Any corporate finance gurus (looking for academic help, not investment help)

[TarHeelNation11]

I'm in an introductory finance class. The good news: it's the only finance class I have to take as part of earning my master of accounting degree. The bad news: I don't understand what the absolute **** is going on in this class. I somehow made a 70 on the midterm (and was elated the score was that high) and didn't think it could be any more difficult in the second half than the first.

Wrong. Now we're on portfolios and beta and covariance and standard deviations and Capital Asset Price Model and none of it makes one damn bit of sense. Zero. Nada.

You could drop me in an advanced rocket science class, and I would have a better grasp of what's going on there than I would what the hell is going on in this finance class.

Any advice of sources to use to help me? My textbook may as well be in Greek because it's useless (and because every other symbol IS a Greek symbol)

 

[coolwaterunc]

I'm no genius, but this what I came up with. Hope it helps.

 

[JuleZ '02 HEEL]

Always remember to carry the remainder.

 

[Hark_The_Sound_2010]

Any advice of sources to use to help me? My textbook may as well be in Greek because it's useless (and because every other symbol IS a Greek symbol)

Ya, I took a derivatives class in Kenan-Flagler that I was completely lost in - all focused around the Black-Scholes model and the greeks.

CAPM, beta, standard deviation, etc are all pretty important to learn if you're going to be valuing securities. They clicked for me, so not really sure where I would have turned for outside help if they hadn't. But if you're planning on being an accountant for a corporation or something (and thus not an investment analyst) they'll be pretty useless for you, so you just need to stumble your way through and not really understand them.

My CFA books all do a great job with that stuff - but I get the impression you're looking for something outside a text book for help. Not really sure what to tell you there.

 

[prlyles]

I'm in an introductory finance class. The good news: it's the only finance class I have to take as part of earning my master of accounting degree. The bad news: I don't understand what the absolute **** is going on in this class. I somehow made a 70 on the midterm (and was elated the score was that high) and didn't think it could be any more difficult in the second half than the first.

Wrong. Now we're on portfolios and beta and covariance and standard deviations and Capital Asset Price Model and none of it makes one damn bit of sense. Zero. Nada.

You could drop me in an advanced rocket science class, and I would have a better grasp of what's going on there than I would what the hell is going on in this finance class.

Any advice of sources to use to help me? My textbook may as well be in Greek because it's useless (and because every other symbol IS a Greek symbol)

You wil need a good understanding of standard deviation in about any business related job you land...

 

[coolwaterunc]

the Black-Scholes model .

Whoa now, you're getting just a bit carried away with the racism here. Tone it down.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Ya, I took a derivatives class in Kenan-Flagler that I was completely lost in - all focused around the Black-Scholes model and the greeks.

CAPM, beta, standard deviation, etc are all pretty important to learn if you're going to be valuing securities. They clicked for me, so not really sure where I would have turned for outside help if they hadn't. But if you're planning on being an accountant for a corporation or something (and thus not an investment analyst or something) they'll be pretty useless for you, so you just need to stumble your way through and not really understand them.

This is where I'm at. I have a couple actual accountants in my class who are just as lost as I am.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

You wil need a good understanding of standard deviation in about any business related job you land...

Not really.

 

[Hark_The_Sound_2010]

Whoa now, you're getting just a bit carried away with the racism here. Tone it down.

I would have enjoyed the class so much more if it focused on the White-Scholes model

 

[TarHeelNation11]

I would have enjoyed the class so much more if it focused on the White-Scholes model

Maybe the Asian-Scholes model if you're feeling dirty and the girlfriend isn't home.

 

[JuleZ '02 HEEL]

Whoa now, you're getting just a bit carried away with the racism here. Tone it down.

At least he capitalized "Black."

 

[TarHeelNation11]

At least he capitalized "Black."

 

[prlyles]

Not really.

Without a grasp of SD how are you going to research large amounts of data?

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Without a grasp of SD how are you going to research large amounts of data?

How do you use standard deviations while running your store? I believe that's a business-related job.

 

[gteeitup]

i passed, that's all i can give you.

 

[prlyles]

How do you use standard deviations while running your store? I believe that's a business-related job.

Oats sell for 75 cents a pound nation wide but in some regions they go for as high as 2.35 a pound and some areas they go for 25 cents a pound. You need to know the SD of that average price to have any idea what you need to sell your oats for,

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Oats sell for 75 cents a pound nation wide but in some regions they go for as high as 2.35 a pound and some areas they go for 25 cents a pound. You need to know the SD of that average price to have any idea what you need to sell your oats for,

I know what a standard deviation is. I made A's in my high school statistics class. I do not know how SDs apply within the framework of this CAPM thing, which doesn't really have a lot to do with your example.

 

[Hark_The_Sound_2010]

Oats sell for 75 cents a pound nation wide but in some regions they go for as high as 2.35 a pound and some areas they go for 25 cents a pound. You need to know the SD of that average price to have any idea what you need to sell your oats for,

Wouldn't you sell the oats for as much as you could - which would be based off your region? Then someone analyzing oat sales in the USA could figure out how many SDs above/below the mean the Yadkin Valley region's sales are - but that wouldn't be determined until after your pricing decision was made.

 

[Hark_The_Sound_2010]

I know what a standard deviation is. I made A's in my high school statistics class. I do not know how SDs apply within the framework of this CAPM thing, which doesn't really have a lot to do with your example.

68, 95, 99 - that's all you gotta remember for that (for normal distributions).

 

[prlyles]

Wouldn't you sell the oats for as much as you could - which would be based off your region? Then someone analyzing oat sales in the USA could figure out how many SDs above/below the mean the Yadkin Valley region's sales are - but that wouldn't be determined until after your pricing decision was made.

Of course I would, you just proved my point and you seem to understand SD

 

[prlyles]

I know what a standard deviation is. I made A's in my high school statistics class. I do not know how SDs apply within the framework of this CAPM thing, which doesn't really have a lot to do with your example.

You're right I was trying to give an example of S D

 

[UNC71-00]

I thought Lyles sold the store anyways.