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Courses: CSS:

Finance and Control

• Financial Accounting Principles
• Fundamentals of Accounting and Finance for Governmental and Nonprofit Organizations
• Introduction to Cost Accounting
• Financial Statement Analysis
• Managerial Accounting
• Managerial Finance
• Corporate Finance
• Investments: Theory and Application
• Portfolio Management
• Futures, Options, and Swaps
• Real Estate Finance and Investment Fundamentals
• Developing Personal Financial Planning Strategies
• Capital Markets
• Economic Theory and Current Issues
• Financial Management in Healthcare
• Financing the Growing Venture

CSS 300 Financial Accounting Principles
4 units. Graduate credit $975.

This course introduces the generally accepted principles that govern an entity's financial accounting system and the income statement and balance sheet that are the principal end-products of the system. Students will learn how accounting information is used to evaluate the performance and financial status of an organization, both by managers within the organization and by shareholders, lenders, and other outside parties.

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CSS 302 Fundamentals of Accounting and Finance for Governmental and Nonprofit Organizations (21453) (Syllabus)
James F. White, MS, Senior Financial Analyst, Harvard Medical School.
4 units. Graudate credit $975. Thursday, 7:35-9:35 pm. Sever Hall 306. Prerequisite(s): CSS-300 helpful but not required. Limited enrollment. Spring term.

This course introduces the fundamentals of accounting and finance associated with governmental and nonprofit organizations, including entities such as state and local governments, hospitals, schools, voluntary health and welfare organizations, and colleges and universities. It will emphasize the issues related to fund accounting, including general and special revenues, capital projects, debt service, internal service, enterprise and fiduciary funds, long-term debt and fixed-asset accounting groups, and planning and control of cash and temporary investments. Other topics include budgeting, budgetary control, budgetary reporting, full accrual and modified-accrual accounting, cost determination, tax levies, auditing, preparation of financial statements, and other financial reporting principles and practices.

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CSS 305 Introduction to Cost Accounting (10530) (Syllabus)
Michael Haselkorn, PhD, Associate Professor of Accountancy, Bentley College.
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Tuesday, 7:35-9:35 pm. Sever Hall 306. Prerequisite(s): an introductory course in accounting or its equivalent. Limited enrollment. Fall term.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to cost accounting. It should benefit anyone who is responsible for making a product or providing a service, anyone who works with budgets and/or is responsible for controlling costs, or anyone responsible for making business decisions. Topics will include classifying costs for different purposes: determining the cost to manufacture a product or provide a service, preparing and using budgets, setting target prices, making capital budgeting decisions, and applying cost principles to nonprofit institutions.

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CSS 307 Financial Statement Analysis
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Prerequisite(s): CSS-300, or equivalent required; managerial accounting and managerial finance helpful. Limited enrollment.

This course presents financial statement analysis from the point of view of the primary users of financial statements: equity and credit analysts. The objective is to provide the insight with which to recognize and appreciate the messages, biases, and limitations of financial statements. The course reviews basic financial statements, and covers issues such as revenue recognition, earnings quality, cash flow, and ratio analysis. Common size statements and trend analysis will be done using spreadsheet software, and a company analysis performed.

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CSS 310 Managerial Accounting
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Prerequisite(s): introductory course in accounting or equivalent. Limited enrollment.

This course examines the accounting system and its use by present and future managers--from all walks of life--to make more informed decisions. Emphasis is placed on a basic understanding of cost, cost analysis, and cost systems. Topics covered include budgeting, capital budgeting, control through standards, cost-volume-profit relationships, the behavior of costs, responsibility accounting, JIT, and TQM.

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CSS 315 Managerial Finance
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Prerequisite(s): introductory course in accounting or equivalent. Limited enrollment.

The course will deal with the function of managing business funds and planning their use to accomplish the objectives of the organization. Topics will include techniques of financial analysis such as budgeting, ratio analysis, pro forma projections, and discounted cash flow analysis; the domestic and international financial environment; the sources and forms of external financing; problems of capital structure and dividend policy; capital budgeting and cost of capital; and some approaches to the valuation of a business or company.

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CSS 316 Corporate Finance
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Prerequisite(s): introductory accounting required; managerial finance helpful. Limited enrollment.

The goal of this course is to develop skills for making corporate investment decisions and for risk analysis. Topics include discounted cash flow and other valuation techniques; risk and return; capital asset pricing model; corporate capital structure and financial policy; capital budgeting; mergers and acquisitions; investment and financing decisions in the international context, including exchange rate/interest rate risk analysis.

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CSS 318 Investments: Theory and Application
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Prerequisite(s): introductory finance and facility with basic statistics and mathematics. Limited enrollment.

This course covers material necessary to make informed investment decisions. The valuation of financial assets (equity and fixed), investor preferences (quadratic utility functions) and their use in tracing out the mean-variance efficiency frontier, the optimization process as applied to portfolio selection, and the capital asset pricing model will be explored. Other topics covered will include: the systematic and nonsystematic components of risk, the APT model, portfolio evaluation measures such as the Sharpe Ratio, option pricing theory, and market efficiency.

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CSS 318a Portfolio Management (11674) (Syllabus)
Ron D'Vari, PhD, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager, State Street Research and Management.
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Wednesday, 7:35-9:35 pm. Sever Hall 210. Prerequisite(s): CSS-318 or equivalent, and a knowledge of basic statistics. Limited enrollment. Fall term.

This class will cover both theory and techniques for combining investments to create portfolios meeting specific goals. It is intended as an in-depth exploration of many of the topics introduced in CSS-318. These include: risk measurement and management, efficient diversification, market efficiency, measuring return and performance, and balancing asset classes within an investment portfolio. In addition, there will be extensive treatment of derivative securities as a risk management tool and investment vehicle, and consideration of strategies such as enhanced indexing.

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CSS 318b Futures, Options, and Swaps (21476) (Syllabus)
Donald L. Santini, DBA, Assistant Professor of Finance, Boston University.
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Thursday, 5:30-7:30 pm. Sever Hall 210. Prerequisite(s): CSS-315 or equivalent. Limited enrollment. Spring term.

The primary objective of the course is to develop the student's ability to use futures and options when making financial decisions relating to risk management. In pursuing this objective, the course will cover the following topics: the mechanics of futures and options markets, the valuation of futures and options, and the use of these derivative securities in trading and hedging strategies. The underlying assets for these derivative securities include commodities, stocks, bonds, and currencies. The first half of the course is devoted to the study of forward and futures contracts and swaps, and the second half to the study of options.

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CSS 319 Real Estate Finance and Investment Fundamentals
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Prerequisite(s): a willingness to work with numbers. Limited enrollment.

This course will focus on understanding, calculating, and analyzing potential cash flow, tax, and future benefits for representative real estate asset types from a variety of perspectives, including those of a developer, investor, lender, or broker. A framework to analyze the quantitative and nonquantitative risks and rewards of existing and proposed real estate developments will be used to make specific financing and investment recommendations.

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CSS 322 Developing Personal Financial Planning Strategies
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Limited enrollment.

Provides an overview of the personal financial planning process, including the establishment of goals, forecasting of lifetime income and expenses, evaluation of alternative investments, money management, taxation, and retirement and estate planning. Designed to give in-depth exposure to financial planning issues for professionals or those who wish to do their own financial planning.

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CSS 323 Capital Markets (21033) (Syllabus)
Lal C. Chugh, PhD, Professor of Accounting and Finance, University of Massachusetts, Boston.
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Monday, 7:35-9:35 pm. Sever Hall 210. Prerequisite(s): introductory course in finance, accounting, or economics, or equivalent experience. Limited enrollment. Spring term.

The primary focus of this course is the changing global financial system and the impact of change on the financing alternatives available to US corporations. The course will discuss the evolution and function of Euromarkets, private placements, swaps, and equity markets, as well as how the corporations finance themselves in the global financial markets.

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CSS 324 Economic Theory and Current Issues (10322) (Syllabus)
B. J. Rudman, MBA, Chief Financial Officer, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Tuesday, 5:30-7:30 pm. Sever Hall 106. Limited enrollment. Fall term.

This course uses economic theory to provide a better understanding of contemporary economic issues. Theoretical frameworks are used to analyze: fiscal and monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank's efforts to avoid both recession and price inflation, labor markets, competitiveness, international trade, international financial markets, the value of the dollar, and international investment flows.

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CSS 325 Financial Management in Healthcare (10323) (Syllabus)
Carol S. Shepherd, SM, Consultant. Marc N. Pollack, MBA, Assistant Director for Finance, University Health Services.
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Thursday, 7:35-9:35 pm. Sever Hall 310. Prerequisite(s): some knowledge of financial accounting is required. Limited enrollment. Fall term.

This course is designed for nonfinancial managers wishing to obtain some of the relevant skills and concepts necessary for financial management of healthcare service organizations, including integrated delivery systems, physician-hospital organizations, hospitals, physician practices, and community-based health organizations. Topics covered are financial accounting and analysis, full and differential cost accounting, budget variance analysis, and payment systems (including capitation and risk sharing arrangements).

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CSS 340 Financing the Growing Venture (21325) (Syllabus)
Michael E. Gordon, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Quantum Ventures, Inc.
4 units. Graduate credit $975. Monday, 5:30-7:30 pm. Sever Hall 213. Prerequisite(s): a background in financial accounting or the equivalent is desirable, but not essential. Limited enrollment. Spring term.

The most important task for virtually every entrepreneur involves the development and implementation of an astute financing strategy. At each stage of venture growth, from start-up to maturity, the entrepreneur will be faced with crucial decisions as to the mobilization of financial resources. Topics will include the elimination of barriers to funding, personal and business goals, the business plan, sources of capital, valuation, growth strategies, legal issues, approaching capital providers, negotiation strategies, and guerrilla finance.

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