What is Finance?
According to Investopedia, “finance represents money management and the process of acquiring needed funds. Finance also encompasses the oversight, creation, and study of money, banking, credit, investments, assets, and liabilities that make up financial systems.” Many of the concepts of finance can be found in other aspects of business such as economics and accounting. The biggest takeaway from the study of finance is the theory of the time value of money which simply says a dollar today is worth more than a dollar in the future.
There are three main subcategories of finance:
Personal Finance: Personal finance is just that, personal. It is tailored toward the individual. Personal finance involves tailoring plans and strategies for futures needs, such as saving for retirement. This includes obtaining credit cards, insurance, loans, and many other types of investments. Strategies depend greatly on a person’s earnings, living requirements, and goals. Banking is also a large part of personal finance as individuals use banks for savings and checking accounts as well as institutions for obtaining funding for future endeavors.
Corporate Finance: Corporate finance is the financial activities of corporations. Typically there is a department or division set up to monitor these activities. Like personal finance cooperate finance tailors plans and strategies for the future but on a larger scale. Companies may need start-up capital, if they do well they may want to allow the sale of stock through the stock exchange, and perhaps at this point they may wish to expand and decide to raise funds through the sale of bonds; these are all corporate finance decisions.
Public (Government) Finance: Public finance is still planning for the future but on a government scale. This applies to local, state, and federal governments. This includes taxing, spending, and budgeting policies and how they affect the way governments pay for services they provide to the public.
The mission of the Department of Accounting and Finance is to prepare students for careers in a global market, and for graduate study. The Department achieves its mission through curricula structured to enable students to comprehend, analyze and critically assess an entity's financial condition and optimize its value. The Department endeavors to instill a commitment to ethical values and social responsibility.
The Accounting Program provides the student with extensive exposure to computer-assisted instruction. The Department endeavors to instill in students a commitment to ethical values and social responsibility.
For more information on the program and its requirements please visit
