Finance and Accounting

The Certificate in Finance & Accounting certificate is targeted to those who are new to financial concepts and techniques, as well as any professional who wishes to update his or her knowledge of basic finance and accounting. It is particularly applicable to individuals whose backgrounds are in functional areas such as marketing, sales, manufacturing, HR, and engineering.

Admission Requirements to the Certificate in Finance & Accounting:

• None (undergraduate degree recommended)
• CPE credit is available for this program

Accounting - Dr. Karen K. Nelson, Professor of Accounting.

The accounting portion focuses on accounting and builds the foundation for participants to understand the significance and use of information in financial reports relative to management decisions. The learning objectives include identifying the relationships between the primary financial statements, the significance of accrual accounting concepts and the differences between income, cash flow, assets and expenses and the meaning of the terms and data found in financial reports.

Finance - Dr. George Kanatas, Professor of Finance.

The finance portion deals with managing growth, earnings and cash, and with a firm's weighted average cost of capital and its relation to both Economic Value Added (EVA) and capital expenditure analysis. The learning objectives include gaining an understanding of the effect of growth on earnings and cash and how to determine optimal growth, the study of how to determine a firm's cost of capital and how it relates to the distinction between earnings and economic profit.

Financial Statement Analysis - Dr. Brian Rountree, Assistant Professor of Accounting.

The financial statement analysis portion concentrates the knowledge garnered from the first two sessions in understanding how companies' strategies and operational execution are revealed in financial statements. We develop a systematic performance evaluation methodology that provides the foundation for assessing current and future economic prospects, along with linking this information to valuation. The learning objectives include developing an understanding of earnings management techniques and evaluating the implications for future performance, introducing the concept of ratio analysis and illustrate how to adjust ratios for differences in accounting techniques and operational decisions, creating a systematic method for evaluating firm performance using publicly available financial statements and linking this to forecasts of future performance.

The Certificate in Finance & Accounting is awarded to individuals who complete the week-long program.

Developing Principled, Innovative Thought Leaders in Global Communities

The Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business is committed to our mission of providing a superior business education to students through a focus on thought leadership, innovation, and ethics. Named in honor of the late Jesse Holman Jones, a prominent Houston business and civic leader, the school received its initial funding in 1974 through a major gift from the Houston Endowment Inc., a philanthropic foundation established by Jones and his wife, Mary Gibbs Jones.

As a school whose mission focuses on developing principled, innovative thought leaders in global communities, it is our priority to lend our business knowledge and resources to understand and improve business. At the turn of recent, but then impending financial crisis, our Jones School faculty immediately stepped up to the task to share their expertise and research with industry leaders through multiple forums, conferences, and media channels.

Upholding the prestigious academic traditions of Rice University, the Jones School offers the Full Time MBA, MBA for Executives, and MBA for Professionals degrees; a full schedule of non-degree, open enrollment Executive Education and customized courses for business and industry; and a Business Minor, open to any Rice undergraduate who meets enrollment requirements. An active network of 3800 Jones School alumni have made a global impact in all areas of business, including entrepreneurship, finance, and energy.

Rice’s MBA programs have been recognized in the U.S.A. and internationally for leadership and innovation by U.S. News and World Report, the Financial Times, the Economist, and Entrepreneur magazine. Most recent notables:

• Salaries were among the highest in the U.S.A. for both graduates and alumni;
• Finance continues to rank in the top 10 as a recognized specialty;
• Intellectual capital, based on faculty research, placed in the top 20 – worldwide.

Set in the heart of Houston, the Jones School on the Rice University campus provides our students with unique opportunities and resources not available anywhere else, such as the El Paso Corporation Finance Center, the Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Business Information Center, and the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship.

The Rice MBA Program is accredited by AACSB International.