Finance is the area of study which deals with money and other capital assets. It is one of three primary areas of finance within business – alongside personal and public.
Knowledge of finance can make making decisions about where and how you spend your money much simpler, as well as helping plan for retirement or long-term goals more effectively.
Basics
Finance is a discipline concerned with money, currency, and capital assets. This area differs significantly from economics which focuses on production, distribution, consumption of goods and services.
Finance refers to the exploration and acquisition of investment opportunities with an eye toward earning future income from them. It encompasses borrowing & lending activities as well as raising and investing funds as well as managing financial assets for entities such as companies or governments.
Finance fundamentals involve understanding the difference between good debt and bad debt, saving for emergencies and retirement, managing spending habits responsibly, as well as understanding interest rate risk and its effect on your finances.
Public, corporate and personal finances are the three primary branches of finance. Public finance refers to tax systems, government spending and budget procedures; corporate finance covers financing businesses’ assets and liabilities management; while personal finance encompasses budgeting, insurance policies and savings as personal concerns.
Subfields
Finance encompasses many activities, from borrowing and lending money, investing and raising capital, to borrowing or lending money and borrowing a loan against stocks, bonds or options as funding mechanisms. Furthermore, financial markets and institutions that serve these markets make up its infrastructure.
Personal financial management entails overseeing an individual’s money and finances for use within their household. Professionals in this field assist individuals in setting financial goals and developing investment strategies to reach them. Corporate finance covers issues faced by businesses and organizations.
Public finance involves national, state and local government finances as well as their role in the economy. Career opportunities exist within this discipline including tax examiners/specialists/analysts as well as financial analysts.
Careers
Finance may have taken a hit during recent market volatility, yet remains one of the most secure and promising careers available today. Aspiring finance professionals can choose between jobs such as financial planning, investment banking and analysis or institutional finance which involves working for large institutions such as banks and hedge funds.
Finance jobs can be highly-competitive and often require long hours, but those willing to put in hard work can find rewarding and satisfying finance careers.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, careers for those with a finance degree include financial examiner, personal financial planner and budget analyst roles that are expected to experience faster-than-average job growth through 2021. Other finance degree-related occupations that offer good work/life balance may include investor relations employees at private equity and hedge funds who interact directly with investors while crafting narratives regarding fund performance.
Education
Financial education opportunities exist at all levels: personal, corporate and public. Online courses, tutorials and certificate programs teach basic banking concepts as well as leverage, debt, credit and capital markets in addition to money management and money stewardship.
Bachelors degrees in finance equip graduates for careers as financial analysts, examiners and advisors. Graduates also have the option of earning their master’s degree which qualifies them to assume leadership roles within business finance or accounting environments.
Online finance degrees have quickly become an attractive solution for learners looking for advanced qualifications without the commitment and expense of full-time study. Many universities now offer bachelor’s degrees in finance that cover topics like accounting, investment analysis, the stock market and financial risk management – such as MIT’s Introduction to Modern Finance which offers an overview of key topics like present value analysis, Internal Rate of Return analysis, risk management procedures as well as real options strategies and the capital asset pricing model.
