Introduction to finance

Upon completion of this subject the student will be able to:
- Understand the main elements that make up the financial system (assets, institutions, markets) and the changes derived from the integration of new technologies.
- Interpret the company as a set of contractual relationships that affect financial decisions and that require acting ethically and responsibly to contribute to the creation of value.
- Manage the mathematical relationships and concepts conventionally applied in the analysis of financial operations considering the time value of money.
- Understand the relationship between profitability, risk and value and value different types of financial assets (bonds, stocks, derivatives).
- Use spreadsheet programs to solve financial problems and web-based information sources to obtain reliable data.

1º Finance and financial system. Digitalization of the financial sector.
2º Assets, intermediaries and financial markets. Interest rates.
3º Role and objective of financial management. Corporate governance, ethics and social responsibility. Basic principles of finance.
4º Fundamentals of financial mathematics.
5º Profitability, risk and value. Valuation of financial assets.

ARIZA, A. Y RUIZ, I., Finanzas para todos, ESIC, 1999
ANALISTAS FINANCIEROS INTERNACIONALES, El Sistema Financiero Español, AFI, 2008.
BAQUERO, M.J., MAESTRO, M.L. (2003): Problemas resueltos de matemática de las operaciones financieras, Thomson.
BREALEY, MYERS y MARCUS (2007): Fundamentos de Finanzas Corporativas, 5ª edición, Mc-Graw Hill-Interamericana de España. Libro básico para los contenidos teóricos de la materia.
BREALEY, MYERS y ALLEN (2015): Principios de Finanzas Corporativas, 11ª edición, Mc-Graw Hill-Interamericana de España.
BROWN, R.L., KOPP, S., ZIMA, P. (2011): Mathematics of Finance, 7th Edición, McGraw-Hill.
FABOZZI, F, MODIGLIANI, F. e FERRI, M., Mercados e Instituciones Financieras, Ed. Prentice Hall, 1996.
MARTIN MARIN, José Luis; TRUJILLO PONCE, Antonio (2004): Manual de Mercados Financieros. Thomson, Madrid.
PALOMO ZURDO, R. e MATEU GORDON, J., Productos, instrumentos y operaciones de inversión, ISTPB, 2004.
PINDADO, J. (Coord.) (2011): Dirección Financiera, Paraninfo, Madrid
RODRÍGUEZ, L.; PAREJO, J. A.; CUERVO, A. e CALVO, A., Manual del sistema financiero español, 20ª edic., Ariel, Barcelona, 2007.
SUÁREZ SUÁREZ, S.: Decisiones óptimas de inversión financiación en la empresa (15º edición); Ed. Pirámide.
GONZÁLEZ VELASCO, Mª del Carmen (2001): Análisis de las operaciones financieras: 150 supuestos resueltos, Civitas.
NAVARRO ARRIBAS, E. (2019): Matemáticas de las operaciones financieras. Pirámide.
VILLALOBOS, J.L. (2001): Matemáticas financieras, 2ª edición, Prentice Hall.
XIMÉNEZ RODRÍGUEZ, S.; FERNÁNDEZ LÓPEZ, S. y otros (2000): Análisis y cálculo de las operaciones financieras, Tórculo, Santiago.

Basic and general

CB1. That students have demonstrated possession and understanding of knowledge in an area of study that builds on the foundation of general secondary education, and is usually at a level that, while relying on advanced textbooks, also includes some aspects that involve knowledge from the cutting edge of their field of study.
CB2. That students know how to apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner and possess the competencies that are usually demonstrated through the development and defense of arguments and problem solving within their area of study.
CB3. That students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their area of study) to make judgments that include a reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues.
CB4. That students can transmit information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialized and non-specialized audiences.
CB5. That students have developed those learning skills necessary to undertake further studies with a high degree of autonomy.
CG2. Identify, gather, analyze and interpret relevant data on issues related to business and technology.
CG4. Develop critical thinking and reasoning, including ethical reflections on fundamental business and economic issues in the digital age, and communicate them effectively, both in their own languages and in English.
CG5. Ability to analyze the behavior of economic agents and the functioning of markets and their role in digital transformation processes.

Transversals
CT2. Search, process, analyze and synthesize information from different sources.
CT3. Use and communicate information in a foreign language.
CT5. Ability to solve problems and make decisions by applying theoretical knowledge to practice.
CT8. Maintain an ethical commitment and show sensitivity towards social or environmental issues.
CT10. Ability to use calculation tools and information and communication technologies (ICT).

Specific
CE2. Know and understand the basic elements of business management and its main functional areas within the framework of ethics and social responsibility.
CE8. Design and manage the financial strategy and know new forms of financing in a digital and globalized socioeconomic context.
CE13. Identify sources of reliable information, elaborate and interpret such information using analysis techniques and appropriate mathematical, statistical and technological tools to support decision making.

Since this is the first finance subject that introduces students for the first time to the theoretical and practical handling of financial concepts, it is especially important for them to perceive the applicability of its contents. In particular, in the short and medium term, the course should provide students with the necessary knowledge to study subjects related to the financial field in later courses, and, in the long term, it should provide future professionals with the tools and knowledge necessary to make basic financial decisions, both for companies and for other institutions, and even for domestic economies.

Therefore, the classroom sessions dedicated to the expository classes are aimed at the introduction and explanation of the basic aspects of each topic contained in the program, providing the necessary additional information that allows an adequate development of the autonomous learning process.

Internships are essential to achieve the medium and long term objectives established for the course. These will consist of the resolution of exercises and cases in the classroom and in the hours of autonomous work of the student and are aimed at confronting the student with decision making.

The sessions dedicated to expository classes will be developed in the assigned classroom and the practical sessions can be either in the regular classroom or in the computer rooms through the use of the spreadsheet. The tutorials will be mainly face-to-face.

The virtual classroom of the USC will be the point of reference for the development of teaching and monitoring of the subject. The course web page will offer the periodic schedule of classes and the corresponding support material.

For a correct evaluation of the competences that the student must acquire by taking this subject, the result obtained in a final theoretical and practical test and the continuous evaluation of the student's work materialized in his active participation in the programmed activities and in the realization of all those works, cases, questionnaires, etc., proposed throughout the course will be taken into account. Therefore, the evaluation system in each of the exam opportunities includes two instruments:

1. Theoretical-practical final exam of the topics included in the syllabus of the subject. Weighting: 60% of the final grade. It is a test composed of a part of theoretical-practical questions and another part, one or more practical exercises.

2. Continuous evaluation. Weighting: 40% of the final grade. Among the activities that will be valued through this second instrument will be class participation, the resolution of proposed exercises of content related to the subject matter, the completion of assignments and tests, tutorials and class attendance, etc. All these activities will be announced in the classroom.

Any student will be able to take the final exam whether or not he/she has done the activities proposed in the continuous evaluation. In case of not carrying out the previous tasks, the grade will come exclusively from the final exam and will opt for 60% of the grade.

In order to pass the subject it will be necessary to obtain a minimum score in the final exam of 3 points out of 6 (5 points out of 10). If this minimum is not reached, the student's final grade will come exclusively from the grade obtained in the continuous evaluation.

The evaluation system of the students will be independent of their condition of repeater or not and of the call to which it is presented. Those students exempted from attendance due to official dispensation will take the exam on the official date and will be entitled to 100% of the grade.

For cases of fraudulent performance of exercises or tests, the "Normativa de avaliación do rendemento académico dos estudantes e de revisión de cualificacións" will be applied.

Classroom work 54 Hours
Expository teaching 18
Interactive/seminar/laboratory teaching (computer science, workshops, projects, etc.) 30
Small group tutorials 3
Exam and revision 3

Students' personal work 96 hours
Group or individual study 24
Resolution of case studies/exercises, readings or other assignments 47
Work preparation 3
Exam preparation 22

Students preparing to study this subject should have a basic knowledge of mathematics, such as solving systems of equations with two unknowns and working with logarithms, limits and sequences. Likewise, the use of spreadsheets would allow the student to quickly solve many of the exercises that are worked on in the classroom.