• Recognising problems and analysing various topics in the area of financial services
• Handling ambitious practical problems in financial services like consulting projects and

real portfolio management

• Developing customer-specific solutions
• Communicating with project client
• Presenting the final project report
• Working in a team in a project-oriented manner
• Mastering a portfolio under the supervision of a portfolio manager
• Working up all relevant information and data for portfolio management
• Structuring the strategic and tactical asset allocation
• Deciding on security selection

Practical project work

After completion of the module, the students have at their disposal practical experiences in
handling a consulting project in the area of finance.

In the course of the assignment, they utilize a range of advanced procedures and techniques incorporated in the discipline and apply theoretical insights to practical solutions, so that they are directly prepared for their professional life.

Students develop original and creative answers for topics and problems and are able to evaluate the situation even without complete information.

They are able to reflect and enlarge their knowledge and capabilities. In addition, they master
professional project assignment and presentation techniques and are trained to function in a
team.

They are also able to assume responsibility within the team and to coordinate team
assignments while taking into account the interest of the business.

See lectures within the module.

Investment Strategies by Asset Class: Equitiy, Fixed Income, and Derivatives Strategies
Investment Strategies for Different Economic Environments
Asset Management in Practice

Paper-based preparation of topics, strategy implementation and testing, presentation and discussion

After completion of this module, students know about practical aspects of asset management, in particular various investement strategies. These strategies can be categorized by asset class and/or particular (macro-)economic environments for which they are particularly suitable.

Understand exactly how investors try to achieve profits using different asset classes
Know the state of the art regarding risk/profit drivers in financial markets
Devise, justify, and test investment strategies for different economic environments (inflationary/deflationary, expansion/recession,...)

See lecture within the module.

• Global Financial Environment
• International Parity Conditions
• Foreign Exchange Rate Determination and Forecasting
• The Foreign Exchange Market and the Use of Foreign Currency Derivatives
• Foreign Exchange Exposure
• Financing the Global Firm
• Foreign Investment Decisions
• International Trade Finance
• Working Capital Management

Interactive lecture with exercises.
An excursion could be offered, lasting several days, and with relation to the content of the lecture.
Business leaders will be invited to give a speech with practical insight.

• Having at ones disposal comprehensive and integrated knowledge of the majority of core areas in international business finance.
• Independently solving problems in international business finance by means of acquired concepts.
• Applying procedures and techniques that are specialised and always state-of-the-art.
• Identifying, conceptualising and defining new and abstract issues and problems in international business finance.
• Communicating acquired information comprehensibly to specialists and laities.

Continuously updated Syllabus and lecture slides will be available on moodle.

See lectures within the module.

• Introduction to Financial Markets
• Interest rates and bond prices
• The structure of interest rates
• Market efficiency
• Monetary policy
• Money markets
• Bond markets
• Mortgage markets
• Derivative markets
• Introduction to Financial Economics
• Expected utility, Mean-variance and Prospect theory
• Ambiguity
• Capital Asset Pricing Model
• Behavioral CAPM
• Basic two-period models
• Arbitrage Pricing Theory

Interactive lecture with compulsory pre-readings.

After the completion of the module the students know how the most important financial markets work and which instruments are traded on them. They know and are able to use in examples the groundwork of decision theory and asset pricing models. An insight into behavioral aspects is approached.

Students...
> know how interest rates and bond prices are related and influence each other
> know different structures and theories of interest rates
> are able to explain what market efficiency is and know evidence for different stages
> can explain how monetary policy is used to influence financial markets
> know the dynamics of money, bond, derivatives and mortgage markets
> are able to use all classic decision theories to solve exemplary problems
> know the assumptions underlying each decision model
> understand what ambiguity is and how it influences decisions
> understand and are able to use different pricing models on basic exemplary problems

See lecture within the module.

Empirical Finance will cover:

• Foundations of Modern Standard Capital Market Theory and Capital Asset Pricing Model
• Market Anomalies
• The Event Study Method
• Empirical Asset Pricing Tests
• Key concepts of experimental research approaches
• Testability of market and trader behavior
• Introduction to R (Syntax, program structure, programming concepts)

Interactive lecture with exercises

See lectures within the module.
Class participation in "Programming in Finance" is obligatory.

Ethics Essentials:

• Theory, Principles, and World-Views
• The Ethical Leader: Self-Mastery and Ethics, Mind-Sets
• Corporate Ethics: Shared Values, Professionalism (as part of Standards of Professional Conduct)
• CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
• GARP Ethics and Code of Conduct

The course in Corporate Governance covers:

• Role and Responsibility of Owners
• Practice of Right of Control for Various Actors
• The Problem of Free Riding
• Major Investors
• Conflicts of Interest Between Financiers
• Conflicts of Interest Between Stakeholders
• Financial Remuneration of Managers
• Alternative Designs for Option-Based Remuneration Structures for Managers
• Role and Responsibility of Institutions (Accounting, State)
• Corporate Governance in Financial Services Undertakings
• Optimal Design for Corporate Governance
• Empirical Investigations of Corporate Governance
• The role of Risk Management in Corporate Governance

Interactive lecture with discussion, cases.

Ethics:

• Understanding the origins, discipline and business case of ethics
• Discussing defined moments such as ethical dilemma in the corporate context
• Familiarizing with the standards of professionalism in particular

Corporate Governance:

Students:

• illustrate the role and responsibility of corporate owners
• explain the right of corporate control
• describe the problem of free riding
• identify the special characteristic of major investors
• describe conflicts of interest
• scrutinise methods of remuneration of managers
• describe and critically evaluate differing designs for option-based remuneration structures regarding their effect
• demonstrate the role and responsibility of the board of directors, a company’s audit committee and the state
• explain the special characteristics of Corporate Governance in the undertakings of financial services
• develop optimal Corporate Governance structures
• contrast empirical investigations of Corporate Governance
• compare and contrast best practices in corporate governance with those of risk management
• evaluate the relationship between a firm’s risk appetite and its business strategy
• distinguish the different mechanisms for transmitting risk governance throughout an organization
• illustrate the interdependence of functional units within a firm as it relates to risk management

Lecture slides will be available on Moodle

See lectures within the module.

• Cost of capital and capital budgeting Discounted cash flow valuation and financial multiples Payout policy Equity and debt financing Applications of option pricing theory Corporate control and recapitalizationsEnterprise Risk Management

Exercise

• After successful completion of this course, studentsare able to apply relevant concepts of corporate finance on an advanced levelknow how to integrate and implement theoretical knowledge in solving practical problemsare able to explain coherences in financial divisions of undertakings active in global competitionexpand the ability to participate in a critical dialogue within the framework of a team projectdescribe enterprise risk management (ERM) and compare and contrast differing definitions of ERM, distinguish between components of an ERMcompare the benefits and costs of ERM and describe the motivations for a firm to adopt an ERM initiativedescribe the role and responsibilities of a chief risk officer (CRO) and assess how the CRO should interact with other senior management

See lectures within the module.

Short description

In their Master’s thesis, students use scientific methods and work in accordance with standards of scientific writing. The Master’s thesis is typically related to the major (BPM or Data Science) chosen by the student.

Learning objectives

• Students will formulate appropriate research questions.
• Students will identify appropriate theories to explain empirical phenomena.
• Students will identify suitable research methods in order to seek answers to specific research questions.
• Students will use appropriate qualitative, quantitative, and design-oriented approaches to seek answers to their research question/questions. Mere conceptual works are also possible.

Methods

• The thesis is supervised by a supervisor and a co-supervisor, both of whom should be members of the Institute of Information Systems.
• The Master’s thesis is defended in an oral exam, where students may be asked questions related to their studies that may go beyond the content of their Master’s thesis.
• The official editing time is defined on the thesis proposal and may not exceed 22 weeks. A shorter editing time is possible.

Entry requirements

• A minimum of 60 ECTS must be achieved before registration.
• The modules Business Statistics I and Research Methods must be passed successfully.
• A research proposal (exposé) signed by the first supervisor and the academic director must be submitted to the study administration in parallel to module registration. The exposé is developed in the module Research Seminar

Submission deadlines

• Exposé: February 1st (summer term) and July 1st (winter term)
• Master's Thesis: June 30 (summer term) and November 30 (winter term)

• If any of the dates above falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline is automatically extended until the next working day. Please also check the opening times of the central service desk, especially during summer months.
• The dates and deadlines given in this module description are the last possible dates for the adhering presentation and defense. Thesis submissions made after these deadlines are presented at the following date for presentation and defense.
• The official editing time is defined on the thesis proposal and may not exceed 22 weeks. A shorter editing time is possible.

Submission of the exposé
The exposé has to be submitted as a PDF via email to Jaakonmäki@uni.li

Submission of master's thesis consists of:

• 4 (four) hardbound, linen-covered, and signed copies of Master's thesis.
• A CD ROM containing thesis' digital copy (to be submitted to the central service desk). Please label the CD with your name and the title of your work.
• Direct submission of thesis' digital copy to the supervisor and co-supervisor (via e-mail).

Commencement ceremony:

• The already scheduled dates of the commencement ceremony can be found in the menu bar on the left.
• The registration for the commencement ceremony is handled by the study administration. Dates of the commencement ceremony are given in the menu bar located on the left / topic commencement ceremony.

Compulsory reading:

• Bryman, A. & Bell, E. (2015) Business research methods (4th ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Creswell, J.W. (2013) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd ed.). Sage Publications
• Oates, B. J. (2006). Researching information systems and computing. London, UK: Sage Publications.
• Recker, J. (2012). Scientific Research in Information Systems: A Beginner’s Guide. Springer, Heidelberg, Germany.

Further information:

• The Study and Assessment Regulations and the Guidelines for Writing Academic Paper in Economics contains further information.

• Concepts, theories and models of intercultural communication
• Intercultural management, intercultural leadership
• Cultural dimensions in societies
• The value systems in cultures and their relationship to human behaviour
• Eurocentrism versus ethnopluralism
• Stereotypes, xenophobia and multiculturalism

Activity-oriented motivating workshops with lecture segments

Participants are able …

• to explain the basic concepts and theories of intercultural communication
• to analyse intercultural communication situations
• to describe their own and foreign value systems
• to apply intercultural insights in a work environment
• to do presentations in English

Intercultural communication skills are regarded as key competencies and therefore an important asset in a globalized labour market.

part A: 50 % intercultural video-clip (group work)
part B: 25 % intercultural diary (individual work / 4 entries)
Part C: 25 % written summary of the reading assignment

Compulsory attendance (min. 80%)

passed / failed

• Course based on continuous assessment, details see under "assessment".
• Meeting attendance obligations and active participation are an essential pre-requisite for successfully completing a course based on continuous assessment.
• Attendance must be proven for at least 80% of the stipulated contact time. Responsibility for checking and providing written proof of this obligatory attendance lies with the course lecturer who is required to store this information at least until the end of the semester.
• In the case of absenteeism that exceeds the specified limits of absence, a medical certificate is required. Responsibility lies with the head of the Coordination Office for Cross-Faculty Elective Subjects to approve the reason for the student's failure to attend.
• Participation in other activities of the university are not recognized as an excused absence

Cross-faculty elective subject:
Notice the special Multi-stage allocation process.

Das Modul ist aufgeteilt in die übergeordneten Themengebiete Geldflussrechnung und Finanzplanung sowie in Bilanz und Erfolgsanalyse.

In der Geldflussrechnung und Finanzplanung wird näher auf die Cashflow-Rechnung, die Mittelflussrechnung, die Liquiditätsplanung und die Investitionsplanung eingegangen. Dem gegenüber umfasst die Bilanz- und Erfolgsanalyse die Aufbereitung des Zahlenmaterials, die Analyse von Bilanz- und Erfolgsrechnung sowie die Analyse von Geschäftsberichten.

Präsentationen, Fallstudien, Diskussionen

schriftliche Prüfung