About Finance

Money, Money, Money! Finance is all about managing money, whether you are advising a large corporation or someone’s personal finances. During your Finance studies, you will learn about many issues relevant to the corporate financial manager. These include areas like capital investment decisions, cost of capital, sources of funds, dividend policy, working capital management, efficient capital markets, portfolio management, the use of options, futures, forward exchange contracts and other derivative financial instruments. You will also receive an introduction to international finance.

By teaching you about these issues you will become equipped with the necessary skills to obtain employment in such areas as stock broking, insurance and banking as well as preparing you with the skills for careers in finance in public and private sector organisations.

What can you do with a Finance degree?

The following are just some of the professions you could consider when you take the Finance degree - Financial Manager; Credit Manager; Trust Officer; Management Accountant; Internal Auditor; Forensic Accountant; Cash Manager; Monetary/Financial Economist; Public Finance Economist or Statistician. You may, especially if you choose to take a double major with another Commerce area, work participating in various business strategies, quality management, or developing and using information systems to track financial performance.

Careers in Financial Planning or Management, particularly in terms of personal financial planning will focus on planning financial futures. This includes areas such as funding your retirement or your child’s education. Employment in this area can be within large financial institutions or companies or at the level of a sole proprietor of a small business.

If you are thinking about a career in corporate finance you would be looking at a role where you would work towards growing the business, making acquisitions, planning for its financial future and manage any cash on hand. You might work for a large multinational company or a smaller player with high growth prospects. As you might imagine, a role in the corporate finance arena can be varied.
Some of your potential employers may be Commercial Banks; Financial Institutions; Insurance Companies; Credit Management Companies; Credit Unions or Mortgage and Finance Companies.

• Download the flyer for this course.

How to apply

To apply for one of our programs you must submit all the required documentation outlined in the checklists below.

You can submit documentation via post, email, facsimile or in person. Please be aware that in order to gain a full offer you must meet our minimum entry requirements and all your original transcripts will need to be sighted by one of our Admissions Officers.

Please use the checklist below and submit all documentation before the relevant due date.

UG/MUPC Application Checklist:

1. Complete the undergraduate application form.
2. Submit all of your completed qualifications and the transcripts of your results.
   • This will help the university to properly assess your application.
   • Incomplete applications will not be processed.
3. Enclose certified copies of your English test score (IELTS or TOEFL) if applicable.
4. An application fee should be included along with the application. Applications sent without this fee will not be processed.
   • Undergraduate application fee – AED 250
5. Submit two passport size photographs.
6. Submit your passport copy with visa page.

Student applications

If you would like to apply for this course you can now:

• Ask for Information
• Download an application form

Course Details

Length of course	3 years full time internal study
Fee information	2009 fees - AED 40,000 per annum
Location	Dubai International Academic City
Murdoch course code	B1003

Recommended subjects:

The following recommended subject will provide you with a useful background if you are interested in studying Finance: Maths
We don’t have prerequisite subjects for any of our courses as we are a strong promoter of a well rounded education. However, remember that you will also need to demonstrate competence in English.

Course structure:

Year 1

Foundation Unit

All new first year students take a Foundation Unit. These are designed so you have some idea what’s going on, because, let’s face it, you’ve never been to uni before!

Core Units

You must take these units for a particular major to gain a specialisation in this area.

• Introduction to Accounting

• Principles of Commercial Law

• Introduction to Economics

• Introduction to Statistics

• Principles of Finance and Banking

General Electives

You must take these units to have enough units to graduate. General electives give you the flexibility to learn from a variety of different areas.

• Download our flyer for further details on the course structure

Suggested double majors:

To take a double major, students simply take the core units from another major in place of their general elective units.

What are my career options?

As a Murdoch Finance graduate, your employment outlook is promising, especially if you combine it with other disciplines. Depending on which skill combinations or specialisations you have, your Murdoch degree may lead you towards work and study opportunities in a number of areas. The following are some professions to consider.

Professions	What they do
Financial Analyst	Financial Analysts, also called securities analysts and investment analysts, work for banks, insurance companies, mutual and pension funds, securities firms, and other businesses, helping these companies or their clients make investment decisions. Financial Analysts read company financial statements and analyse commodity prices, sales, costs, expenses, and tax rates in order to determine a company’s value and to project its future earnings. They often meet with company officials to gain a better insight into the firm’s prospects and to determine its managerial effectiveness. Usually, Financial Analysts study an entire industry, assessing current trends in business practices, products, and industry competition. They must keep abreast of new regulations or policies that may affect the industry, as well as monitor the economy to determine its effect on earnings.
Financial Manager	Financial Managers direct bank branches and departments, resolve customers’ problems, ensure that standards of service are maintained, and administer the institutions’ operations and investments.
Credit Manager	Credit Managers oversee the firm’s issuance of credit, establishing credit-rating criteria, determining credit ceilings, and monitoring the collections of past-due accounts. Managers specialising in international finance develop financial and accounting systems for the banking transactions of multinational organisations.
Trust Officer	Trust Officers manage a variety of assets that were placed in trust with the bank for other people or organisations; these assets can include pension funds, school endowments, or a company’s profit-sharing plan. Sometimes, Trust Officers act as executors of estates upon a person’s death. They also may work as accountants, lawyers, and investment managers.
Management Accountant	Management Accountants are employed by private companies and are part of executive teams involved in strategic planning or the development of new products. They analyse and interpret the financial information that corporate executives need in order to make sound business decisions. They also prepare financial reports for other groups, including stockholders, creditors, regulatory agencies, and tax authorities. Within accounting departments, Management Accountants may work in various areas, including financial analysis, planning and budgeting, and cost accounting.
Internal Auditor	Internal Auditors examine and evaluate their firms’ financial and information systems, management procedures, and internal controls to ensure that records are accurate and controls are adequate to protect against fraud and waste.
Forensic Accountant	Some Public Accountants specialise in Forensic Accounting—investigating and interpreting white-collar crimes such as securities fraud and embezzlement, bankruptcies and contract disputes, and other complex and possibly criminal financial transactions, including money laundering by organised criminals. Forensic Accountants combine their knowledge of accounting and finance with law and investigative techniques in order to determine whether an activity is illegal. Many work closely with law enforcement personnel and lawyers during investigations and often appear as expert witnesses during trials.
Cash Manager	Cash Managers monitor and control the flow of cash receipts and disbursements to meet the business and investment needs of the firm. For example, cash flow projections are needed to determine whether loans must be obtained to meet cash requirements or whether surplus cash should be invested in interest-bearing instruments. Risk and insurance managers oversee programs to minimise risks and losses that might arise from financial transactions and business operations undertaken by the institution. They also manage the organisation’s insurance budget.
Monetary / Financial Economist	Monetary Economists or Financial Economists, who study the money and banking system and the effects of changing interest rates. International Economists study international financial markets, exchange rates, and the effects of various trade policies such as tariffs.
Public Finance Economist	Public Finance Economists are involved primarily in studying the role of the government in the economy and the effects of tax cuts, budget deficits, and welfare policies.
Securities, Commodities and Financial Services Sales Agent	Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents, who make up the majority of sales positions in banks, sell complex banking services. They contact potential customers to explain their services and to ascertain the customer’s banking and other financial needs. They also may discuss services such as deposit accounts, lines of credit, sales or inventory financing, certificates of deposit, cash management, or investment services. These sales agents also solicit businesses to participate in consumer credit card programs. At most small and medium-size banks, however, branch managers and commercial loan officers are responsible for marketing the bank’s financial services. This has become a more important task in recent years.