subjects news.
In the Virtual Classroom of the master you will always find available the documentation where we explain how the units are structured and what you will be able to find in each one of its sections: Basic Knowledge, Practical Cases, Experiences, Readings, More Resources and Test

Remember that in the virtual classroom of the master you can check how the different tools of the virtual classroom work: email, forum, online classes, sending the tasks, etc.

Please, take into account the following tips…

  • Whatever you study plan is, go often to the virtual classroom so that you are always up to date about the course and you are in contact with your teacher and your tutor.
  • Remember you are not alone: send an email to your tutor if you have any doubt. If you attend the online classes, you can also ask your teacher about the contents of the unit. Also, you can always write your doubts and questions about  the contents in the Forum of each subject (Ask the teacher).
  • Be active and participate!  Whenever it is possible, attend the online classes and take part in the forums. The exchange of information, opinions, ideas and resources enrich us and the course.
  • And, remember, you are studying online: your effort and perseverance are the key element to obtain good results. Don’t leave everything to the last minute!!!