Finance is a discipline involving the study of how individuals, businesses and institutions raise funds to implement investment strategies, and how they allocate these funds to a variety of investment opportunities, allowing for the time between investment and future payoff and the risks attached to these future payoffs. The discipline of finance covers capital markets and financial institutions, investments and financial planning, and corporate finance.

Financial markets, products and practices are fast-evolving, posing challenges for practitioners who must keep pace with increasingly complex products. Finance courses at the GSBE have been designed to prepare students for these professional demands by blending the best of academic knowledge and professional practice. Our courses focus on today’s markets and instruments, and provide the keys to understanding them through finance theory and analytical techniques. With teaching from leading academics and industry practitioners, graduates are equipped with up-to-date knowledge and hands-on skills, and possess the deeper understanding and capabilities required to master future developments in the finance industry.

Careers in Finance

Finance is an international profession, and careers take our graduates to financial centres in Europe, the US and Asia as well as here in Australia. With students and teachers drawn from across the world, you gain a global perspective and access to an international network – prerequisites for success in a highly mobile career. For those seeking a career in finance, the work is demanding but rewarding. High levels of commitment are expected, but the starting salaries and opportunities for salary growth reflect this.

A career in any sector of the finance industry will be built on the basis of sound abilities in quantitative and analytical techniques, critical thinking, and leadership and communication. Deeper, more specialised knowledge can open the door to careers in trading, investment analysis, mergers and acquisitions or risk management. Prospects in the industry are currently strong for those with a good qualification from a leading university as global financial markets are growing rapidly. Along with Australia’s financial industry other hotspots include the UK, China, India and Singapore. Opportunities exist in financial services firms such as banks, investment banks and stockbrokers; accounting and advisory/consulting firms; and government.