Introduction to Finance Career and Industry
1470 Introduction to Finance
TOPIC OR UNIT OF STUDY
Introduction to Finance Career & Industry
CONTENT STANDARD(S) AND OBJECTIVE(S)
 Discuss licensure and certification available to finance professionals
(Activity 1)
 Discuss opportunities for building professional relationships in finance
(Activity 1)
 Use time-management skills
(Activities 1-5)
 Explain the concept of accounting (purposes, uses of data, cash accounting method, accrual
accounting, cost accounting)
(Activity 5, 6)
 Discuss the role of ethics in accounting
(Activity 4)
 Explain the role of finance in business
(Activity 4)
 Discuss the role of ethics in finance
(Activity 4)
 Discuss the nature of financial institutions
(Activity 2)
 Discuss legal considerations in the finance industry
(Activity 4)
 Explain types of financial markets (e.g., money market, capital market, insurance market,
commodities market, etc.)
(Activity 3)
 Discuss career opportunities in the finance industry
(Activity 1)
 Write business letters
(Activity 2)
 Describe types of retail/business banking products and services
(Activity 2)
 Describe the nature of retail/business banking processes
(Activity 2)
INTRODUCTION
In this unit we will research the financial industry careers and their role in the business of marketing.
Understanding the financial markets includes the banking industry and financial market. Building an
understanding of these areas will help them to develop a better understanding of the connection
between business and finance on a daily basis of business operations.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How does the financial community connect to the business of marketing?
INTEGRATION OF ACADEMICS, TECHNOLOGY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP
To complete this project, students will use basic terms and concepts, to complete the following
academic, technology, and entrepreneurship activities:
1. Academic activities –website research, critical thinking and writing skills;
2. Technology activities – website research, use of MOS Word
3. Entrepreneurship activities – determining what types of products and services banking
customers value
STUDENT INVOLVEMENT IN PLANNING PROCESS
Students will choose an assortment of financial occupations to discover
Students will decide on a financial institution and learn about their products and services.
TASK(S)
 Discover and research occupations and licensure. Activity 1 Then discuss occupations,
licensure, and entry level positions
90 min
 Differentiate between financial institutions Activity 2 Group discussion of why you
would choose one over another.
90 min
 Write a business letter. Activity 3
90 min
 Draw a visual graphic of the relationships of financial institutions Activity 4; group
discussion on types of institutions. Add to diagram as a class where others fit.
90 min
 Justify ethical decisions in finance Activity 5
60 min
 Different types of accounting Activity 6
30 min
RESOURCES
websites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OoMQiClXCs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Ns4ltUvfw
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/653/01/
TECHNOLOGY USE
Computers, Word software, Youtube videos mentioned above, Internet
EVALUATION
 Activity 1-Research financial occupations
 Activity 2- Research financial institutions
 Activity 3- Business Letter
 Activity 4- diagram
 Activity 5- justification
 Activity 6-accounting research
Total Points
30 pts
20 pts
15 pts
24 pts
18 pts
25 pts
132 pts
Authentic assessments will be evaluated with the rubrics that are located on each activity.
TIMELINE
Block scheduling-5 days, periods-10 days. This includes time for lecture, textbook readings, and
discussions. Depending on student’s ability, extended time may be needed on some projects.
Day 1
Discover and research occupations and licensure. Activity 1
60 min
Discuss different occupations and licensure and entry level positions
30 min
Day 2
Differentiate between financial institutions Activity 2
50 min
Discuss why a person would choose one institution over another
40 min
Day 3
Write a business letter. Activity 3
90 min
Day 4
Draw a visual representation of the relationships of financial institutions Activity 4 20 min
Lecture on the different types of institutions. Mention where others would fit into the
diagram. Add to diagram as a class
70 min
Day 5
Justify ethical decisions in finance Activity 5
60 min
Different types of accounting Activity 6
30 min
CONCLUSION
Through researching the basis of our financial institutions, students will see the relationships and
connections of the financial community.
Financial Occupations
Research the following Financial Occupations online. Complete the following table.
Certified
Public
Accountant
Certified
Fraud
Examiner
Accredited
Senior
Appraiser
Certified
Financial
Planner
Certified
Management
Accountant
Salary
(5 pts)
Education
(5 pts)
Certification
Include test price,
length, etc)
(5 pts)
Brief Job
Description
(5 pts)
Conduct a web search and find ten other jobs in the finance world. They can be jobs you are familiar
with or jobs you have never heard of before. Do not use the ones previously mentioned.
Job Title (1/2 pt each)
1
Job Description (1/2 pt each)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Total Points ______________/30
Financial Institutions
There are two major types of financial institutions: banks (i.e., deposit-type financial institutions) and
nonbanks (i.e., non-deposit-type financial institutions). These can be divided up even more to meet the
different needs of customers. Define each type of institution and answer the questions based on your
definitions.
(2 pts each = 12 pts)
Commercials Banks:_____________________________________________________________________
Savings and Loan Associations:____________________________________________________________
Credit Unions:_________________________________________________________________________
Internet Banks:________________________________________________________________________
Mutual Fund Companies:________________________________________________________________
Brokerage Firms:_______________________________________________________________________
In choosing a financial institution, you should consider the traditional three Cs of banking: costs,
convenience, and consideration.
Cost: How expensive is it? What are the monthly fees? Minimum balances? Charges per check? Balance
dependent scaled fees? Interest rates received on deposits? Interest rates charged on loans?
Convenience: How convenient is it for you to work with the institution? What is the availability of
branches and ATMs? Are they close to your home and work? Does the institution offer overdraft
protection, safety deposit boxes, credit cards, etc.?
Consideration: The consideration factor is about personal attention. Does the institution offer
personalized financial advice and give attention to detail? How important is it that a bank officer
remembers your name and is happy to work with you?
Based on what you have learned about the financial institutions available, choose the one that you think
would be the best choice for you if you were a small business owner. Justify your answer. (8 pts)
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Total Points _____________ / 20
Write a business letter
Go online and search for financial institutions in your area. Find the information listed below.
Name of Institution
Location(s)
Hours
Product Name
Description
Product Name
Description
Product Name
Description
Product Name
Description
Using the information above, and the business letter requirements from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/653/01/, write a business letter informing your
customer of services that your bank offers.
Points
4
3
4
2
2
15
Content
Follows all rules for block letter formatting
At least three different types of services were mentioned
Suggestions of what customers may best benefit from these
services (product description) Remember you need to tell
customers how this helps them, or they will just continue to use
their current services.
Locations and hours were mentioned
No Grammar or spelling mistakes
Total Points
Points Earned
Graphic Illustrations
Watch the following presentation on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OoMQiClXCs
Remember, financial markets are a system consisting of institutions, individuals, instruments, and
procedures that brings borrowers and investors together.
Recreate the diagram that you saw in the clip. (10 pts)
Give examples of the following (You can put these into the diagram) (2 pts each = 14 pts)
Borrower:_____________________________________________________________________________
Investor:______________________________________________________________________________
Financial Market:_______________________________________________________________________
Money Market:________________________________________________________________________
Capital Market:________________________________________________________________________
Debt Market:__________________________________________________________________________
Equity Market:_________________________________________________________________________
Total points _________________ /24
Financial Meltdown of 2008
Watch the following YouTube Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Ns4ltUvfw
Now consider the following:
In 2004 America found itself in the midst of a
housing boom. Fueled by low interest rates and
government legislation aimed at allowing more
people to qualify for housing loans including
those who wouldn’t ordinarily qualify, new
home construction rates were at a 20 year high.
Homeownership was on the rise. And before
long, even more first homebuyers would realize
the American Dream.
That was good news for investment bankers like
Michael Francis, whose business entailed
working with lenders on the West Coast who
supplied him with mortgages be could package
up as securities and sell to investors who in
turn, collected the interest monthly. For Francis,
it didn’t matter if the mortgages defaulted;
after all, he collected his fees as soon as the
mortgages were packaged up and sold as
securities. If the mortgages went bad, it wasn’t
the bank that would experience the loss, it was
the last one holding them.
But Francis could only sell the mortgages to big
investors once they had been approved by a
credit rating agency. The agency appraisal
signaled to investors that the securities were
safe investments. However, the rating agencies
were paid by the people selling the securities.
The more securities that were issued, the more
they got paid. And that created a big
temptation to go easy.
Michael Francis admits that he had doubts
about the risk level of these securities, but the
economy was booming and housing prices
continues to climb. At the time the securities
seemed safe enough to earn the safe rating
from the agencies. Besides, the investment
bank Francis was working for was making
oodles of money.
If this is starting to sound like a conflict of
interest, it should. The acts, or failures to act, of
these investment banks and rating agencies are
prime examples of how conflict of interests can
lead to agency problems and unethical
behavior. Looking back, Francis says that they
judgment of many of the financial agencies was
cloudy. He summed up the way lenders failed to
adequately qualify borrowers as, “we removed
the litmus test. No income, no asset. Not
verifying income…breathe on a mirror, if there’s
fog you sorta get a loan.”
Many players had a hand in the eventual
housing bust that followed, but the credit rating
agencies that gave risky securities and lenders
who offered bad loans to homebuyers in the
first place were all key players. The appeal of
short term profits and a massive failure to selfregulate caused the institutions to lose sight of
the long term interests of their clients. Many
think these conflicts of interest and failure to
self-governance all led to the financial crisis.
Considering what you have learned about the housing markets, lending markets, and investment banking.
We can have the government make laws to control the markets (which they did at one time, if you
remember the YouTube video) or we can have people think about their own financial state and lenders
consider who they are lending to. Which do you think would be better? Why?
(3 pt)
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Think about the role of the individuals who made the loans to new home owners. Think of people like
Michael Francis. Did he have an obligation to make decisions that would protect the customers and the
investors to whom he sold securities? Or was his main obligation to do the best for his company? How
could his actions have positively affected both his customers, investors, and his company?
(3 pts)
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Now consider this:
The bank of Universal City (BUC) is a medium
size state banking organization that is located in
Louisiana. BUC offers a good variety of products
and services, including checking and savings
accounts, a bill paying services, credit cards,
business consulting, insurance, and investing
services. The CEO of BUC, Chuck Charles, has
publicly states that he intends to grow the
bank’s assets by 15% annually for the nest 5
years. Although 15 is a fairly robust growth rate,
it is not an impossible goal for BUC. In fact, last
year which was the first year the plan was
implemented, the bank’s assets grew nearly
20%. However, much of the growth occurred
because there was a significant increase in the
population when a large manufacturing firm
relocated to Universal City 18 months ago.
With only three weeks remaining in the current
fiscal year, Mr. Charles is concerned that actual
growth for the year will fall well short of what is
needed to keep the bank on track to achieve its
overall growth projections. As a result, Mr.
Charles has instructed the vice president in
charge of Univest, which is the investment
management division of BUC, to find a way to
increase the amount of investment funds the
bank currently manages.
As the assistant to the vice president in Univest,
you are responsible for sales and thus get paid a
commission for the funds the division manages.
Your boss and CEO of BUC have given you
names (leads) of people and organizations they
think are good prospects, you discover that the
only one who seems interested is Rudolph
Radcliff, the head of a radical religious
organization based in Universal City. It has been
rumored that the organization which is called
Righteous Freedom Choice (RFC), funds
foundations in countries that are not friendly
with the US. It is suspected that some of the
organizations RFC sponsors support terrorist
activities around the world. A few days ago, a
colleague told you that he thought RFC would
be moving its funds to a new investment firm
because the firm that currently manages the
funds refused to continue as its investment
adviser. It had been discovered that the funds
have been received from organization that are
involved in illicit activities. This information was
reported to your colleague during a
conversation that he has with two prominent
businesspeople at a charity gala the previous
weekend. Your college notes however that the
tone of the conversation suggested that the two
business people were not on friendly terms
with Mr. Radcliff.
When your colleague relayed this information
to you, you did not ask questions, such as the
names of the businesspeople, because you
didn’t expect to be involved with RFC. Now you
need to make a decision as to whether to
pursue RFC s funds to help Univest and the BUC
meet their goals. Unfortunately, the colleague
who informed you about RFC is on vacation and
cannot be contacted to answer any questions.
Univest sales have been stagnant this year. As a
result, if sales do not improve substantially in
the next few weeks, your commission salary will
be much lower than normal. And if your
commission salary does not increase, you and
our spouse will have to consider moving from
the luxurious house you purchased five years
ago. What should you do?
Write your reaction.
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Point
4
Content
Student comes to a clear decision
4
Student gives complete clear argument to justify their decision
4
Response is free of grammatical and spelling errors
12
Total Points
Points Earned
Dollar and Cents of Accounting
Break up into groups of 5. Each group will be assigned on of the following topics: Accounting Purposes,
Accounting and Data, Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Cost Accounting.
Groups will go online and research the topic. They have 10 minutes to define the concept and give an
example. Then students will break up into 5 different groups and exchange information. Everyone in
that group will have 20 minutes to learn from the other 4 members including answering the question at
the end.
(4 pts each = 20 pts)
Accounting Purposes
Accrual Accounting
Accounting and Data
Cost Accounting
Cash Accounting
Based on what you learned about ethics and now what you know about accounting, describe why ethics
and integrity is necessary in accounting.
(5 pts)
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Total points _________________ /25