Welcome to Week 8. The past weeks have gone quickly, and we covered a myriad of important topics. So, what have you learned in the past 8 weeks? At the start of this class, you were introduced to the six principles of finance (money has a time value; higher returns are expected for taking on more risk; diversification of investments can reduce risk; financial markets are efficient in pricing securities; manager and stockholder objectives may differ; and reputation matters) and then applied the principles to the topics each week.

Week 1

To help you with applying the principles, in Week 1, we reviewed the foundation topics in managerial analysis and the differences between finance and accounting. We touched briefly on the basic goals and functions of financial management and followed up with an important part of a company's existence by becoming familiar with the fundamentals of financial analysis - the review of financial statements, as well as how to interpret those statements through ratio analysis. We also considered the cornerstone of decision-making to expand a business, as we examined the monetary system, in particular, financial markets and institutions.

Week 2

In Week 2, we analyzed the principle of time value of money (TVM) in two parts: single cash flows and multiple cash flows, as well as present value and future value.

Week 3

The information presented in Week 3 included calculating financial ratios. Another important topic included the types of interest observed in financial markets, for example, the real rate of interest (RR); an inflation premium (IP); a default risk premium (DRP); a maturity risk premium (MRP); and a liquidity premium (LP); and how to forecast changes in rates. Investors like to make a profit and being able to forecast those changes in interest rates is important.

Week 4

Week 4 continued to focus on the time value of money principle, as the attention was on managing working capital, followed up with learning the dynamics that are involved in determining risk and return, including quantitative and qualitative techniques in decision making. For example, forecasting, cost of capital, as well as capital budget analysis, a project's discount rates, and the payback method to evaluate projects were investigated.

Week 5

The concepts covered in Week 5 were focused on the topics of domestic and global organizational structure and culture, as well as exploring the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing versus insourcing.

Week 6

The topics covered in Week 6 focus on the reputation matters principle, as the attention is on political, legal, and ethical behavior, as well as corporate social responsibility and human resources management.

Week 7

In Week 7, the principle of manager and stockholder objectives was applied. We wrapped up the content for this class by learning how a company decides on its dividend policy, as well as the different options available in investment activities. You considered the principle of efficient financial markets in pricing securities, as you learned to value stocks and bonds. We also explored the different methods to calculate annuities and compare interest rates, as well as the factors that play a role in almost all valuation decisions, such as diversification and modern portfolio theory. The principles highlighted this week were that higher returns are expected for taking on more risk, and diversification of investments can reduce risk.

Week 8

We are now at the end of this class. With all that you learned throughout the last weeks in the lessons, discussions, and assignments, you should have a solid foundation to continue in your next classes in your degree program.

Which concepts presented in this course were most important to you? How will this course benefit your personal and/or professional development? What did you find most beneficial about the course?