The function of corporate finance is to assist in determining whether investments in real assets are sensible, measuring the performance of real assets that are already in place, and raising the capital required to make new investments. Within a company, these tasks typically include internal finance (controllership) and external finance (treasury) activities.
Jobs concerned with the collection, measurement and evaluation of financial data generated from internal operations are typically placed under the controller’s supervision. Additional responsibilities include the preparation of financial statements and the monitoring of tax obligations. Decisions to invest in real assets are typically handled by the controller.
An organization’s relations with financial markets and institutions are often grouped under the supervision of the treasurer, including management of bank lines and other credit facilities, communication with shareholders and oversight of offshore financing arrangements. In many companies, strategic and long-range planning includes considerable financial aspects.
Duties of a finance job in a corporate organization can vary widely, but they commonly involve financial planning, fund raising, cash management and acquisition and disposition of assets. Treasury analysts determine financing needs, analyze competitors, implement financial plans, monitor the company’s securities and manage financial risk.
By contrast, corporate finance bankers serve as financial consultants to corporations, advising companies on how to finance their operations, structure their balance sheets, and sell a portion of the company or purchase an existing entity. Activities can range from providing pure financial advice to implementing the sale of a new stock or equity issue. As a result, industry or product knowledge is a key aspect of future success, and many investment banks divide the corporate finance department into specialty sub-groups such as energy, high tech, oil and gas, pulp and paper, and telecommunications.
Within an investment bank, the corporate finance group will do any and all of the following:
- Underwrite equity offerings—buy shares for sale from the corporation or government entity and then sell them on the market to investors
- Underwrite fixed income (debt/bond) offerings
- Help firms analyze their financial needs
- Help firms devise and implement financial strategies, such as what foreign currency exposure to have and when and how to proceed with funding initiatives
- Determine valuations for offerings
- M&A activity
- Restructuring activity
To prepare students for career paths in corporate finance, The Owen faculty have created a comprehensive Corporate Finance Career Specialization that consists of the following sequence of 10 finance courses.
First-Year Required Courses
Managerial Finance (counts toward Core, not the Career Specialization)
Corporate Valuation
Investments
Financial Reporting
Second-Year Required Courses
Corporate Financial Policy
Derivatives Markets
Venture Capital and Private Equity (Short Course)
Corporate Restructuring for Distressed Firms (Short Course)
Mergers and Acquisitions
Taxation of Business and Investment Transactions
Electives
Select at least one:
International Financial Markets and Instruments
International Corporate Finance
Financial Institutions
Highly Recommended Electives
These courses are recommended but do not count toward the Specialization.
Bond Markets
Equities Markets
Taxation of Corporations and Shareholders
Financial Statement Analysis
Federal Income Taxation of Mergers and Acquisitions
Ethics in Business (Core requirement)
All students must take an ethics course, either Mgt 456 or Mgt 423.
