Department of Finance 

 

 


 

Finance, also known as financial economics, is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related with, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services. Finance activities take place in financial systems at various scopes, thus the field can be roughly divided into personal, corporate, and public finance.

In a financial system, assets are bought, sold, or traded as financial instruments, such as currencies, loans, bonds, shares, stocks, options, futures, etc. Assets can also be banked, invested, and insured to maximize value and minimize loss. In practice, risks are always present in any financial action and entities.

A broad range of subfields within finance exist due to its wide scope. Asset, money, risk and investment management aim to maximize value and minimize volatility. Financial analysis is viability, stability, and profitability assessment of an action or entity. In some cases, theories in finance can be tested using the scientific method, covered by experimental finance.


Finance is the elixir that assists in the formation of new businesses, and allows businesses to take advantage of opportunities to grow, employ local workers and in turn support other businesses and local, state and federal government through the remittance of income taxes.