Business Commons^™

How Technology Impacts The Financial Planning Profession, Allison Conway

Senior Honors Theses

Technology impacts the financial planning field in a distinct way and will continue to change the nature of the industry in the future. Financial planners commonly use various types of technology to improve their service and product quality. This paper will discuss several of these current technologies used by most financial planners, as well as technology that is available today that could be applied to the profession, threats to the field that technology presents such as data security, and future technologies that might have significant implications for planners. It is in the best interest of both client and planner to …

Bitcoin: The Pioneer Of Cryptocurrency With A Limited Dream, Anna M. Gellerman, Benjamin Zheng

Publications and Research

BitCoin is the most well known and adaptable cryptocurrency today. Due to the evolvement of the cryptocurrency market, many are thinking what this could mean for society; is the world ready for a new mainstream medium of exchange? This poster argues that although BitCoin is functional for small scale payments, it is inadaptable to become a payment tool comparable to cash and card.

Is It Risky To Make The World A Better Place: A Study On The Association Between Environmental, Social, And Governance (Esg) Operational Risk Management And Market Derived Volatilities, Kelly L. Johnson

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Investors and firms are increasingly concerned with their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risk exposures. Awareness of firms’ ESG policies by investors has grown substantially over the past five years. This growth led to the creation of company ratings for ESG operational risk exposure from third parties. We will analyze six years of ESG rankings, accounting and return data for S&P 500 firms and test whether ESG risk management ratings are associated with market derived measures of risk.

How Has Covid-19 Affected Financial Gains Of Big-Tech Companies?, Erin Flanigen

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial returns received by Big-Tech companies in order to predict future financial returns and related business activities. The main objectives of this paper are to delineate business models and financial statements of Big-Tech companies prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, present ample, relevant economic information regarding COVID-19, and encompass the effects of COVID-19 on global economies. This study then predicts the future economic effects of COVID-19 on Big-Tech companies. The selected Big-Tech companies included in this study are Facebook, Alphabet (Google), Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon; each company saw …

Insider Trading As A Precursor To Modern Business Ethics, Robyn Coleman

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

There has been a recent change in business that there is more focus on the “stakeholder approach” than shareholder primacy. This can be attributed to the early actions and illegality of insider trading that expected a step beyond a solely economic approach. This attitude was then replicated to become what we see as the modern business approach. Business now includes ethical investing, environmental focus, corporate citizenship, and emphasis on multiple stakeholders that was not always there. Companies have embraced this position while others have been criticized for not doing so. As this approach develops and changes, it will be enlightening …

The Evolution Of Investing, Bradyn Papke

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

A Literature Review on how investing has changed, the companies that have have pioneered this change, and the shift in investment personality to companies that spearhead Environmental Sustainability through Impact Investing.

The Microfinance Experiment: An Evaluation Of Programs And Effectiveness In St. Louis, Maxwell Miller

Honors Scholar Theses

Widespread poverty remains a reality for many in both developed and developing countries. Policymakers, charitable organizations, and entrepreneurs have introduced diverse strategies to provide individuals and communities opportunities to rise from poverty. One such method is microfinance, a system developed by Muhammad Yunus in the early 1970s to provide small loans and financial services to borrowers too impoverished or otherwise lacking in credibility or collateral to be considered by traditional means of credit.

Since its inception, microfinance has spread among other countries to mixed success. While many researchers claim microfinance has proven to be an effective tool to combat poverty, …

The Strategic Approach To Internationalisation, Gordon Perchthold

Asian Management Insights

Asia is the global sweet spot for multinationals (MNCs) looking to generate revenue and, over the mid-term, sustained profits.

Risk_Dash, A Python Framework To Model Portfolio Risk, Alexander Van Oene

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

While there are many Python packages that provide ways to do data analysis, in fact the package utilizes pandas, numpy, and scipy heavily, there are few that apply and handle common tasks that analysts face in quantifying market risk. pyfolio is one of those packages, however it forces you to utilize their infrastructure package Zipline where as risk_dash aims to provide a framework to formalize the data flow while being totally customizable for the analyst. risk_dash is comprised of classes and methods to handle the data flow and calculation of market risk metrics at the asset and portfolio level. In …

Analyzing The Correlation Of The University Of Mississippi Football Program's Success And Financials With That Of The University And Local Businesses In Oxford, Mississippi, Courtney C. Schaeffer

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to look at Ole Miss athletic events, specifically football games, and the success and profit of local businesses in Oxford, Mississippi and the University of Mississippi. There are several existing studies analyzed in this paper that indicate a correlation between college football programs and the University and city revenues at several other colleges and universities across the country. A historical analysis of the University of Mississippi Athletic Department’s revenues and expenses, football attendance numbers, and University enrollment trends throughout the years 2015 to 2019 indicates how important football is to the University and its …

Assessing Leadership In Business – Finance: A Critical Investigation Of Jamie Dimon, Kelly Finn

Honors Scholar Theses

Jamie Dimon became the CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase over a decade ago at age 49. Since, Jamie has earned his place as the world’s top, longest-reigning Wall Street leader. That said, Jamie Dimon was not always as successful as his title and reputation might suggest. In 1998, he was fired from his position as CEO of Citigroup by his own decade-long mentor, Sandy Weill (Dealbook, 2014). It is precisely Jamie’s ability to overcome this major career obstacle that threatened his reputation and career success. The way he handled his own firing with professionalism, strategy, and resiliency enabled his rebound …

The Impact Of Crises On The Shift In Capital Flows From Active To Passive Investment Strategies, Jordan Wang

Honors Scholar Theses

The study investigates the plausibility of an active to passive transition, the impact of crises on the potential transition, and the performance-flow relationship of both active and passive investment products, which includes US equity, open-end and ETF, funds. The analysis compares active and passive funds through the lens of fund flows, absolute returns, and risk-adjusted returns. The study shows that there seemed to be an active to passive transition from 2007 – 2019 and that 2020 – 2021 exhibits measures that could describe changes in the active to passive narrative. A performance-flow relationship exists across both active and passive funds. …

Exploring An Alternative To Ipos: Special-Purpose Acquisition Companies (Spacs), Vaishali Kanamalla

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this research paper is to provide an overview of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) which has gained popularity relatively recently. First, an introduction to SPACs will be provided including its historical roots, structure, and investment process. Thereafter, the paper will walk through the current landscape of SPACs, criticisms, and comparisons with traditional IPOs. The paper will conclude with discussions on the future outlook of the investment vehicle along with a study on SPAC returns vs. those of traditional IPOs.

Ursinus College Women's Investment Management Company, Taylor Beaumont, Shannon Blessing, Olivia Defusco, Julia Ewing, Angela Gervasi, Wendy Luo, Eve Peiffer, Becca Lewis, Ellie Templeton, Emily Benning, Rebecca Lam, Maddy Sorokanych, Theodora Zeibekis, Marcella Thanh-Guyet, Delanie Rogers

Business and Economics Presentations

The Ursinus College Investment Management Company (UCIMCO) consists of groups of student analysts who manage endowment-style and stock selection funds on behalf of the college endowment. In 2020, a group of women students began to manage their own fund. This presentation reviews activities of the previous year and analyzes the stock performance of various companies including: Anthem, Inc., American Well Corporation, SNAP, Inc., Yatsen Holdings Ltd. and Yum China Holdings.

A Study On The Federal Reserve’S Influence On The Stock Market, Patrick Mcfarland

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

With the growing age of the tech economy, post housing crash financial market, and unprecedented challenges like a global pandemic with a death toll in the millions, major financial institutions in the United States have been forced to reconsider many aspects of the old ways of doing things. The most influential institution in the U.S., the Federal Reserve (the Fed), has become more involved with the financial markets over the past several decades. Using a sample of 134 publicly-traded companies, I analyzed variables to assess the effects of the Fed’s new influence on market expectations from the past ten years. …

The Integral Of Education Technology In The Society, Prof. Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Abstract

Are there ways people can better utilize technology to suit their needs in the society of ours? It has been inferred that without technology, our lives would be miserable. The societal factors of using technology are an important area of the technical education system in the world. Are we really learning and using technologies to our advantage? Does technology provide the necessary ingredients or proper ways for the education of all in the society? A look into what constitutes the means and how technology education can be improved and be implemented is explored and emphasized in this work. The …

Mathematical Modeling In Finance, Owen Sweeney

Honors Projects

Financial tools play an integral role in the day-to-day lives of individuals and businesses. Many of these tools use predefined formulas to calculate items such as loan payments, interest and capital structure components. These tools do not usually provide the flexibility needed when new parameters are introduced. By utilizing mathematical modeling, these standard formulas can be derived and even improved to provide the needed flexibility.

Modeling The Stock Market Through Game Theory, Kylie Hannafey

Honors College Theses

Game Theory is used on many occasions to help us understand interactions between decision-makers. The famous Nash equilibrium is a steady state in a model that shows the interaction of different players, in which no player can do better by choosing a different action if the actions of the other players do not change. These two concepts can be applied to numerous situations that vary in types of players, but for our research, we are focusing on businesses in the stock market. The main objective is to use Game Theory to analyze data collected from the stock market, model our …

Government Auditing Standards And Single Audits, April 1, 2021; Audit Guide, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants (Aicpa)

Industry Guides (AAGs), Risk Alerts, and Checklists

No abstract provided.

Enslaved Financing Of Southern Industry: The Nesbitt Manufacturing Company Of South Carolina, 1836–1850, Sharon Ann Murphy

Economics Faculty Publications

Incorporated on the eve of the Panic of 1837, the Nesbitt Manufacturing Company of South Carolina owned and hired enslaved individuals to labor in their ironworks, but they also leveraged the market value of this enslaved property by exchanging them for shares of company stock and offering them as collateral in loan contracts. These slaveholders actively experimented with increasingly sophisticated financial tools and institutions in order to facilitate investment, market exchange, and profit maximization within the system of enslavement. Although historians have examined the role of enslaved labor in industrial concerns, they have largely ignored their role in the financing …

Do Equity And Accountability Get Lost In Losts? An Analysis Of Local Return Funding Provisions In California’S Local Option Sales Tax Measures For Transportation, Jaimee Lederman, Peter Haas, Stephanie Kellogg, Martin Wachs, Asha Weinstein Agrawal

Mineta Transportation Institute

This study explores how local return provisions of local option sales taxes (LOSTs) for transportation are allocated and spent to meet local and regional transportation needs. Local return refers to the component of county LOST measures that provides funding directly to municipalities in the county to be used to meet local needs. Local return has become a fixture in LOSTs; 58 LOST measures placed on the ballot in California (as of 2019) that have included local return in their expenditure plan have an average of 35% of revenues dedicated to local return. Local return provisions in the ballot measures often …

Disruptive Technologies And Digital Transformation Of The Financial Services Industry In Singapore: Regulatory Framework And Challenges Ahead, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper seeks to provide a general overview of the impact of new technologies in the financial services industry in Singapore. For that purpose, it starts by emphasizing that technology has always played an important role in the financial industry. However, new disruptive technologies, as well as the increasing use of data in the financial services industry, have created new challenges and opportunities for the financial sector. While Singapore has managed to address these challenges by adopting one of the quickest and most innovative and comprehensive responses probably observed internationally, financial markets –and particularly the fintech industry– are constantly evolving. …

The Impact Of The Capital Market, The Insurance Sector And The Mortgage Finance Sector On Economic Growth In Egypt, 2005-2019, Hana Anis

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to explore the relationship between financial markets and economic growth in Egypt for the 15 years period, starting from 2005 to 2019. The study concentrates on the non-banking financial sector which includes the stock market, the debt market, the mortgage and the insurance sectors. The Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model is utilized to describe the relationship between GDP growth rate, as a proxy for economic growth, and a number of variables from the financial sector. Results of the analysis show that there is a significant relationship and statistical causality between the growth rate and the debt market, represented …

Using Excel To Simulate A Financial Calculator And Excel Tvm Formulas, Maura Alexander, Tom Arnold, Joseph Farizo

Finance Faculty Publications

Excel is used to build a simulation of the TI BAII-Plus financial calculator to illustrate the N, I/Y, PV, PMT, and FV inputs. Unlike other financial calculator simulators, this template also displays the corresponding Excel functions to aid in transitioning the student to using Excel for financial analysis.

Visual Timelines In Excel To Illustrate Tvm Calculations, Maura Alexander, Tom Arnold, Joseph Farizo

Finance Faculty Publications

Time value of money calculations are illustrated through developing a timeline with cash flow graphics in Excel. The cash flow graphics can be used in the live or virtual classroom and as a resource for students outside of the classroom. Further, the graphic is readily adjustable to different scenarios making it useful for multiple time value of money topics.

Technology In Finance, Bryan Herlihy

Research and Innovation Village

As a technology continues to improve rapidly, every company in all sectors must learn how to adapt or otherwise face the consequences of going bankrupt. One industry in particular that is continuously innovating is finance. In finance, technology had developed into artificial intelligence.

Knowledge Sharing Among Finance Employees In The U.S. Banking Sector, Russell Lascko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractBanking is one of the most knowledge-intensive sectors, relying heavily on accrued knowledge and the experiences of employees. Knowledge sharing is the most crucial, yet most difficult, process in knowledge management due to human behavior. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the factors that influence finance employees in the banking sector to participate in knowledge sharing with their colleagues. The overarching research question focused on these factors. The conceptual framework included the self-determination theory, theory of planned behavior, Vroom's expectancy theory, and the socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization model. Criteria for the selected participants included more …

Improving Stock Trading Decisions Based On Pattern Recognition Using Machine Learning Technology, Yaohu Lin, Shancun Liu, Haijun Yang, Harris Wu, Bingbing Jiang

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

PRML, a novel candlestick pattern recognition model using machine learning methods, is proposed to improve stock trading decisions. Four popular machine learning methods and 11 different features types are applied to all possible combinations of daily patterns to start the pattern recognition schedule. Different time windows from one to ten days are used to detect the prediction effect at different periods. An investment strategy is constructed according to the identified candlestick patterns and suitable time window. We deploy PRML for the forecast of all Chinese market stocks from Jan 1, 2000 until Oct 30, 2020. Among them, the data from …

Business Risk And Attest Service Fees: Understanding The Effect Of Low Fed Interest Rates On Bank Audit Fees, Lucas Erik Jones

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

African American Entrepreneurial Business- Sustaining Strategies, Charles C. Johnson, Iii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More than 80% of small consulting businesses fail within the first five years of operation. Small consulting company owners are concerned with failing within the first five years because community economic development can be adversely impacted. Grounded in the resource-based view theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies African American consulting company owners use for longevity beyond five years. The participants comprised African American owners of three consulting businesses located in the northeast region of the United States, who successfully sustained their business beyond five years. Data collection included semistructured interviews with consulting company …