Finance means money, capital, fund and resource. Financial Management is
making a decision on how to provide optimally monetary resources required to
meet the needs of each economic unit and how to allocate these resources
optimally to cover the expenses. In daily life, all economic units are engaged in a
kind of financial management, though not deliberately. For instance, a student
raises funds when he or she applies for a grant or loan or asks for pocket money
from the family, and makes a decision on fund using when he or she goes to the
cinema and/or a café. Similarly, a family, an organization or a country tries to
optimize its fund inflow and fund use. It is important for all economic units to
have minimum knowledge of finance to ensure such optimization. Informed
financial choices activate financial management and minimize inefficient fund
use. Financial literacy has drawn considerable attention across the world, as it
allows a large section of society to gain basic financial knowledge and hence to
raise and use money and make a budget appropriately.
The aim of this course is to enable participants to gain basic financial literacy
skills so that they make right financial decisions in every stage of their lives.
Week 1. Fundamental financial concepts
Week 2. Main financial institutions and organizations
Week 3. Loan, credit and time value of money
Week 4. Saving: savings, budget and planning
Week 5. Investment: feasibility, risk and income