Recommended Study Sequence

This unit concentrates on both Microeconomic and Macroeconomic theories. Microeconomics is concerned with the study of individual units within the economy - the individual consumer, the individual firm, the type of market structure facing the firm and price and output determination. Macroeconomics is concerned with analysis of the factors determining the way in which the economic resources of an economy are utilised or under-utilised. Students wishing to take this unit as an elective will need to seek approval from either the Head of Programs or Course advisor.

Corporate Finance is concerned with fulfilling those managerial tasks directed to the decision-making process, including asset and project valuation, leasing, capital structure and dividend distribution and working capital management. Students wishing to take this unit as an elective will need to seek approval from either the Head of Programs or Course advisor.

This unit is essential to prepare students for applied financial analysis and modelling applications used extensively in other units of the Master of Applied Finance program. It familiarises participants with the strengths and limitations of contemporary quantitative modelling techniques using multivariate statistical procedures and optimization approaches. The use of appropriate modelling software including Excel, SPSS, QM for Windows and MPT models is emphasised.

This unit ensures that students have knowledge of the basic institutional framework of the Australian banking industry and financial system. The unit briefly examines international financial markets and the interaction with their Australian counterparts.

This unit covers the basic principles of portfolio selection and funds management and examines share investments. The unit focuses on the factors that affect asset prices; calculations based on the Markowitz Model of portfolio selection; the Single Index Model and the beta of a share; performance measures for a managed fund; style differences in funds management; management of fixed-interest portfolios; and the use of share derivatives to manage share portfolios.

This unit describes the major derivative products and explains how they are used for hedging, speculation, and creating synthetic investments. In doing so, it analyses the effect of the growth of derivatives markets and their relationship to the market for the securities underlying them. Hedging applications are considered from the point of view of corporate treasurers and funds managers.

Australian companies are increasingly competing on world markets for sources of finance and are looking for investment opportunities in foreign markets. This unit looks at the determination of exchange rates, the foreign exchange markets, effective management of exchange exposure on overseas investments, and sources of finance.

This unit is concerned with microeconomic policy development in an open economy setting. It applies and extends microeconomic theory to provide an understanding of the principles governing the formulation of international trade and industry policies. The unit reviews traditional and recent models of the behaviour of firms in international economics. It also overviews the traditional and strategic theories of trade performance and the design, formulation and implementation of trade policy. Unit available for masters only.