Study finance

Below you will find detailed information on the individual study modules:

1st semester

General Business Administration module

In the basic module "General Business Administration", the special features of business administration as a science are first dealt with before concepts and approaches of economic thinking and acting are taught in order to recognize, analyze and discuss economic issues. This includes business management functions such as procurement, production, sales, personnel and financing as well as initial management concepts. You will become familiar with basic business management methods and instruments and will be able to apply these to simple problems.

Business mathematics module

The basic contents of this module are financial mathematics, linear algebra and analysis, which are used to formulate economic problems in the language of mathematics. In particular, the focus is on questions of financial mathematics in order to interpret and implement results derived from mathematics in economic terms. For example, capital value calculations, curve discussions, determination of extreme values, elasticities, fundamentals of optimization, linear systems of equations and input/output analysis are used.

Bookkeeping and cost accounting module

The overall module consists of the two sub-modules "Bookkeeping" and "Cost Accounting". In addition to the basic structure of business accounting and bookkeeping, the "Bookkeeping" sub-module deals with the fundamental relationship between the balance sheet and the income statement. In addition, operational processes are mapped using double-entry bookkeeping and annual financial statements are prepared. In the "Cost Accounting" sub-module, students learn about the tasks and instruments of cost type, cost center and cost unit accounting on a full cost basis as well as basic knowledge of partial cost accounting. This includes the application of the main instruments of cost element, cost center and cost unit accounting in the context of operational issues.

Legal module

The module covers an introduction to private law and public law and relates to the German Civil Code, the general part, the law of obligations and property law. The aim is to ensure that you are familiar with the areas of law and legal matters required for future tasks in business and that you can apply the most important areas of civil law relevant to business law in a practical manner. This includes the ability to use the relevant legal sources independently, assess business law issues and solve legal cases.

Personnel and marketing module

The module consists of the two sub-modules "Human Resources" and "Marketing". The first sub-module deals with the functional basics of human resources management, personnel planning, organization of working conditions, remuneration determination and policy, as well as recruitment, selection and development. The sub-module "Marketing" deals with the elements of a management-oriented marketing concept as well as basic instruments and organizational aspects of marketing. This includes the basics of strategic marketing management, methods of market research as well as central aspects of product, price, communication and sales policy.

Business Informatics module

The module consists of the two sub-modules "Theory" and "Practice". The aim of the module as a whole is to familiarize students with the working methods and the most important techniques of current hardware and software and to understand how information and communication technology can serve business purposes. The most important business applications of information and communication technology are covered and simple business methods (e.g. break-even, ABC analysis) are applied in a practice-oriented manner with the help of spreadsheet programs.

2nd semester

Investment and financing module

The sub-module "Investment" deals with the basic investment and profitability calculations under certainty and the evaluation of investment alternatives. The methods of static investment calculation as well as the methods of dynamic investment calculation are discussed and deepened with concrete application examples. In addition, special cases of investment appraisal such as the replacement problem and profitability, financial and liquidity planning are dealt with. The mirror-image sub-module "Financing" deals with the instruments of external and internal financing and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different financing alternatives and evaluates selected capital structures.

Accounting and taxation module

The "Accounting" sub-module deals with the legal origins and core business statements of (individual) annual financial statements under national law (commercial and tax law), including the distinction from group accounting and annual financial statements under international law (IFRS). Important business statements in accounting such as the balance sheet and income statement are examined and assessed in order to derive economic decisions. In the "Taxation" sub-module, the fundamentals of corporate taxation are dealt with in depth and the tax burden effects associated with business decisions are determined.

Statistics module

The statistics module consists of the sub-modules "Statistics" and "Statistics with Excel". In the context of "Statistics", students learn the most important concepts, definitions, formulas and methods of descriptive and inductive statistics. These include, for example, mean values, measures of dispersion and higher moments, index numbers, correlation and regression. You will learn how to analyze collected data (descriptive statistics) as well as how to apply probability theory, estimation methods and hypothesis tests in theory and practice. In the "Statistics with Excel" sub-module, you will apply the topics covered theoretically in the "Statistics" sub-module using sample data relevant to business administration (e.g. share prices) in Excel. You will deepen your theoretical knowledge of statistics and also acquire additional Excel skills. This provides you with the application competence for practice-oriented, quantitative methods for processing, summarizing and analyzing data to improve the quality of decision-making in functional areas of business administration.

Economics module

The learning objectives of the "Economics" sub-module are knowledge and understanding of the functioning of market economies as well as economic policy objectives and instruments. This includes the basics of national accounting and economic policy as well as basic macroeconomic explanatory approaches, which are analyzed in the short and long term and applied to practical economic policy. In addition, central production technologies are differentiated from one another and pricing on markets is described and interpreted.

Basic Business Skills module

In the sub-module "English I - Business Basic", simple to moderately difficult business situations are simulated communicatively (by telephone or in writing). You will practice describing companies, business objects, etc., as well as analyzing basic processes and describing them using suitable media. The "Soft Skills I" sub-module teaches appropriate language skills in international contexts and distinguishes between the different language registers (business language, everyday language, academic language, student language) and regional language phenomena (US English, UK English). Furthermore, students will learn how to organize their learning and presentation techniques, prepare a short presentation on business topics and give it in German and/or English.

3rd semester

Corporate Finance module

The Corporate Finance module consists of the sub-modules "Cash Management and Payment Transactions", "Asset Classes and Investor Behavior" and "Current Developments in the Financial Services Market". The cash and liquidity management of a company and the necessary key figures and techniques are discussed. The most important key figures of cash and working capital management are presented, explained and interpreted. In addition, the central asset classes and their respective special features are discussed, as well as possible psychological distortions in financial decisions and the most important decision-making traps and manipulations in the context of behavioral finance. Current developments in the financial services market and new business models, especially with regard to digitalization, are also taken into account.

Customer relationship and project management module

The module teaches the various objectives and methods, as well as models and the application of current CRM software. The components of analytical, operational, communicative and collaborative CRM are introduced and applied using specific, practical case studies. As part of project management, students lead a project and contribute to solving complex project tasks as part of a team. Problem solutions are formulated and justified both technically and methodically.

ERP systems and business analytics module

Topics of the sub-module "Accounting in SAP ERP" are the handling of the recognized SAP ERP system (navigation) as well as the mapping of various business processes from a business and system perspective. The "Business Analytics" sub-module focuses on knowledge and skills in business analytics, including the integration of strategies, processes and technologies. This generates success-critical knowledge about potentials and perspectives from distributed and inhomogeneous company, market and competitor data. In addition, an understanding of the integration of various modules from the areas of accounting, controlling and logistics is imparted.

Advanced Business Skills module

The module aims to equip students with business skills in an international context. In the sub-module "English II - Business in Practice", students discuss specific, current but also critical topics in a results-oriented manner and rehearse application procedures in English, for example. The module is rounded off by the sub-module "Soft Skills II - Communication", in which students learn to prepare a more extensive presentation or training course on business topics in the area of communication/conflict management/negotiation and to present it in German and/or English and to activate participants.

Mentorship programs module

The degree program includes the mentorship programs, which serves to get to know students and full-time lecturers of the degree programs and ensures personal, individual support. On the other hand, initial discussions on topics relating to the Bachelor's thesis should be held. Another aspect is the discussion of possible problems in the course of studies and finding a supervisor for the internship.

4th semester

Financial Institutions module

The sub-module "Banking Management incl. Investment Banking" deals with the economic role of banks, the main banking services, their customer benefits and their significance for credit institutions. Students also learn and apply key concepts for measuring and managing risks and for managing banking business, as well as discussing key regulatory requirements and current developments on the market for financial services. The "Insurance Management" sub-module deals with the institutional manifestations of the most important supply structures of financial services companies, the functioning and possible applications of central banking and insurance business as well as the relevant industry-related regulatory framework. The sub-module "Accounting of Banks and Insurance Companies" provides comprehensive knowledge of the commercial accounting of banks and insurance companies using the provisions of the German Commercial Code (HGB) as well as the RechKredV and RechVersV. Practical cases and annual financial statements of banks and insurance companies are analyzed and discussed.

Module Introduction to management techniques and legal framework conditions

This module consists of the sub-modules "Corporate Management", "Project Controlling" and "International Business Law". You will learn about the interests of all stakeholders in a company, examine basic management models, planning and decision-making techniques and will be able to evaluate and apply these in a targeted manner. This also involves the goal-oriented design of organizations and processes and their management approaches, which you will evaluate and operationalize for application. You will also learn the central principles and methods of project controlling and be able to apply these to practical issues. You will reflect on and take into account different perspectives and interests in order to be able to recognize the appropriate framework conditions and make well-founded and responsible decisions. As part of "International Business Law", you will deepen your basic knowledge in the field of private commercial law in international business law. You will learn how to address issues of national commercial and company law while taking international aspects into account and will be able to legally assess matters with foreign implications, draw up economically relevant contracts and solve legal cases.

International Business Skills module

In the sub-module "English II - Business Knowledge", you will be able to convey a comprehensive business topic in English in a compact manner and with subject-related specialist vocabulary. You will be familiar with typical cultural differences in presentations in English-speaking countries. As part of the sub-module "Soft Skills III - Business Ethics", you will practise forming opinions and representing your point of view in a discussion in English and motivating other people to express their opinions.

Academic writing module

In this module, you will learn about objectives and standards in an academic environment and will be able to apply the relevant guidelines to practical issues using the basics of academic expression and citation. This module prepares you for your own academic thesis (Bachelor's thesis).

5. Semester

Financial market communication module

In the sub-module "Company Valuation" you will learn the methods and principles of valuing companies and shares and apply these to case studies. As part of the "Group Accounting" sub-module, you will deal with the preparation of consolidated financial statements and gain a deeper understanding of the application of individual types of consolidation by working on case studies. In the "International Accounting" sub-module, you will acquire basic knowledge of accounting in accordance with the German Commercial Code (HGB) and IFRS and differentiate between them. The importance, development, principles and special features of IFRS in the accounting and valuation of assets and liabilities, but also in the realization of profits, are dealt with in order to be able to understand, analyze and evaluate the main features of annual financial statements in accordance with IFRS.

Hedging module

The module consists of the sub-modules "Hedge Management & Accounting" and "Financial Derivatives". You will learn and recognize the reasons for hedging various risks (e.g. price, interest rate and currency risks) and be able to describe the derivatives used to hedge risks and understand their valuation (also according to different accounting standards).

Risk management module

In the two sub-modules "Theory" and "Treasury and Risk Management (ERP/Practice)", you will gain an insight into the theory of risk management and additional knowledge of SAP ERP Treasury and Risk Management. In addition, formulas learned in other modules are applied (e.g. the valuation of options) and run through in the SAP ERP system.

Value creation module

The sub-module "Portfolio and Capital Market Theory" deals with the risk and return of capital investments and investment programs (securities portfolios) and their valuation and quantification. You will understand the concept of diversification, be able to apply it and determine efficient and optimal portfolios. The focus is also on the CAPM and APT capital market models. In the sub-module "Investment and Value Enhancement", students are able to analyze the main issues of corporate finance, the role of the financial manager with the tasks and implications of a separation of corporate management and capital ownership. The valuation of financial instruments and working capital is applied in practice. In the "International Finance" sub-module, students learn about the emergence of multinational companies, the risks and opportunities of multinational corporate activity, as well as the objectives and tasks of multinational financial management. Furthermore, the theoretical foundations of international corporate finance, the international finance/transfer system are applied and a differentiated analysis and evaluation of foreign investment projects is dealt with.

6. Semester

Semester abroad or internship module

Students can choose between a semester abroad or an internship (compulsory internship). In an authentic environment, you can get to know cultural and economic particularities, develop existing language skills in specific communication situations and improve your social skills for professional development. Optionally, you can apply and deepen your practical knowledge and skills in as many areas of your degree programs as possible in the relevant areas of a commercial enterprise or a business-related institution in Germany or abroad during a practical phase.

Bachelor's thesis module

As part of their Bachelor's thesis, students work independently on a business problem using scientific methods, both in terms of the technical details and the interdisciplinary contexts.