This study utilized qualitative methods to explore perceptions of graduates from Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards, Inc. Registered Programs regarding experiences that impact Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification completion. Participants (N = 16) were classified into four different groups: Certified, In Progress, With…

We conducted an annual survey of undergraduate students taking finance courses over the past 5 years (2009-2014). Our results showed that although more than 70% of students considered the financial planning profession to some extent, the percentage of students who had seriously considered it declined over time, despite the increasing number of new…

Student-managed investment funds are popular forms of experiential learning in business schools and finance departments. The investment management experience is a real world activity and the structure of the fund may also introduce real world fiduciary and legal responsibilities for students, faculty, and administrators. The authors review how the…

Financial planning is an interdisciplinary field including finance and business law topics. Consequently, standard pedagogical resources often omit topics that fall between these fields. To address a key gap in educational materials for financial planning students and faculty, this article reviews recent regulatory developments for financial…

In the U.S. and in other countries, accounting graduates continue to enter diverse size work forces in industry, government, and in public accounting. Beyond income tax and consulting work, accounting professionals often require a specific association with financial statement services. These services involve not only detailed scheduled financial…

Students earning a degree in mathematics often seek information on how to apply their mathematical knowledge. One option is to follow a curriculum with an actuarial emphasis designed to prepare students as an applied mathematician in the actuarial field. By developing only two new courses and utilizing existing courses for Validation by…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify threshold concepts that are the essential conceptual content of finance programmes. Design/Methodology/Approach: Conducted in three stages with finance academics and students, the study uses threshold concepts as both a theoretical framework and a research methodology. Findings: The…

The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world's largest actuarial organization. This article describes the SOA with particular attention paid to its education and qualification processes and resources available for university and college programs.

We describe specific curricular decisions employed at Butler University that have resulted in student achievement in the actuarial science major. The paper includes a discussion of how these decisions might be applied in the context of a new actuarial program.

Professors who teach the introductory accounting course should ask themselves: "What are the core concepts that I wish to have my non-majors remember if I meet them at their ten-year alumni class reunion?" There is a fundamental logic to financial accounting. This teaching note presents foundational accounting concepts in a manner that…

The accounting curriculum (in fact business colleges in general) often is accused of operating in silos. As a result, it is claimed that students fail to see the connections among the assignments in their separate course work and the necessity to have an integrated understanding to function effectively in the real-world. As a response to the…

In this series, three key axioms--stockholder wealth maximization, the risk-return tradeoff, and agency conflicts--are applied to the major topics in financial management. The current article looks at mergers and acquisitions, reviewing the presumed motivations, the ethical challenges, and the literature dedicated to this financial activity.

The harsh reality of debt among college-aged students is a growing problem. According to the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy, 54 percent of college student respondents had overdrawn their bank account and 81 percent underestimated the time it would take to pay off a credit card balance by a large margin. In a climate where even…

By convention U.S. bond markets announce the actual price of a bond as the sum the quoted price plus accrued interest. The economic meaning of accrued interest and its role in this price announcing convention is generally misunderstood by accounting textbook authors who mistakenly provide accrued interest with both an economic and administrative…

The income tax-filing process creates teachable moments for learning about taxes and other financial matters. Educators and volunteers from Penn State Cooperative Extension helped taxpayers file 2008 returns under Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). Nearly 600 filers (588) completed and simultaneously received educational information…