Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Lululemon Strategic Audit, Tessa Mozingo, Olivia Eno, Molly Mitchell, Connor Morrissey, James Eshleman

Honors Theses

This case study focuses on lululemon, a prominent athleisure apparel company. Our team conducted an audit of the company revolving around strategic business management principles. Our research used publicly available information that included the company’s website, SEC filings, news articles, lululemon’s annual reports, financial statements, IBIS industry reports, and online sources. The goal of this strategic audit is to develop an understanding of lululemon’s business activities and strategies, collect and analyze both internal and external data, and evaluate lululemon based on strategic management concepts.

In this strategic audit, we conduct internal, external, performance, and competitive analyses and an examination of …

An Evaluation Of Environmental, Social, And Governance Standards On Fund Performance: Comparison Of Esg Funds In The United States And The European Union, Gracie V. Del Real

Honors Program Projects

The growing importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies in global industries has attracted special attention from investors seeking to evaluate companies beyond traditional financial metrics. Given the evolving social climate, investors are seeking ways to utilize their money not only for financial success but for societal change. ESG offers the opportunity to retain money in the market while being responsible concerning the environmental and societal impact companies are having on the communities in which they operate. Being a responsible investor can go beyond making strong returns. This study aims to determine if there is a statistically significant difference …

Northern Oil & Gas Strategic Audit, Jacob Hansen

Honors Theses

Northern Oil & Gas is an energy company that operates in various basins across the United States. The company utilizes a non-operating model, meaning it does not drill wells or operate rigs, but rather partners with operators and acquires fractional working interests in drilling units. This report seeks to understand Northern Oil & Gas’ business model by examining its competitive strategy, advantages, and resources. Internal and external environmental factors are also analyzed using both PESTEL analysis and Porter’s Five Forces. In addition, key challenges facing the company are explored and recommendations are given on how Northern Oil & Gas can …

Exploring Mortgage Loan Opportunities For Native 360, Donald Nam, Brooks Douglass, Michael Buehre Stackpole, Broderick Diez

Honors Theses

Native 360 is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that aims to provide affordable capital, credit, and assistance to develop strong and self-sufficient Native Americans. Native 360 currently accomplishes this by specializing in providing personal and business loans. However, Native 360 would like to expand into home mortgages as an additional offering. Native 360 has reached out to us to have us develop a strategy to raise capital for their ambitious new business line in an attempt to strengthen the Native American community through home ownership.

Teaching Users About Real World Of Finance, Aurobindo Ghosh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In a commentary, SMU Assistant Professor of Finance (Education) and Director of Citi-Foundation SMU Financial Literacy Programme for Young Adults Aurobindo Ghosh shared his views on the metaverse and the opportunities to make money in the metaverse economy. While pointing out that lowering the cost of service and standardising service, as a virtual banking establishment, might increase customer experience for financial services, Asst Prof Ghosh cited a 2021 survey conducted by the Citi-Foundation SMU Financial Literacy Programme which found evidence that financial inclusion among young adults reduces impediments to banking like access to branches and documentation requirements.

Long-Term Analysis Of A Savings Program In Elementary School, Jennifer Davidson, William Walstad

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

The prevalence of in-school savings programs (ISSPs) for children and youth is widespread, but research on their effectiveness is limited. This study investigates the long-term effects of an ISSP conducted in one U.S. elementary school. Survey data were collected on the financial behaviors of high school students, who participated in or did not participate in an ISSP while attending the same elementary school at the same time. The results from a probit analysis of data controlling for demographic variables showed that ISSP participants compared with non-participants were more likely to have a bank account in high school. They also were …

Pre-Mentoring Training On Financial Literacy For Small Business Owners, Marwa Abduljawad

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

Small business owners are continuously faced with challenges to grow their business. These challenges are not only related to market conditions, some of them are associated with the business owner's lack of knowledge or skills; thus, many of them seek mentoring opportunities. This project explores the knowledge gap between the mentor and mentee, with a focus on financial literacy and how it impacts mentoring outcomes. A needs assessment was done to assess this performance problem through interviewing project SME’s, surveying stakeholders, and literature review. Based on the findings, a self-paced micro eLearning was proposed with an instructional goal of the …

Arbor Day Foundation Programs: Analysis And Recommendations, Justin Myers, Emily Alston, Cameron Claborn, Charles Erker, Braelyn Isernhagen, Jonathan Jameson

Honors Theses

We are proposing the enhancement of the current Tree City USA program to include a special recognition program for high-achieving communities. These “Golden Oak” tree cities will be recognized each year based on a variety of metrics detailed in a new and more comprehensive program application. Recommendations:

● Updated application to include more information about both quantitative and qualitative insights

● Special recognition program awarding “Golden Oak” status to communities in village, town, city, and metropolis categories based on either percentile or benchmarking system

● A cumulative “Golden Oak” award given to the State that achieves the highest percentage of …

Digging Into Selection Criteria For Accelerator Acceptance: What Kind Of Owners Are More Attractive?, Veronika Ermilina, Matthew Farrell, Fatemeh Askarzadeh

Management Faculty Publications

Drawing on signaling theory, we aid in the identification of the rarely acknowledged impact of business owner’s features on acceptance to accelerator programs. Using a multi-national sample of 10,298 observations for startups in 166 countries over 2016-2018, we show that accelerators do not evaluate applicants uniformly. We find that entrepreneurs from developing countries are less likely to be accepted by accelerators than entrepreneurs from developed economies. Counterintuitively, we also find an advantage for female entrepreneurs in accelerator acceptance. Further, our results suggest a positive impact of education. Accelerators are a growing provider of entrepreneurial resources and a main driver of …

Why Don’T You Play The Game? Evaluating The Use Of Gamification In An Undergraduate Finance Course, Alfonso Miguel N. Sevidal

Finance and Accounting Faculty Publications

The board game Monopoly is used as a gamification tool in an undergraduate finance course in a private business school in the Philippines. The use of Monopoly as a gamification tool is evaluated using Han’s (2015) adaptation of the spiral curriculum and Landers's (2015) theory of gamified learning. According to Han, the spiral curriculum “is the circular model best suited to gamification as pedagogy because it allows students to learn and practice basic skills in order to master advanced tasks.” Meanwhile, Landers’s theory of gamified learning posits that “gamification affects learning via moderation when an instructional designer intends to encourage …

Ua3/1/1 President's Office-Cherry Reports, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Reports made by Henry Cherry to the Board of Regents and departmental reports made to Henry Cherry.

Ua25/4 Finance & Administration - Vice President, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the Vice President of Finance & Administration.

Implementing The Flipped Classroom In An Undergraduate Corporate Finance Course, Jayendra S. Gokhale

Publications

This study analyzes flipped mode of instruction in Corporate Finance. In the current environment, with many students in quarantine and greater emphasis on self-study, it is even more relevant to understand how students understand and retain concepts derived from online environment. In this study, performance of students in flipped mode is compared with the performance in traditional lecture-style. In flipped class, students watched a brief video-lecture, took an online assessment quiz prior to attending an interactive discussion-based class session, unlike the traditional lecture style. The results of this study suggest that with flipped mode, most students take greater responsibility of …

Ua3/10/3 Convocation, Timothy Caboni

WKU Archives Records

Convocation speech given by WKU president Timothy Caboni regarding COVID-19, diversity, student recruitment, enrollment, retention and graduation; budget, and economic growth.

Pisa 2018: Financial Literacy In Australia, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Catherine Underwood, Marina Schmid

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 is the seventh cycle of PISA since it was first conducted in 2000 and measures students’ skills in the core areas of reading literacy, mathematical literacy and scientific literacy. Since PISA 2012, financial literacy has been included as an additional optional assessment that accompanies the core assessments. In Australia, the financial literacy assessment is funded by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. This report presents the results for the third assessment of financial literacy and focuses on the measurement of financial literacy for Australia as a whole and for different demographic groups, …

Uma Covid-19 Remote Resources_Students_Resources For Financial Well-Being Webpage, University Of Maine At Augusta

University of Maine at Augusta

Screenshot of the University of Maine at Augusta's Remote Resources webpage with COVID-19 related resources for students on financial well-being.

Dichotomies: Lessons From A College Life On Tour, Alexander J. Dontre

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

In this unique memoir, the author reveals his struggles and triumphs as a touring musician pursuing a college education. From 2011-2017, Alex Dontre performed 505 concerts with his band Psychostick while simultaneously enrolled in rigorous online courses. It culminated with a master's degree in Business Psychology from Franklin University, at which time he gave the commencement speech at his graduation as valedictorian.

2018-2019 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2018-2019 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

Innovation In Economic Education, Mariam T. Abdelhamid

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) Economic integration in the K-16 space is one facet of the American education system that depicts inadequacy yet potential. Mary Beth Henning alongside several educational specialists and economists illustrate how economics can be taught in a multidisciplinary manner through the mandated disciplines, such as math, reading, and history. The authors of this book demonstrate the need for students to develop an economic way of thinking through three themes focusing on: interdisciplinary integration of economics, blended learning, and economic educator preparation. I would highly recommend this book to K-16 educators looking to integrate economics into core academic subjects through …

Education Shapes The Mind, Bu What Shapes Education? A Comparative Study Of First-Generation Vs Non-First-Generation Students, Brianna Lukowicz

Honors Projects

This research paper examines in depth the relationship between educational attainment in first-generation college students vs. non-first-generation college students. It analyzes how one’s educational attainment level is affected by changes in selected demographic and socioeconomic factors in the United States. This study further analyzes if differences in earnings among the two groups post collegiate education persist. Using the 2015 and 2017 data obtained from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the proposed hypotheses are tested with the Linear Probability model and the Binomial Logit model to answer which demographic factors impact educational attainment of each group of students, as well …

Ua25/3 Finance & Administration Internal Audit, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about Internal Audit.

Ua25/1 Finance & Administration Accounts & Fiscal Services, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Financial records of historic value.

Online Learning Tool On External Financing Needs, Yuanto Kusnadi

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

In collaboration with colleagues at the Centre ofTeaching Excellence (CTE), I have developed an innovative online learningobject on External Financing Needs. This tool is designed to introduce a noveland refreshing way in teaching accounting and finance concepts to students andto create a more interactive learning experience in the classroom. The online learning tool is used in the two courses:Accounting for Entrepreneurs and Financial Management, to explain the relevantconcepts related to financial forecasting and financial planning. One unique feature about the learning object is that itprovides instantaneousfeedback to students as they can learn whether the numbers theyprovide are correct/wrong (as indicated …

The Relationship Between Financial Literacy, Financial Status, And Academic Success In College Students, Brian Douglas Brausch

Dissertations

As the cost of college continues to rise, an increasing number of students are relying on loans and credit cards to fund their postsecondary education. In an effort to curb student debt and increase retention and graduation rates, many universities have begun to offer financial literacy initiatives to stimulate financial knowledge and promote positive money management behaviors.

This study examines the relationship between a for-credit personal financial literacy course and student academic success and economic status. Students who took a personal finance course during their first or second year of college are compared to a random sampling of students who …

Can Students Studying Abroad Use Forward Exchange Rates As A Tool For Better Budgeting Their Semesters?, Emalee Dunbar

Honors Projects in Finance

Traveling abroad requires an immense amount of planning and attention to detail. Budgeting is a difficult task in one’s own country, but when planning across borders, that task becomes even greater. Differences in exchange rates and buying power have the potential to adversely affect the budget set ahead of time, placing more stress on the traveler. Financial tools available in the foreign exchange market, if used strategically, may provide a reliable method to budgeting travel abroad as accurately as possible. There are many individuals, students especially, that plan on traveling or studying abroad yet are on tight budgets. Having a …

News From The Graduate School - Masters Of Business Administration, Otterbein Office Of Graduate Programs

Graduate School

Newsletter that provides updates from the Graduate School and the MBA Graduate Program.

2017-2018 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2017-2018 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.

Strategic Financial Management, Fina-475, Roberto Stein

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Strategic Financial Management is the new, case-based capstone course of the Finance Major at the UNL College of Business. Introduced in the Fall 2016 Term, it has since been revised and is being continually updated, to better achieve the its academic goals. In this portfolio, I describe the course’s overall structure, goals and main components. I then detail a number of changes made for the Spring 2018 version of the course, and proceed to analyze data pertaining to the outcomes observed from these changes. Finally, I outline potential strategies and further changes that might be implemented in future iterations of …

Microfinance: Combating World Poverty One Small Business At A Time, Alison Basney

Senior Honors Theses

Poverty is a major problem that reaches millions of people around the world. Although many organizations and individuals work daily to combat this, much of the work done to reduce poverty lacks sustainability and serves only to remedy to the effects of poverty, rather than create a solution to the causes of poverty. Microfinance can be very basically defined as the provision of banking to the impoverished who would not otherwise have access to these services. This purpose of this thesis is to show that microfinance is the ideal solution to the poverty problem by using research and evidence from …

The Money Mentors Program: Increasing Financial Literacy In Utah Youths, Zurishaddai A. Garcia, Dave Francis, Amanda Christensen, Stacey S. Macarthur, Margie Memmott, Paul A. Hill

All Current Publications

Utah 4-H and Fidelity Investments collaborated on a program for increasing the financial literacy of teens and children. The collaboration resulted in positive impacts for both Extension and Utah youths. Extension benefited through partnership with a corporation that provided content expertise, volunteers, and funding for a financial literacy program. Youths benefited from improved financial literacy. A Teens Reaching Youth (TRY) team approach was used for the training of 81 teens, who then taught 530 youths statewide. The curriculum addressed research-based financial concepts through activities and technologies that were interactive, appealing, and engaging. The program development and implementation processes may serve …