Bachelor's Degree in Financial Management

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IB – Financial Management (B.A.) Bachelor's Degree in Germany

Bachelor IB Financial Management Student

Why is financial management important? and why should you study it?

There is a good reason why many CEOs were first Chief Financial Officers. Every business is about money. About profitability and liquidity. Numbers are at the heart of any business. Those who know the financial situation and can control it can lead the entire company. Therefore, experts who studied Finance are in demand. They work in the financial departments of companies or directly in companies for which money is the essential business: namely banks, financial services providers or insurance companies.

What do you learn in a financial management bachelor's degree?

If you specialize in Financial Management, which is part of the International Business Studies programme, you acquire profound financial expertise in semesters 3 to 6. A study in Finance focuses on the basic models of the capital market theory, financial institutions and financial instruments as well as the theory and practice of capital markets. This also includes the link between risk and return on money investments and forms the basis for further topics, such as corporate finance or strategic management in banking and finance. You will learn to navigate safely throughout these subjects. This is the ideal preparation for starting your career in the financial sector.

IB – Financial Management at a glance

ECTS 180
Semester 6
Language English
Type of Study Full-time
Degree Bachelor of Arts
Campus Cologne
Internship Integrated
Semester Abroad Integrated

Start of Studies Summer Cologne
Study Fee* 5.370 €

*The displayed prices are semester fees. For non-EU students' fees please check the tuition fees information page. Status: March 2021.

Study Course Plan

Some information about the study plan for the study programme Bachelors in Financial Management:

General business teaching units

Business Operations3 ECTS

Introduction: Basic business, economic, and market principles and key terms
External Business Environment
Global Markets
Competitive Environment
Internal Environment
Management, Leadership & Motivation
Business Function: HR, Operations, Marketing, Finance & Accounting
Entrepreneurship
Business Ethics and CSR
Emerging Business Trends

Business Law3 ECTS

Survey on different legal systems and the harmonizing effect of EU Law
Concluding a contract
Different types of contracts and their typical features
Performance and obligations
Solving problems (e.g. failure to perform, liabilities)
Safeguarding creditors’ rights
Forms of business organizations

Mathematics3 ECTS

Introduction to functions, graphs and interpretations
Understanding Derivatives
Applications of Derivatives
Understanding Differential Equations
Applications of Differential Equations
Understanding Logarithms
Applications of Logarithms

Statistics3 ECTS

Introducing data and statistics
Descriptive statistics and exploratory data analysis
Introduction to probability theory
Discrete and continuous probability distributions
Sampling and sampling distributions
Interval estimations
Hypothesis development and testing
Simple linear regressions

Financial Accounting3 ECTS

The purpose of accounting
Formal rules and assumptions, national law, IFRS, US-GAAP
The system of financial statements and accounts
Accounting for services and merchandising
Inventory valuation
Receivables
Plant, natural and intangible assets
Liabilities
Owner’s equity of corporations
Value-added tax

Applied Financial Accounting3 ECTS

The purpose of accounting
Formal rules and assumptions, national law, IFRS, US-GAAP
The system of financial statements and accounts
Accounting for services and merchandising
Inventory valuation
Receivables
Plant, natural and intangible assets
Liabilities
Owner’s equity of corporations
Value-added tax

Programme specific teaching units

Marketing3 ECTS

Marketing Definition and Process
Marketing in Context of Corporate Strategies
Internal Analysis and Marketing Environment (Micro)
Marketing Environment (Macro)
Consumer Buying Behaviour
Market Segmentation
Strategic Brand Management
Marketing Instruments (Product, Price Place, Promotion)
Marketing and Sustainability

Human Resource Management3 ECTS

Recruitment and Attraction
HR Planning, Controlling & Instruments
Training and Employee Development
Motivation and Leadership
Compensation and Benefits
Performance Appraisal and Management
Certificate of employment
HR Ethics
Trends in HRM

Interdisciplinary competencies

Foreign Language2 ECTS

Depending on the student‘s choice, language courses are offered, for example, in English, Spanish or French. If you choose the English-Only track, the lessons will focus on the intensive development of your English skills.

Academic Business English2 ECTS

This course aims to solidify the students’ existing language competencies as independent users of English and to enable them to apply this to their studies, focusing on educational and business domains. Students will learn the skills and process of critical thinking and analysis and how to express and elaborate their thoughts, opinions, and arguments. Students will have gained an understanding of complex language and writing skills to organize and develop their ideas in a scholarly way.

Personal Skills2 ECTS

In courses such as Rhetoric and Presentation or Business and Society your social and leadership skills are trained. In addition to various compulsory courses, there are optional subjects where you can choose which of your competences should be particularly strengthened.

General business teaching units

Microeconomics3 ECTS

Introduction into microeconomic models
Consumer theory
The theory of the firm
Competitive markets
Market failure
Market power and monopoly
Oligopoly and monopolistic competition
Externalities
Asymmetric information
Introduction to game theory

Applied Microeconomics3 ECTS

Introduction into microeconomic models
Consumer theory
The theory of the firm
Competitive markets
Market failure:
Market power and monopoly
Oligopoly and monopolistic competition
Externalities
Asymmetric information
Introduction to game theory

Market Research3 ECTS

Introduction to Market Research
Defining the marketing research problem and developing an approach
Research design
Secondary Data
Qualitative research
Quantitative research
Scaling and sampling
Fieldwork and Data preparation
Basic data analysis (how to use it)
Report preparation and presentation

Cost Accounting3 ECTS

Rationales of cost accounting
Simplistic methods of overhead allocation
Job costing
Process costing
Activity-based costing
Overcapacity costing
Joint product costing
Overhead analysis sheet
Concepts of relevant cost and revenue
Budgeting

Programme specific teaching units

Supply Management3 ECTS

Industrial Buying Behaviour
New perception of supply management
The procurement marketing process
Situation Analysis: Defining critical supply problems, potentials, targets and strategies
Need Analysis: Defining the demand
Evaluating and Selecting Supply Markets
Supplier Evaluation: Find the ‘right supplier’
Supplier Relationship Management: Importance of supplier collaborations
Supplier Negotiation Process: Strategies and tools
Green procurement: Describing a sustainable procurement model
Creating a basis for sustainable procurement and integrating sustainable measures into procurement processes
Sustainable supplier management: Key theories and practices

Strategic Management3 ECTS

Introduction to Strategy and Strategic Management
External Analysis: understanding opportunities and threats the environment offers
Internal Analysis: uncovering strengths and weaknesses of the organization
Generic business-level strategies for competitive advantage
Basic Corporate-level strategic choices for long-term profitability
Diversification strategy
Internationalization
Mergers and acquisitions
Strategic entrepreneurship
Strategic leadership
Social Responsibility and Ethics of Strategic Management
Basics of Corporate Governance

Introduction to Finance6 ECTS

Finance: Goals, Functions and Environment
Financial analysis and Financial Forecasting
Managing Working Capital
Sources of Short-Term Financing
Capital Markets and Investment Banking
External financing resources: Debt capital
External financing resources: Equity capital
Capital Budgeting: The Time Value of Money
Capital structure and the Cost of Capital

Interdisciplinary competencies

Academic Business English2 ECTS

Foreign Language2 ECTS

Personal Skills2 ECTS

General business teaching units

Macroeconomics3 ECTS

Indicators: Gross Domestic Product and its major components, Inflation
Labour Markets and unemployment
The classical AS-AD model
Keynes’ IS-LM Model
The basic RBC model
Monetary Policy
Fiscal Policy

Applied Macroeconomics3 ECTS

Indicators: Gross Domestic Product and its major components, Inflation
Labour Markets and unemployment
The classical AS-AD model
Keynes’ IS-LM Model
The basic RBC model
Monetary Policy
Fiscal Policy

Programme specific teaching units

International Management3 ECTS

Determinants & dimensions of culture in business
Culture & styles of management
Culture & corporate structures
Culture & leadership
Culture & corporate strategy
Cultural change in organisations
Culture and international marketing management
Cultural diversity in organisations
Business communication across culture & barriers to intercultural communication
Working with international teams
Conflicts & cultural differences
Developing intercultural communicative competence

Digital Management3 ECTS

Global competition and the transnational corporation in the global economy
Emerging markets
Institutions governing competition
Formal and informal institutions
Organizational designs for multinational companies
Location-based aspects: Competitive advantages of countries
Organization, local adaptation and the need for standardization
New approaches in International Management (Born Global, QRC, …)
Networks and innovation
Managing people in multinational enterprises
Managing expatriates
Leadership and management behaviour in multinational companies

Integrative Case Study3 ECTS

Guide and Strategic Plan to Case study analysis
Writing a proper case study analysis report
In-depth Case Study Analysis with focus on Financial Management
Solving of interdisciplinary case studies with a focus on digital management

Elective area

Financial Analysis3 ECTS

Key components of a set of domestic and foreign financial statements
Techniques of financial analysis (Ratio Analysis, Accounting Analysis, Cash Flow
Analysis)
Estimating Weighted Average Cost of Capital
Computing Free Cash Flows and Interpreting Earnings
Valuation

New Age Financial Markets & Institutions3 ECTS

Role of Underwriters
Understanding Money Markets – local and foreign
Introduction to Foreign Exchange
Introduction to Bond Markets – local and foreign
Introduction to Equity Markets – local and foreign
Central Banks and Regulatory Authorities across developed markets
Outlook to the further development of International Financial Markets

Financial Instruments3 ECTS

Overview of various types of fixed income securities, valuation of fixedincome securities, understanding bond ratings, securitisation and asset backed securities, risks associated with investing in bonds, understanding yield spreads,interpreting the yield curve, Spot rates and Forward rates, measurement of interest rate risk, bond portfolio management strategies in the international context
Derivatives instruments; Futures and forwards, option payoffs and options strategies, option valuation techniques

Interdisciplinary competencies

Foreign Language4 ECTS

Personal Skills2 ECTS

General business teaching units

Management Information Systems3 ECTS

IT and MIS as enablers of strategic decision making
E-business, networks, and mobile technology
Infrastructure, hardware and software
Databases and data warehouses
Business Intelligence
Networks and communications
Operations management and supply chain management
Enterprise resource planning
Limitations and risks of IT systems and applications
MIS market trends, major providers and IT solutions.
The role of social media in business
Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things

Programme specific teaching units

Corporate Tax3 ECTS

The overall aim of this module is to introduce students to the basic concepts of corporate taxation, especially the different types of taxes, transparent and intransparent entities and the value added tax.

Elective area

Business Elective 13 ECTS

These courses aim to enable the students to develop and/or strengthen relevant skills that are of particular interest to them. Electives allow students to expand their knowledge. The following are examples of the types of courses on offer. Typically you have the choice between two or three different electives.

International Marketing
International Human Resource Management
Organisational Behaviour
Global Supply Chain Management
Entrepreneurship
Diversity in Business
Corporate Social Responsibility
International Accounting
Advanced Statistics
Design Thinking
Quantitative Social Media Research
SAP as Enterprise Resource Planning Software
Snack Content
Harvesting and analyzing social media data for business purposes
Industry 4.0

Business Elective 23 ECTS

International Marketing
International Human Resource Management
Organisational Behaviour
Global Supply Chain Management
Entrepreneurship
Diversity in Business
Corporate Social Responsibility
International Accounting
Advanced Statistics
Design Thinking
Quantitative Social Media Research
SAP as Enterprise Resource Planning Software
Snack Content
Harvesting and analyzing social media data for business purposes
Industry 4.0

Business Project6 ECTS

The overall objective of this course is to provide students with possibility of applying their business knowledge on concrete business situation (real or scenario-based), related to the field of their specialization. By the end of the module students should be able to:

Define project goals for the “client”.
Work under the set timeframe and agreed project scope.
Cooperate in the international project teams.
Plan and conduct secondary and primary research to gather necessary information: understand which information is needed and where to look for it.
Conduct analysis of the “client business”: be able to understand the researched information in a wider context.
Evaluate markets/ industries/ competitive landscapes.
Develop possible strategic directions for the “client” business.
Formulate recommendations

Concepts of Value & Risk3 ECTS

Introduction: Financial decision making and law of one price
Interest rates and quotes
Investment decision rules
Fundamentals of capital budgeting
Capital (global) markets and the risk of pricing
Optimal portfolio choice and CAPM
Estimating the cost of capital locally and internationally
Capital structure in perfect capital markets
Financial Distress and restructuring

Applied Financial Management3 ECTS

Objectives of financial decision making, also in multinational context
Investment principle – risk and return
Estimation challenges
Capital structure trade-offs
Finding the right financing mix
Timing, location and financing choices
Sustainability and ethics in finance

Interdisciplinary competencies

Foreign Language4 ECTS

Personal Skills2 ECTS

Semester Abroad

Semester Abroad25 ECTS

You will spend the fifth semester at one of our numerous partner universities abroad. Our International Office supports you in the selection & application process and coordinates the courses to be taken abroad with you in advance.

Programme specific teaching units

Bachelor Thesis12 ECTS

During your 6th semester you are working on your Bachelor thesis. You have 12 weeks to complete your thesis and the subject is freely selectible. A supervisor from CBS will support you and you can write the thesis in collaboration with a company as well.

Bachelor Thesis Tutorial1 ECTS

During the Bachelor Thesis Tutorial you will learn the fundamentals for your Bachelor thesis: Defining the topic as well as structuring the thesis and you will learn the theoretical knowledge for scientific working.

Business Simulation Game4 ECTS

In a business simulation game participants have to manage their own virtual company which operates in the same market as other participant-operated competitors. This involves making typical management decisions in realistic environments. Beside the deepening and active examination of subject-specific knowledge the simulation games also include the team environment, where interaction, communication and prioritization are of paramount importance. Participants learn how to manage risk and uncertainty while time is limited and information constrained. Group-reflections help to take over different perspectives and to discuss pros and cons of content- as well as behaviour-related actions.

Elective area

Ethics in Finance3 ECTS

On the basis of the above mentioned questions several fields, instruments and projects in Financial Management will be analysed, such as:

The relationship between Strategic Banking and ethical aspects of Financial
Management
Ethical investing and its affect to the financial performance of firms
Sustainability by highlighting capital allocation decisions
Development Finance
Microfinance
Project finance
Public and private sources of capital
Innovative strategies in clean energy finance

Strategic Management in Banking & Finance3 ECTS

The lecture is divided into three course sections:

Introduction and review of concepts
Banks as Financial Intermediaries
General Principles of Bank Management

Interdisciplinary competencies

Personal Skills2 ECTS

An internship (10 ECTS) in Germany or abroad is integral part of your degree. Our Career Service is happy to support you in finding the perfect company.

Bachelor IB Financial Management Portrait

Manage finance internationally

The financial world is networked globally and is becoming increasingly complex. Money and commodity flows stream throughout the world. On the stock exchanges from New York to Tokyo, situations change in a millisecond. Currency fluctuations increase or decrease the value of goods, loans and company shares. And you're right in the middle. Your Finance studies will familiarize you with the interrelations of the global economy, as you become a part of the international business world. The language that matters is English. That is why lectures are held in English. We also encourage you to learn other foreign languages - at CBS International Business School you will find a wide range of language courses.

Help steer the global economy

How do businesses grow? On their own, of course. But on an international level it is very often through mergers and acquisitions. This is where financial experts are called into question by companies, banks and consultancies. Because for such mergers and acquisitions the analysis of financial figures, or financial due diligence, is extremely important. The financial and earnings situation is examined to curb the risk. With the knowledge gained from your Finance studies, you can make a decisive contribution to decision making.

Ideal for those who love the stock market

A study in finance also enables you to pursue a career on the stock exchange or with investment companies. Many of our students are also interested in financial and investment topics beyond their studies, which is why our students founded the CBS Finance and Business Club. Meeting every two weeks, the club discusses issues, invites guest speakers from the world of finance and exchanges knowledge and experience. Excursions are also on the agenda, for example, to stock exchanges and shareholder meetings.

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Get practical international experience

A semester abroad or an internship abroad is part of your Finance studies. Learn first-hand how corporate cultures and challenges differ from one another abroad. This is how you get ahead experience-wise. We support you in choosing the right university or the ideal company.

What are the career opportunities with a financial management degree?

For graduates with a degree in Finance, the entire world of business and finance is at their feet. Thanks to your knowledge, your stay abroad, your internship and the scientific work on a financial issue which you write during your studies, you have excellent opportunities on the job market. What are you waiting for?

Take your next step

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Anika Zaeske

Study advisory: Campus Cologne
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This is What Our Students Say

Philip Kollmann

Project Manager
Wayne´s Coffee

"Especially the soft skill courses have been of great help for my performance in job interviews. Through my work in the Finance and Business Club I have built up a broad network and acquired project management skills that have enabled me to score points with companies."

Katrin Rieger

Bereichsdirektorin Reisevertrieb Deutschland / Vice President Sales
HanseMerkur Krankenversicherung

"The practical learning in small groups prepared me optimally for today's project and team work. The CBS provided me with the decisive soft skills and current knowledge from the world of business."

Christopher Rosenbaum

Manager
Ernst & Young GmbH
Wirschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft

"The Management Studies programme prepares you thoroughly for the tasks of a consultant. In particular, the development of presentation techniques as well as analytical thinking is of enormous importance in the everyday life of a consultant."

Brita Jansen

HR Business Partner
HRS Group

"The CBS is an internationally oriented and very practically orientated university which prepared me very well for the professional world through the compulsory internship, the courses offered and the required project/group work."

Oliver Kiderle

EMEA Regional Product Expert
Google Inc.

"The focus on internationality and practical skills have had a very positive influence on my development at Google. Especially the structured and very versatile project work, which is often found at a private school, was extremely helpful."

Kalle Kenkel

Commercial Excellence Manager
GE Healthcare

"My studies at CBS prepared me for a career in today's dynamic, global work environment. As one's origin and physical location become less and less decisive, it has become increasingly important to have a multinational network and adapt quickly to various cultures and environments."

Neil Jordaan

Global Digital Content Manager
Elanco

"Many professors shared their professional business experience with us in class and were able to illustrate dry theory with practical examples. I also enjoyed the international atmosphere on campus."

Patrick Stein

Head of Human Resources
Boston Consulting Group

"The strongly practice-oriented studies and the international orientation of the CBS, as well as the lectures held in English, were an absolutely necessary basis for starting a career with a renowned, international company."