Finance

Teaching

Our students benefit from a broad curriculum in the different domains of corporate finance, banking and financial markets. The Department’s pedagogy is based on solid theoretical fundamentals, case studies and practical work. To reach this objective, we partner with Bloomberg and Refinitiv to host Financial Markets Labs equipped with their terminals on each campus. Students enjoy a hands-on learning experience with their data and analytics, which supports the concepts taught by our faculty and prepares them for the practice of the industry.

Students who specialize in one of our Finance programs often pursue careers in financial management of private or public businesses, in commercial and investment banks or in asset management companies.

More specifically, the Finance Department offers the following Majors in the Grande Ecole Program: 

> Financial Transactions and Corporate Strategy

The Major in Financial Transactions and Corporate Strategy trains students on decision making techniques in corporate finance from the perspective of a CFO or financial director.

The Major covers the following compulsory courses: Firm Valuation, Advanced Corporate Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Restructuring as well as Ethics for Finance. The Major also offers several elective courses, such as Private Equity and coaching for the CFA Level 1 exam. The Major counts a series of open elective courses such as Python for Finance and Working Capital Management.

Career opportunities for students joining the Major include positions as Corporate Finance Analyst, M&A Analyst, Private Equity Analyst and Treasurer.

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> Asset and Risk Management

The Major in Asset and Risk Management aims to train students in financial markets.

The Major covers investment and risk management and deals with all asset classes (Debt Securities, Firm Valuation, Derivatives). It takes a global look from a financial (Portfolio Management, Private Wealth Management, Financial and Credit Risk Management) as well as from a non-financial perspective, for example related to the energy transition (Sustainable Finance). This Major also offers a series of elective courses allowing students from other Majors to sharpen their skills in risk management (Introduction to Risk Management) or coding and data analysis (VBA for Finance, Machine Learning, Programming in Finance Using R).

The Major prepares students for roles in financial analysis, asset and risk management or financial advisory.

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> Financial Management and Control

The Major in Financial Management and Control, organized jointly with the Accounting Department, aims to train students in financial planning and control.

Its curriculum combines courses from financial management (Advanced Corporate Finance), financial accounting (Corporate Financial and Non-Financial Reporting, Advanced Financial Statements Analysis) and management accounting (Global Performance Management, Financial Simulation & Forecasting) to provide students with high-quality knowledge in financial analysis, performance management and decision-support excellence. The Major offers electives that allow students to acquire additional knowledge in specific areas, such as Internal Auditing and Control or Decision Making in Corporate Investment. It also offers students from other Majors open electives such as Professional Ethics in Financial Management & Control, Tax Planning, and Fundamentals of Firm Valuation.

Students choosing this Major pursue careers as Finance or Business Analyst, Management Accountant, Financial Risk Manager or Chief Financial Officer.

The Department also offers two Apprenticeship programs for students wishing to combine a solid education in finance with a hands-on experience in companies:

> Financial Institutions: Risk, Compliance and Data Analytics

The Apprenticeship Program in Financial Institutions: Risk, Compliance and Data Analytics for students wishing to meet the expectations of the main financial institutions concerning the different professions of banking, insurance and asset management from a risk and compliance point of view.

The Master program includes courses on the legal environment of financial institutions (credit, market and operational risk) and compliance (financial security and protection of clients’ interests), but also courses on insurance, wealth management and asset management.

At the end of the program, students can apply for positions as risk analysts or compliance officers, but also for positions as analyst, business manager, or wealth or asset manager.

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> Audit, Management Control and Corporate Finance

The Apprenticeship Program in Audit, Management Control and Corporate Finance (jointly organized with the Accounting Department) for students wishing to obtain vast practical knowledge and gain hands-on experience, while continuing their studies.

The program covers both technical skills (accounting, management control, audit, finance, law) and managerial and strategic skills to enable them to hold decision-making positions in companies. A transversal focus on data management and CSR is also offered in several courses of the program.

This Master prepares students for accounting professions in firms or in companies: auditing, chartered accountant, management control, financial management, treasury, or financial analysis. 

Two Specialized Master Programs complement our portfolio:

> Master in Finance

The Master in Finance (Paris campus) allows acquiring strong foundations in finance, thus providing for a wide choice of jobs upon graduation. It is intended for students wishing to enhance their expertise in financial analysis and investment management.

The program helps develop and sharpen technical (Quantitative Methods, Financial Econometrics) and analytical skills (Financial Reporting and Analysis, Technical Analysis), mastery of financial instruments (Financial Markets, Bond Markets and Instruments, Derivatives) and valuation methods (Firm Valuation, Advanced Firm Valuation), as well as asset management skills (Portfolio Management, Active Portfolio Management, Private Wealth Management). Students also learn the importance of ethics in finance (Ethics and CSR in Finance) and programming for professional projects (VBA for Finance, Python for Finance).

This Master program has been accepted into the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program and provides support to the students sitting for the CFA Exam. Some of the roles held by the program’s alumni include Financial Analyst, M&A Analyst, Corporate Finance Associate, Investment Officer, Risk Manager, or Wealth Management Specialist.

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> Master in Banking, Capital Markets and Financial Technology

The Master in Banking, Capital Markets and Financial Technology (Lille campus) provides students with the opportunity of acquiring advanced knowledge and practical skills in investment banking and in the functioning of financial markets with a strong focus on supporting their development through the different aspects of financial technology. It is intended for students seeking to pursue a career in investment banking and in the equity, debt, or derivatives capital markets working for financial conglomerates, independent financial institutions, asset management companies, advisory firms or Fintech companies.

During the program, students develop advanced technical (Quantitative Financial Analysis with R, Machine Learning), analytical (Reporting for Financial Instruments, Risk Analysis and Management, Data Analytics), and programming (Python, VBA and R) skills applied to Finance (Computational Thinking 1 and 2). They also delve into financial instruments (Capital Markets, Investments, Fixed Income, Derivatives, Financial Regulations, International Finance), as well as valuation (Equity Analysis), funding (Banking, Corporate Financial Transactions, Private Equity and Venture Capital), asset management (Equity Portfolio Management, Fixed Income Portfolio Management), and trading (The Trading Desk: Key Tools to Trade in Global Markets) topics. Students also understand the importance of ethics in Finance (Sustainable Finance).

In addition, students make extensive use of Bloomberg and Refinitiv to work on many of the different topics and assignments (several courses are taught in the Financial Markets Lab). Finally, This Master program has a partnership with the London-based Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI). Our courses embed the contents of CISI’s International Introduction to Securities and Investment and our students are given the opportunity to take the corresponding Level 3 qualification.

Some of the roles held by the program’s alumni include Investment Banking Analyst, Financial Analyst, Private Equity Analyst, Wealth Manager, Portfolio Manager or Risk Manager.

Executive Program

Finally, the Department also offers an Executive Master in Financial Management (MSDF) targeting executives with the potential and the ambition to become Finance directors, by developing the participants’ expertise, know-how and interpersonal skills. Our participants constitute a diversified profile sample with a vast majority having accumulated more than 10 years of professional experience in their field.
For those whose wish is to change or switch jobs, the Program offers a unique opportunity to widen and broaden the scope of job positions they could potentially apply to in start-ups as well as large corporate entities.

Research, Expertise & Corporate World

Risk and Asset Management. Our research team deals with the valuation of financial assets, portfolio construction, market-timing and stock-picking strategies, high-frequency trading, market microstructure, insider trading, environmental economics and finance, alternative investments, as well as the estimation and management of the volatility and every source of financial risk.

Banking, Monetary Policy and Financial Regulation. Our research relates to the behavior of financial institutions, the health of the financial services industry, and the economy. Selected research topics include the implementation and the transmission of the monetary policy, interaction between the balance sheets of financial institutions and market liquidity, the functioning of interbank markets, the stability of financial markets and institutions, banking and the real economy, as well as the regulation of the financial system (capital requirements, systemic risk, etc.). 

Corporate Finance and Governance. Our researchers also work on research related to the financing, the investment policies as well as the governance of corporations. Selected research topics include agency problems between different stakeholders, compensation arrangements with managers, investment and financing decisions, mergers and acquisitions, corporate social responsibility (CSR), corporate ownership and governance structures. 

iQuant Research Group. The iQuant research group produces state-of-the-art research designed to be published in internationally recognized journals in finance as well as to provide policy recommendations that are useful to public authorities.

Academic staff of the Department

Research Seminars of the Department

We believe that collaboration, discussion and exchange are essential to fostering a positive environment for academic research. With this spirit, the School actively encourages and promotes the organization of research seminars, workshops and conferences.

See the Research Seminars