This is a finance course. The course provides an overview of the role of finance in supporting the sectoral areas of public and urban policy, environmental policy and sustainability management, nonprofit management, organizational change management, global economic development, and international affairs. The goal of this course is to show the intersection between finance and financial management and initiatives that support social justice, community and economic development on local, regional, national and international levels, job growth and workforce development, SME business growth and retention. This course examines the role of finance in supporting the functional areas of a firm, and fosters an understanding of how financial decisions themselves can create value. Topics covered include: (1) Basic analytical skills and principles of corporate finance, (2) Functions of modern capital markets and financial institutions, and (3) Standard techniques of analysis, including capital budgeting, discounted cash flow valuation, and risk analysis. Students will gain: (1) An understanding of the concepts and language of accounting and finance so it can be used as an effective tool for communication, monitoring, resource allocation and introductory risk analysis; (2) Mastery of the vocabulary of financial statements; and (3) Familiarity with how modern accounting, finance and control theory is used in evaluating economic development and organizational decisions. The class makes extensive use of cases and class participation is an integral part of the course – it is not lecture based, so the expectation is that students prepare ahead of time and come to class prepared to discuss the different topics. Cases will require rigorous financial and investment analysis, building on and extending skills acquired in previous coursework, by real-world experience, and mostly by being willing to step outside of one’s comfort zone and tackle completely new subject matter. To be clear, most students taking EOF have no prior background, so the initial learning curve is quite steep – hopefully, the result is worth it. Students should begin to develop confidence with accounting and financial concepts in order to analyze, influence and implement domestic or international economic development, environmental policy and sustainability management, public and urban policy management and leadership decisions. Recommended Pre-course Preparation: While not required, if you want to maximize your learning experience in EOF Online, then it is strongly recommended that you do two pre-work short online courses as background, before the class starts. If you already have some subject matter expertise, then you probably don’t need these courses. The suggested courses are available free of charge through The New School Library: (1) Financial Accounting Foundations and (2) Finance for Non-Financial Managers. If you have taken Capital Markets and Investing for Impact or Intro. to Accounting & Finance, you are adequately prepared. If you would like a head-start on the EOF coursework, you can spend a couple of hours on the following: https://bit.ly/2vVaf2A. These courses are part of a free database called LinkedIn Learning: http://guides.library.newschool.edu/c.php?g=274519. If you have questions about another course you would like to take before starting EOF, then please feel free to connect with Professor Allison and ask his opinion on whether the selected course is an appropriate choice -- allisonc@newschool.edu.