Principles of Finance

Business professionals typically need to demonstrate a core set of financial knowledge to earn the job and to succeed on a job. For this part of the assessment, you will be given a scenario in which you are asked to illustrate your financial management knowledge. This part of the final project addresses the following course outcomes:

•  Analyze the roles and responsibilities of financial managers in confirming compliance with federal and shareholder requirements.
• Differentiate between various financial markets and institutions by comparing and contrasting options when selecting appropriate private and corporate investments

Part I Prompt: You have completed an internship in the finance division of a fast-growing information technology corporation. Your boss, the financial manager, is considering hiring you for a full-time job. He first wants to evaluate your financial knowledge and has provided you with a short examination. When composing your answers to this employment examination, ensure that they are cohesive and read like a short essay. Your submission must address the following critical elements:

I. Analyze Roles and Responsibilities for Compliance

A. Examine the types of decisions financial managers make. How are these decisions related to the primary objective of financial managers?

B. Analyze the various ethical issues a financial manager could potentially face and how these could be handled.

C. Compare and contrast the different federal safeguards that are in place to reduce financial reporting abuse. Why are these considered appropriate safeguards?

II. Investment Options

A. If a private company is “going public,” what does this mean, and how would the company do this? What are the advantages of doing this? Do you see any disadvantages? If so, what are they?

B. How do the largest U.S. stock markets differ? Out of those choices, which would be the smartest private investment option, in your opinion? Why?

C. Compare and contrast the various investment products that are available and the types of institutions that sell them.