Finance and Analytics

Taught modules

Compulsory modules

• Emerging Financial Technologies

  You will be introduced to the technologies reshaping the financial sector, focusing on how emerging tools (including AI) and data infrastructures are driving change, competition, and innovation. You wil look at the rise of open and distributed, decentralised systems that challenge traditional financial intermediaries and create opportunities for new market entrants.

• Core Concepts in Finance

  The module provides the necessary foundation for the study of finance, comprising three areas of knowledge and understanding:

  • Foundational concepts, theories and instruments in finance
  • Financial statements and their interpretation
  • Mathematical and statistical tools.

  This is required knowledge for other finance modules in the programme, for understanding the academic literature in finance, and for careers in finance. The development of Excel and Bloomberg skills are integrated into the module.

• Investment and Asset Management

  You will gain hands-on experience of building a diversified portfolio, hedging using derivatives, and analysing its performance and risk using the Bloomberg Terminal. The fundamentals learnt in this module will be particularly beneficial for a career in asset management, investment banking, wealth management, etc. The module will be of interest to anyone pursuing or planning to pursue Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1.

• The Practice of Data Analysis

  You will learn how to examine data and use statistics to help businesses, to formulate strategies and make decisions. You will learn essential concepts that underpin areas such as business analytics, data mining, data analytics, big data and artificial intelligence. you will work with diverse datasets, learn how to prepare these and test basic models of analytics.

• Business Analytics

  You will learn how to conduct data preparation, pre-processing, reduction, visualisation and modelling before you interpret and gain further insights from the data. You will learn how to use several analytical tools such as Python and AWS cloud platform. This module guides students on how to use data extensively and explores trending concepts and topics such as LLM and AI. 

• Developing Skills for Leadership and Employability

  You’ll develop self-awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses as an effective leader and team player. This module will help you develop and improve a range of definable skills which are pivotal to successful management practice and effective leadership across sectors.
  
  You’ll progress essential skills such as the confidence and the ability to articulate your skills and attributes that are required for professional development, lifelong learning and employment. You’ll also have the opportunity to explore different leadership perspectives on ethics, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), sustainability, technoology and change.

• Applied Project

  This one semester long taught final project module allows students to concentrate on topics that are of particular interest to them, and it draws upon a range of different aspects of the programme, particularly the analytical skills they learn throughout the course. Students will take this taught module and be guided towards the completion of their selected topic/project. It also allows students to work independently and manage a project from planning to its completion.
   

• Enterprising Work Placement - Compulsory for Sandwich Mode only

  You'll expand your enterprise skills in the context of the workplace. The focus will be on building your intrapreneurial mindsets during your placement, helping you to develop the curiosity, creativity, vision and resilience to be successful in a variety of organisations. You'll draw on the OBBS Golden Thread and Brookes attributes embedded within your degree, for you to be a change agent on your placement, so you drive innovation in one or more of the following areas: ethical business behaviour, inclusivity, responsible management, sustainability, digitalisation and internationalisation. Drawing on on your research skills you'll propose evidence based innovative solutions to your placement organisations’ challenges.

Optional modules

• Business Intelligence

  This module provides an overview of the technology of BI and the application of BI to an organisation’s strategies and goals. You will apply data extensively using theory and knowledge to perform statistical and quantitative analysis to drive business decisions and actions. Then you will learn the business intelligence techniques and skills to understand, evaluate and interpret business and performance metrics and tools, in order to improve individual and organisational performance, and use this to inform and update organisational policies and procedures.

• Corporate Finance

  You will be introduced to the principles and practice of corporate financial management. You will learn how organisations manage their finances, how they decide what investments to undertake and what dividends to pay. You will learn the core techniques used to measure the creation of value and, at the same time, develop a critical perspective in evaluating corporate finance theory.

• Academic English for Postgraduate Studies

  You will have the opportunity to build self-awareness of your academic competencies and you will be given strategies to develop these independently. These strategies address key aspects of postgraduate study such as 

  • criticality
  • source use
  • academic voice 
  • and writing development. 

  Materials are drawn from your fields of study to enhance the relevance and impact on progress. This module is key for Business students who have had little or no previous academic English training or UK university experience.

• International Business in Practice: Study Trip

  This elective study trip will give you a hands-on, intensive experience with the ideas and practices of global business. You’ll meet with leaders of global firms, receive presentations from global academic experts, and tour company facilities. You’ll also have direct interaction with management executives and practices through site visits to major corporations and agencies. 

  All costs associated with the trip will need to be funded by you. It is not linked to university assessments in any way. If you successfully complete this module you will have it recorded on your transcript. As the destination and therefore precise costs vary from year to year, the programme fee of the study trip will be communicated to students before the application deadline.