Financial Management

The course presents methods of market and customer analysis, and discusses their use both in the exploration of new markets or new customers, and as a competitive advantage in the area of Customer Relationship Management. The core contents should include: [1] Typification and segmentation of customers, recognizing customer needs, analysis of the need for risk coverage; [2] Qualitative and quantitative-statistical methods of market and customer analysis; [3] Analysis of new customers or new markets: market and customer analysis to support sales initiatives such as market entry, exploration of customer groups or segments; [4] Analysis of existing customers: customer clustering, CRM to increase the cross-selling rate, estimation of purchase probabilities, Key Account Management; [5] Choice of sales strategies depending on customer needs and groups.

The course discusses the rules and laws relating to consumer, investor and creditor protection in the finance and insurance sectors. [1] An overview of legal frameworks for customer and creditor protection in relation to banking and insurance transactions; [2] Relevant provisions from EU directives: e.g. currently the Consumer Credit Directive and the Distance Marketing of Financial Services Directive; [3] Relevant provisions from national legislation: e.g. currently the Banking Act (BWG), the Consumer Credit Act (VKrG), the Insurance Supervision Act (VAG), the Insurance Contracts Act (VVG), the Consumer Protection Act (KSchG), the Distance Financial Services Act (FernFinG), and the Brokers Act; [4] Duties to provide advice and information; ombudsman service; claims for damages; [5] Key aspects of insolvency law; Optional content may include: [6] Deposit protection in an international comparison; [7] Recent Supreme Court (OGH) rulings and judgements relevant to banking and insurance

The course aims to lead students to a fundamental understanding of balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and cash flow statements that are prepared according to international guidelines such as IFRS/GAAP, and the connection points between them. The second part of the course addresses selected banking or insurance-specific provisions in the IFRS framework. The core contents include: [1] Accounting principles; International standards; [2] Structure of an annual report; [3] Key items in the balance sheet/profit and loss statement/cash flow statement; [4] Connection points between balance sheet/profit and loss statement/cash flow statement; [5] Typical structure of bank or insurance financial statements (balance sheet, profit and loss); [6] Important banking or insurance-relevant IFRS provisions (as of 10/2013 including IFRS 4, 7, 9 and IAS 32, 39); [7] Case Study: Representation of business transactions in the financial statements.

In the course, stochastic fundamental concepts are introduced, and the advantages and issues of selected stochastic methods (normal distribution, Value at Risk, etc.) in practical application are demonstrated. The core contents include: [1] Random variables and risk; distribution and density; moments of a distribution; [2] Properties of the expected value and variance; [3] Normal distribution: central limit theorem, standardization of random variables; [4] Risk measures: volatility, Value at Risk; Expected Shortfall; [5] Non-symmetric or heavy-tailed distributions; [6] Aggregation of independent risks: e.g., individual risk model in a non-life insurance application, calculation of portfolio moments; [7] Random vectors; stochastic dependence; correlations; concept of copulas; [8] Empirical data analysis; [9] Moments of an empirical distribution; [10] Binomial distribution; binomial trees; [11] Random walks; Wiener processes.

The course provides students with an understanding of regulatory measures in the financial system and presents an overview of current developments in the EU in this regard. The course aims to convey the central components of monetary theory and monetary policy with a focus on the European economic area. The core contents include: [1] Objectives of financial market regulation; regulation theory; [2] International regulatory systems; [3] Practice of banking regulation in the EU, insurance regulation in the EU, and regulation of financial markets in the EU; [4] European supervisory architecture; [5] Money: system and functioning, multipliers, supply and demand; [6] Inflation; the optimal inflation rate; [7] Instruments of monetary policy; [8] Functioning of central banks; balance sheets of central banks (ECB/FED); [9] Monetary policy in the context of cyclical measures; Taylor Rule; [10] Empirical effectiveness of monetary policy.

The lecture introduces various financial markets and sheds light on the role of individual financial market participants. Additionally, students are equipped with an expanded understanding of information processing, risk, and interest rates in markets. Common financial instruments are explored in depth with a focus on practical aspects. The core contents are intended to include: [1] Financial markets and the role of financial market participants (especially banks and insurance companies); [2] Liquidity and market efficiency; Arbitrage; [3] Risk and interest rates; interest rate curve; central banks; [4] Financing markets: Fixed Income, Equity; [5] FX markets; [6] Derivatives: Forwards, Futures, Swaps, Options. Optional contents may include: [7] Market cycles and financial crises; [8] Trading; Clearing and Settlement.

The course includes the development of methodological competencies and personal skills of the students through the use of a competency portfolio and discusses communication techniques and their targeted implementation by the students. The core contents include: [1] Personal Skills – Creation of a competency portfolio; [2] Theory of communication techniques and practical implementation; [3] Targeted application/communication training in small groups related to the banking and insurance sector (e.g., sales conversation, product presentation). Optional contents may include: [4] Alternative/creative presentation methods.

The course covers the topics of sustainability reporting and related regulations. The core contents include: [1] Fundamentals of sustainability management (introduction to ESG criteria, sustainable corporate governance, and regulatory requirements) [2] ESG risks and opportunities (assessment and management of environmental, social, and governance risks in the financial sector) [3] Sustainability reporting and standards (overview of GRI, SASB, TCFD, CSRD, and other reporting obligations) [4] Regulatory frameworks (EU taxonomy, SFDR, risks of greenwashing, and compliance requirements) [5] Measurement and management of sustainable corporate performance (KPIs for sustainability, ESG ratings, and due diligence) [6] Practical examples and best practices (successful sustainability strategies of banks, insurance companies, and financial service providers)

In this course, students should learn a fundamental and integrative understanding of the various components of corporate financial statements. The focus will be on the comparability of accounting metrics and ratios, distinguishing between commercial/industrial companies and banking or insurance companies (as a preparation for the in-depth controlling segment). The core contents include: [1] Qualitative analysis and information gathering from consolidated financial statements; [2] Comparability of consolidated financial statements or accounting leeway; [3] EBITDA; [4] Important metrics for commercial and industrial companies; [5] Important metrics for banking and insurance companies; [6] Case study on metrics. Optional contents may include: [7] Multiples Valuation; [8] DCF Valuation. Course language is optionally English.

The course generally introduces business management and corporate strategy. Here, established methods for evaluating and innovating business models are presented. Selected case studies illustrate creative problem-solving and the structuring and drafting of goal-oriented business plans. The core contents should include: [1] Strategic management techniques: vision/mission/goal formulation, SWOT, etc.; [2] Analysis of supply/demand, environment, and trends; [3] Entrepreneurship as a process: recognition/evaluation/implementation; [4] Techniques for creative idea development; general methods for idea evaluation; methods for structuring and evaluating business ideas; [5] Innovation management in companies; [6] Drafting and evaluating business plans; [7] Advantages and synergies in consolidating multiple business sectors within one company.

Building on the preceding courses in this module, information and data management in banking and insurance companies will be addressed, focusing on administration, data protection, and IT requirements. The core contents include: [1] Fundamentals of information and data management; [2] Administrative and strategic tasks of information management; [3] Methods of administrative and strategic information management; [4] Data protection; [5] Specifics of IT in banks and insurance companies; [6] Current developments in FDL informatics; [7] Relevance of collected data for product design and pricing; [8] SAP in use at banks/insurances; [9] Cybersecurity.

The course discusses compliance with laws, regulatory requirements, codes of conduct, best practice standards, and voluntarily followed guidelines within a company, with a focus on the banking and insurance sectors. The course also specifically addresses rules for good and sustainable corporate governance applicable in Austria. The core contents include: [1] Fundamentals and scope: laws, guidelines, regulation, codes of conduct; [2] Compliance management systems; [3] Standard Compliance Code of the Austrian banking industry (WKO) and the Austrian insurance industry (WKO); [4] Compliance codes in international comparison; [5] Austrian Corporate Governance Codex; [6] OECD Principles of Corporate Governance; European Corporate Governance Framework; [7] Corporate Governance specifics in the financial or insurance sectors.

The course includes the teaching of methods for employee leadership and motivation. The topics are first addressed generally and then specifically with reference to team leadership in a corporate environment. The core contents include: [1] Methods of employee leadership; [2] Motivation techniques; [3] Incentive systems; [4] Work-Life Balance; Optional contents may include: [5] Role plays, e.g., employee conversations; this behavior-oriented teaching methodology should in any case be accompanied by a suitable tool, e.g., reflection report; [6] Further development of the competence portfolio.

Building on the necessity of innovation as a sustainable success factor in a company, this course discusses the management, communication, and conflict resolution during the implementation phase of renewal processes. Concepts are illustrated with practical examples. Within the course, participants will develop and present case studies. The core contents include: [1] Conditions leading to change: e.g., technological innovation, scarcity of time and money, increase in complexity, globalization; [2] Coaching and development of employees; [3] Development of corporate organization; Process-oriented management; Filling key positions; Leadership with goal agreements; [4] Communication design during changes; [5] Conflict management; Handling resistance; [6] Organizational changes during mergers and acquisitions. Optional contents may include: [7] Measures to change corporate culture; [8] Selection and deployment of external consultants; [9] Discussion of case studies in change management.

The course generally conveys the importance of process-oriented thinking in the business environment and delves deeper into process topics in the banking and insurance sectors. Particular emphasis is placed on the quality assurance or optimization of business processes and their digitalization. The core contents include: [1] Definition, importance, and role of business processes; [2] Process-oriented thinking; process modeling; classification of processes in the process landscape; [3] Documentation possibilities for business processes; importance of knowledge retention in the company; [4] Overview of typical business processes in the banking sector; [5] Overview of typical business processes in the insurance sector; [6] Ensuring internal quality in banks/insurances; associated competitive advantages; [7] Six Sigma system. [8] Methods for digitalizing business processes.

The course teaches quantitative methods that can be used in the composition of scientific papers, including in the fields of finance and insurance, such as when writing a master’s thesis. Assessment is based on a proposal for the master’s thesis (exposé) that needs to be developed. The core contents should include: [1] Data collection, data processing, data analysis; [2] Descriptive statistical methods for data description; [3] Hypothesis testing; [4] Regression analyses; [5] Development of a proposal for the topic/structure of the master’s thesis as part of the seminar paper. Optional contents may include: [6] Introduction to time series analysis.

The course sensitizes students to the importance of ethical, social, and ecological concerns as an integral part of corporate management. Following a general section, there is a focus on banking or insurance-specific topics. The core contents should include: [1] Basic concepts of economic and financial ethics; [2] Example of an ethics code in the finance industry: CFA; [3] Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Fundamentals, integration into corporate culture, asymmetric information and communication, competitiveness, financial market, profit distribution, shared value; [4] Socially and environmentally conscious investing; Green Investments; Positive Investments; Community Investments; Impact Investments. Optional contents may include: [5] Practical examples of integrating CSR into companies; [6] Product design in the areas of Islamic Finance and Takaful Insurance. The language of instruction is optionally English.

The seminar is structured to accompany the master’s thesis. Students present the results of their master’s thesis at an advanced stage and engage in critical discourse. The core contents should include: [1] Didactic preparation of scientific topics; [2] Presentation and discussion of the results of one’s own master’s thesis at an advanced stage; [3] Discussion and critique of other master’s theses in the field.

In the master’s thesis, a topic assignable to the chosen specialization should be independently addressed in accordance with scientific standards. This involves identifying a practice-relevant problem, deriving appropriate research questions from it, and answering these using qualitative and/or quantitative research methods.

Masterprüfung