1. Knowledge and Understanding

The specialized knowledge in field of finances and banking will enable the students to:

• understand the institutional structure of the financial markets, the characteristics of financial instruments (shares, bonds, deposits, loans, financial derivatives etc.) as well as the functioning of financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment funds etc.).
• understand the basic principles of finance, the essence of modern portfolio theory as well as the principles of valuation of the basic classes of financial instruments – shares and bonds.
• understand the most important lending, funds-raising and trading activities of commercial banks, to adopt the modern methods of asset and liability management as well as to solve practical problems in the field of commercial banking.
• discuss the modern achievements in monetary theory, the process of monetary creation, monetary policy instruments, and the influence of monetary policy on nominal and real variables.
• recognize and critically evaluate the basic issues in international finance, such as: exchange rate determination, the mechanics of exchange rate markets, the main components of balance of payments, the key international financial institutions and financing international trade.
• understand modern tax systems, the features of different public revenues (taxes, tariffs, social contributions etc.), and the budget process; also, they should be able to analyze the effects of fiscal policy on various economic variables.

2. Implementing Knowledge and Understanding

After graduating from this department, the students should be qualified to work as:

• financial managers in non-financial companies
• managers in banks and other financial institutions;
• consultants in the area of taxation and public finance (tax consultants, finance inspectors), as well as being engaged in the domain of insurance and customs problems;
• financial staff in public institutions (state administration, funds, the Government, ministries, the Inland Revenue, institutions of payment operations etc.);
• financial markets professionals  (stock exchanges, investment firms etc.);
• researches in private and public academic institutions (universities, institutes, and other scientific-educational institutions).

3. Ability for Assessment

·   Students demonstrate skills for collecting, analyzing and interpretation of financial information for both national and global economy.

·   Students have capabilities for applying contemporary theories in conceptualizing and solving practical problems in finance and banking.

·   Students are able to use quantitative tools for analyzing the phenomena in financial markets, banking, and Macroeconomics.

4. Communication Skills

·   Students show ability to communicate with other participants in group decision-making.

·   Students show ability for independent participation in specific interdisciplinary discussions. They are able to give critical and objective arguments on a wide array of real-world financial matters.

5. Skills of Learning

·   Students demonstrate skills for learning – concentration, reading, listening, and efficient presentation of the results.

·   Students demonstrate skills for critical and creative thinking, for generating new ideas.