ACADEMY OF FINANCE

Skills Indicators are a comprehensive assessment of the student’s overall achievement in the Academy of Finance Program. Please note that these are the same objectives found in the essential curriculum and do not reflect the enriched learning that takes place beyond the boundaries of the core curriculum.

Academy of Finance Skills Indicators PDF

Strategies for Success

• Implement responsibility of job position including exhibiting dependability and meeting organizationally-defined expectations.
• Adhere to rules, regulations, and policies as established.
• Practice time management and follow work schedule.
• Understand interactive relationships required for effective teamwork.
• Employ appropriate skills for gathering and retaining information.
• Utilize office equipment to receive and send or copy information required in the performance of managerial duties.
• Prepare and deliver effective oral presentations, both formally and informally.
• Combine oral communication and technology skills to make a small group business presentation.
• Demonstrate effective listening skills.
• Develop liaisons with organizations and community.
• Compose correspondence and reports.
• Prepare an up-to-date personal resume.
• Prepare for a job interview and identify steps in applying for a job.
• Identify appropriate dress for job interview and work.
• Identify the role of business in the economic system.
• Understand and develop a goal-setting and achieving process.
• Develop problem-solving skills as applied to research projects.
• Analyze potential career options in the financial business sector.
• Differentiate between ethical and non-ethical business practices.

Economics and the World of Finance

• Identify opportunity costs and trade-offs involved in making choices about how to use scarce economic resources.
• Use a rational decision-making process as it applies to the roles of citizens, workers, and consumers.
• Explain the importance of productivity, and discuss how specialization, division of labor, saving, investment in capital goods and human resources, and technological change affect productivity.
• Explain why societies develop economic systems, identify the basic features of different economic systems, and discuss the major features of the U.S. economy.
• Predict the consequences of investment decisions made by individuals, businesses, and government.
• Describe the role of markets and prices in the U.S. economy.
• Analyze the role of the law of supply and demand in the U.S. economy.
• Describe the different types of competitive structures and illustrate the role of competitive markets in the U.S. and other economies.
• Interpret media reports about current economic conditions.
• Explain how the U.S. economy functions as a whole and describe macro-economic measures of economic activity such as gross domestic product, unemployment, and inflation.
• Discuss the role of government in an economic system, especially the role of government in the U.S. economy.
• Describe rights and responsibilities of citizens in the U.S. economy, including their role in making decisions through the political process thataffect the allocation of limited personal and public resources to meet individual and societal wants and needs.
• Examine the importance of economic relationships among nations and discuss the role of international trade and investment and international monetary relations in the global economy.

Financial Planning

• Identify factors that influence financial decisions.
• Understand the financial planning process by identifying the importance of a plan, gathering personal and financial data, developing goals and objectives, processing and analyzing information, and developing a financial plan.
• Identify ways to protect assets against financial risk.
• Describe the concept of risk management.
• Describe types and purposes of financial markets.
• Explain how securities are bought and sold.
• Identify agencies that regulate financial markets.
• Discuss factors that affect the price of investments.
• Discuss reasons to save and places to accumulate savings.
• Identify and describe common investment options.
• Identify factors to consider when selecting savings and investments.
• Describe the “time value of money” concept and demonstrate its usefulness for investors.
• Identify sources of financial information.
• Read newspaper price quotations of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
• Examine various types of investment fraud and discuss ways to protect yourself.
• Discuss methods that can be used by an individual to protect income.
• Identify characteristics and explain steps to becoming an entrepreneur.
• Construct a simple personal spending/savings plan to determine if resourses are available for the spending objectives.
• Describe various costs related to the use of credit.
• Define credit history and discuss factors that need to be considered in building credit history.
• Identify types of insurance and describe how each works.
• Describe the financial planning pyramid, including the relationship of risk and reward.
• Describe strategies to reduce taxes while increasing assets.
• Evaluate IRA’s as a choice for retirement investment.
• Calculate return on investment
• Compare and contrast IRA’s and annuities.
• Apply strategies that can reduce estate or inheritance taxes or other costs.

Securities Operations

• Identify the organizational structure of the Operations division of a securities firm.
• Describe the functions of each department within the Operations division.
• Chart the steps required in processing a trade.
• Define industry terms.
• Explain how a margin account functions.
• Assess the benefits and drawbacks of margin trading.
• Calculate margins.
• Determine the reasons for legal/industry regulation of record keeping.

Theory for Financial Decision Making

• Evaluate the financial performance of a business.
• Identify the major financial statements and explain the purpose of each.
• Analyze and interpret data found on financial statements.
• Use planning and control principles to evaluate the performance of an organization and apply differential analysis and present value concepts to make decisions.
• Understand the concept of assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity.
• Determine the value of assets, liabilities, and owner's equity according to generally accepted accounting principles, explaining when and why they are used.
• Use ratio analysis to compare trends and companies in the same industry.
• Analyze financial data influenced by internal and external factors in order to make long-term and short-term management decisions.

Banking and Credit

• Discuss how banks play an important role in the economy.
• Describe the functions of U.S. Banks.
• Analyze the major reforms in banking history.
• Explain how the FDIC has added stability to our banking system since its creation.
• Describe the overlapping roles of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, and state banking authorities in regulating banks.
• Understand the impact of the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act.
• Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of bank mergers and consolidations.
• Categorize bank services according to the basic functions of deposit, payment, and credit.
• Understand types of services offered by banks.
• Analyze credit and collection procedures.
• Explain why various taxes exist.
• Explain how the services of nonbank financial firms and banks overlap.
• Describe the circular flow of capital, and goods and services, throughout the economy.
• Examine existing and proposed technological innovations in banking.
• Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the major types of accounts offered by depository institutions.
• Explain why financial intermediation is central to the business of banking.
• Identify the costs that a bank factors into the interest rate on a loan.
• Explain different categories of credit.
• Understand the loan application process and determine creditworthiness.
• Identify benefits and risks of using credit.
• Explain the economies of scale that result from the production of large commercial loans.
• Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of assets available to banks in terms of liquidity, safety, and return on investment.
• Understand the difference between a bank’s assets and its liabilities.
• Apply the principles of Asset Management to various banking situations.
• Evaluate the need for the Federal Reserve System.
• Explain the measures of money supply used by the FED.
• Explain open market operations.
• Explain the process by which an increase or decrease in primary reserves leads to monetary expansion or contraction.
• Explain the various Fed tools and their effects upon the cost of credit.
• Discuss the difference between monetary and fiscal policy.
• Describe the check clearing process for banks.
• Analyze the challenges banks face with the emergence of electronic commerce.
• Explain the role of bank auditing in the successful operation of a bank.
• Read and make calculations from a foreign exchange table.
• Discuss the role of commercial banks in the international payments system.
• Evaluate the risks and rewards of international banking.

International Finance

• Explain the role of international business and analyze its impact on careers and doing business at the local, state, national, and international levels.
• Apply communication strategies necessary and appropriate for effective and profitable international business relations.
• Describe the social, cultural, political, legal, economic factors that shape and impact the international business environment.
• Describe the environmental factors that define what is considered ethical business behavior.
• Explain the role, importance, and concepts of international finance and risk management.
• Address special challenges in operations and management of human resources in international business.
• Apply marketing concepts to international business.
• Relate balance of trade concepts to the import/export process.
• Identify forms of business ownership and entrepreneurial opportunities available in international business.

Related Technology Skills  

• Create worksheets to solve business/financial problems utilizing spreadsheet functions.
• Produce documents integrating word processing, database, and spreadsheet files.
• Produce documents integrating graphic files with other software applications.
• Use word processing to produce, edit, and customize documents.
• Use desktop publishing software to produce applicable presentation materials for the business environment.
• Use graphics software to produce presentation materials appropriate to a business setting.

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