Redefining finance

2016 is set to be another pivotal year for the world of accounting and finance and the Business School wants to ensure that you are equipped to manage and respond to uncertainty and change.

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Redefining finance
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Recent OECD warnings about instability in the sector and downturns on the international markets have renewed fears of an impending economic crisis. Meanwhile conversations at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week refocused attention on the need to learn lessons from the past to improve financial decision making and restore judgement in governance.

Decision making

For University of Edinburgh Business School’s leading accounting and finance experts, the lack of substantive changes in financial behaviour in the eight years since the crisis points to a clear need to redefine the finance function.

This April, Dr Arman Eshraghi’s Advances in Behavioural Finance masterclass will explore the nuances of financial decision making in the presence of uncertainty and data overload. Dr Eshraghi, who completed his PhD at Edinburgh, will be joined by Dr Adam Moore of the University’s Psychology Department who runs the Human Decision Making Lab and whose research focuses primarily on judgement and decision making, particularly moral and economic decisions.

Dr Moore will use cutting edge research to guide finance professionals through the fast developing areas of investor psychology and neuroscience to help them improve their financial performance both as individuals and professional investors.

The existing models upon which our financial systems are based are outdated and no longer able to explain the complexities of the real world. Our focus must now be on equipping professionals with the skills and insights they need to adapt to this new financial paradigm and become agents for change within their organisations.

Dr Arman Eshraghi

Governing organisations

The School is also working to instil sound judgement at firms’ more senior levels. Also in April, Professor Paolo Quattrone, Chair in Accounting, Governance and Social Innovation, will deliver his annual masterclass on Reporting, Governance and Leadership, tackling the challenge of managing organisations in an increasingly nebulous world.

High-profile failures of the past have shone a spotlight on the need to equip our leaders with the skills they need to exercise sound judgement when deciding on complex issues including executive compensation and large capital investments and their management.

Professor Paolo Quattrone

Dream team

In May, Quattrone and Eshraghi bring both strands together during a Future of the Finance Function Executive Retreat where public and private sector financial institutions’ CEOs and CFOs will have the opportunity to grapple with the changing nature of accounting, finance and governance in the age of Dark Pools (algorithmic trading), Black Swans (unexpected events) and Big Data.

Alumni benefit

An attractive 20% discount is available to University of Edinburgh alumni for all Business School Masterclasses.

Related links

University of Edinburgh Business School

Staff profile Dr Arman Eshraghi

Staff profile Professor Paolo Quattrone