Finance (FNCE) 322

Overview

Finance 322: Personal Finance is a three-credit course that examines the knowledge and competencies required to manage personal financial resources. You will learn to understand, mathematically analyze, and evaluate financial products and strategies. This course emphasizes active decision making. As you learn the basic concepts, you will implement them to improve your own personal financial situation and to enhance your professional competencies and credibility if you work in the financial services industry.

The topics covered in Finance 322 include the time value of money, debt management, tax planning, risk management and insurance, investment management, retirement planning, and estate planning. Issues related to financial services advising are also discussed.

Notice: Athabasca University is approved by the Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC) as an Education Provider for FPSC Level 1® Certification in Financial Planning. Students who wish to take FNCE 322 for this certification must enroll in Revision 5, expected to open in the summer of 2017. (Older versions of FNCE 322 cannot be applied to the certification.) For more information on FPSC Level 1® Certification in Financial Planning, visit www.fpsc.ca.

Outline

• Lesson 1: Introduction to Financial Planning
• Lesson 2: Financial Statements—Construction and Analysis
• Lesson 3: Time Value of Money
• Lesson 4: The Canadian Personal Income Tax System
• Lesson 5: Tax Planning Strategies
• Lesson 6: Cash Management
• Lesson 7: Consumer Credit—Open Credit and Credit Cards
• Lesson 8: Personal Debt (Consumer Loans)
• Lesson 9: Personal Debt (Automobile Financing)
• Lesson 10: Personal Debt (Mortgages)
• Lesson 11: Risk Management and Health and Disability Insurance
• Lesson 12: Risk Management and Life Insurance
• Lesson 13: Property and Liability Insurance
• Lesson 14: Investment Basics
• Lesson 15: Securities Markets
• Lesson 16: Equity
• Lesson 17: Fixed Income
• Lesson 18: Mutual Funds
• Lesson 19: Retirement Planning and Management
• Lesson 20: Estate Planning
• Lesson 21: Comprehensive Financial Planning

Evaluation

To receive credit in FNCE 322, you must achieve a composite course grade of at least a “D” (50 percent) and a passing grade of “D” (50 percent) on the Final Examination. The weighting of the composite course grade is as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook

Registration in this course includes an electronic textbook. For more information on electronic textbooks, please refer to our eText Initiative site.

A print version of the eText may be available for purchase from the publisher through a direct-to-student link provided on the course website; you can also acquire the textbook on your own if you wish.

Other Resources

All other learning resources will be available online.

Challenge for Credit Course Overview

The Challenge for Credit process allows students to demonstrate that they have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university level course.

Full information for the Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Policy
• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Procedures

Challenge Evaluation

To receive credit for the FNCE 322 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least “D” (50 percent) on the examination.

Paper Exam (4 hours)

Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form

• Challenge for Credit Form