Graduates of our Diploma in Financial Management (pure online distance learning program) are eligible to apply for different financial professional designations such as CFC, CICFP, RFP … etc., with appropriate working experience. This Diploma programme can be fully completed via online course delivery mode.

Course Outline of Diploma in Financial Management - Pure Distance Learning Delivery Mode

The objective of this diploma programme is a professional financial planning and consulting training program for financial consultants or financial planners in the financial service industry. Those who completed this training program should expect to take managerial positions in such industries as private banking, insurance, financial analysts or investment advisory. Graduates with appropriate working experience of this program are eligible to apply for membership/professional designation of some financial professional bodies, e.g. Certified Financial Consultant designation (CFC), Registered Financial Planner (RFP), Chinese Certified Financial Planner (CICFP) … etc.

Entry Requirements

Applicants should have a certificate in finance and two years of relevant work experience and adequate proficiency in English or professional membership or other equivalent qualifications.

Duration of the programme

Notional study hours 180 (4 modules)

Delivery Mode

Online pure distance learning

Key features of the programme 

l           All course materials are delivered via online Internet system

l           Graduates are eligible to apply for professional designations, e.g. CFC, RFP, CICFP…etc of the professional financial bodies.

l           Strong email and online tutorial support by experienced and well qualified instructors

l           Knowledge of financial analysis, including the interpretation and analysis of financial statements

l           Skills and knowledge of professional financial consulting

l           Introduction of basic corporate finance theory and contemporary knowledge of finance

l           Methodology of personal financial planning

l           Essential topics in investment and risk management

What is CFC?

The Institute of Financial Consultants (IFC) offers an educational program leading to the designation of Certified Financial Consultant (CFC) issued to qualified graduates. The Institute of Financial Consultants (IFC) is an international professional organization with a worldwide membership and is registered with the National Certification Commission, USA. Financial consultants provide advice to clients in a wide variety of situations from the financial planner advising individual clients on investments to those working as corporate financial officer, portfolio manager, security analyst and investment banker in organizations as diverse as brokerage firms, mutual funds, banks, trust companies, corporate finance departments, insurance companies and other financial management firms.

Are other universities or educational institutions offering similar programmes to prepare its professional examinations?

Yes.

HKUST College of Lifelong Learning - Diploma program in Professional Financial Consulting    

Assessment Method

A Diploma will be awarded to participants who have successfully completed and passed all written assignments of each module via online submission within the deadlines specified by their tutors and satisfactory participation rate at Internet discussion forum. 100% coursework base and most written assignments are task-oriented to ask students to apply related concepts to their working environment or in case approach.

Programme Structure and Content

The programme will cover the following modules:

Module 1: Principles of Corporate Finance

Students, after completed this module, should understand the elementary concepts in finance, assess alternative investment possibilities, and evaluate different sources of financing projects. Emphasis will be placed on the core knowledge and skills in the application of modern business finance theory with reference to practical case studies.

Topics:

l           Finance and financial markets

l           Introduction to Valuation: The Time Value of Money:

l           Discounted Cash Flow Valuation:

l           Interest Rates and Bond Valuation:

l           Stock Valuation

l           Capital Budgeting

Module 2: Financial Statement Analysis

Students should understand of (i) the basic financial statements including Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Statement of Cash Flow, (ii) the theoretical techniques for analyzing those financial statements, (iii) valuation models of firm value and their relationship to financial statement information, and (iv) the implementation of the theoretical knowledge into real life practice of financial statement analysis.

Topics:

l           Financial reporting standards

l           Introduction to the foundations of corporate financial statements

-Income statement

-Statement of Cash Flow

-Balance Sheet

l           Simple firm valuation Models

l           Techniques of financial statements analysis, such as horizontal, vertical and ratio analysis.

Module 3:  Practice of Personal Financial Planning

The main objective of this module is to provide students the knowledge required to be a professional personal financial consultant. It will study the introduction of basic investment products and different personal financial planning techniques. Such investment products as common stock, bonds, insurance etc. will be introduced in this module. It also will focus to form a comprehensive and executable financial plan for clients, which reflects the most recent trends in financial consulting and planning.

Topics:

l           Basic principles of personal financial planning

l           Introduction of various investment products

l           Insurance planning for life and health

l           Process and techniques in personal financial planning and consulting

l           Professionalism and ethics in financial planning and consulting.

Module 4 : Investment Management

This module is to introduce the basic idea of investment management, e.g. investment decision theory, securities analysis, modern portfolio theory and bond analysis. Tools for analyzing investment environment will be discussed. Students will understand the nature of different types of investment products and apply the investment techniques in light of risk-return trade-offs.

Topics: 

l          Investment decision theory                                      

l          Investment Environmental Analysis                       

l          Security Analysis                                                       

l          Portfolio Analysis and Management                                

l         Bond Analysis and Management