Student should research articles, journals, or books, and report on a financial modeling topic
Short
Paper and Discussion Moderating Activity (15% of course grade)
Topic – Capital Budget
Students will write one approved short
paper to post by 9:00 a.m. Eastern Coast Time on Monday of their assigned
session in our online class conference area. During the week in which a student
posts his/her paper, he/she will serve as moderator for the weekly conference
and facilitate discussion related to his/her paper. Students will sign-up in
advance. The due dates are listed in the Course Guide/Schedule.
Student should research articles, journals,
or books, and report on a financial modeling topic within one of the following
contexts/orientations, with the goal of expanding and/or deepening the classes
understanding of financial analysis and modeling:
1) critical
reviews of specific financial models (which may include financial models
not covered in class)
2) critical
exploration of the ‘technology of modeling’, which may include focuses like
emerging software employed in financial modeling for the specific topic, or the
principles of logic underlying the financial models used for the specific topic
(i.e. software for forecasting)
3) critical
evaluation of analysis and modeling employed in the financial management of
specific industries (i.e. forecasting in the airline industry)
REMEMBER the words “critically evaluate” are important. A simple overview or tutorial
of software features or of a financial analysis process (i.e. ratio analysis)
or financial model (Monte Carlo simulation) will not meet the requirements for
this paper. The writer should analyze the topic, bring in relevant research,
offer comparisons, and consider pros and cons, or implications for practice.
These are simply a few of the contemplative practices that move a paper into
the critical realm.
NOTE: Do not reuse papers from your other
finance or accounting classes. This is strictly prohibited and they do NOT meet
the focus of this course, which emphasizes financial concepts from the
perspective of analysis, modeling and decision making. For example, a paper
that explains cash budgets or forecasting would be too general for this class
(based on the paragraph presented above) and would not rise to the level of
critical evaluation.
The
instructor evaluates students’ papers based on how well they address the topic,critically
evaluatetheir
readings and research, employ APA style,
and moderate the class discussion by making substantive responses to the
majority of the conference participants.Resources to help you in your
graduate level writing are listed in the posting, Writing Resources, under
Course Content in the classroom.
Each paper should be 8-10 double spaced
pages, excluding appendices, using APA format. Some sources students may wish
to consider are CFO.com, CIO.com,Information
Weekly, Wall Street Journal, Strategic Finance, Journal of Accountancy, Journal
of Financial Forecasting, Journal of Applied Management, European Journal of
Operational Research, and the UMUC Web Databases. Articles from
other accounting or financial analysis, modeling, or decision support journals
and sources are also acceptable. If you use an online source, check that it
provides credible information.
Students who miss their Monday morning
posting date are subject to the Late Work penalties. Students who do not moderate
the discussion related to their papers receive an automatic 10-point deduction
from their paper grade.
Also, review sections of the syllabus on
Original Work, Avoiding and Preventing Plagiarism, and the Vail Tutorial when
completing this assignment.
The assignment addresses Course Objectives
1-6 above.
