Economics, Finance,
and Business
Undergraduate Academic Studies -
Economics, Finance, and Business-
240 ECTS
Module
Economics, Finance, and Business
Type of Study
Undergraduate Academic Studies
Title
Economics, Finance, and Business
ECTS Credits
240
Duration
8 semesters (4 years)
Professional title
Bachelor of Economics
The primary goal of the undergraduate program in Economics, Finance, and Business is to educate economists competent in handling complex tasks in financial institutions such as banks, insurance companies, brokerage firms, audit firms, and other financial organizations. This involves a high level of basic knowledge in the fields of economics, finance, and business, the ability to analyze and solve complex management problems, analyze financial statements, identify and manage risks according to the latest European standards, and more.
COURSES
1. Microeconomics
Semester: 1, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 9
The main objective is to familiarize students with advancements in the theory of firms and standard methodological tools used in the analysis of complex phenomena in the modern business world. Students should understand the behavior of producers (firms) and consumers (households), which represent the basic units of the economy. The course aims to equip students with a foundational conceptual framework later used in other subjects.
2. Financial Statistics
Semester: 1, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 9
The primary goal is to acquaint students with basic statistical methods of analysis in the fields of banking, insurance, and finance. This includes measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, methods of correlation and regression analysis, techniques for testing statistical hypotheses, and methods of analyzing time series. The course aims to enable students to perform structural and dynamic analysis of economic and financial phenomena at macro and organizational levels.
3. Business English 1
Semester: 1, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 5
The main objective is the development of language and communication skills, acquisition of linguistic corpus in the field of banking and finance for the purpose of mastering business communication skills and using professional literature in English.
4. Business Law
Semester: 1, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 8
The course aims to introduce students to key elements of the legal and institutional framework of business entities. This includes the analysis of legal relationships between business entities and the state (administrative-legal aspect), relationships between business entities (contractual and business law aspects), and the analysis of the structure of different forms of business entities (status aspect).
5. Macroeconomics
Semester: 2, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 9
The goal is to provide insight into the entirety of the economic life of a nation or state, understanding that economic interests of individuals, companies, and society often differ. Students should recognize the general economic interest, principles, and laws governing flows, processes, and relationships within the economic system as a whole.
6. Fundamentals of Management
Semester: 2, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 9
Introduction to the basics of management, the science and profession of management, and the most important management schools, ranging from scientific, administrative, behavioral, to modern situational approaches in the study of management. Students should understand and master basic techniques and methods of making business decisions in complex conditions of modern enterprises.
7. Financial Accounting
Semester: 2, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 9
Introduction to the theoretical foundation, rules, and procedures of the structure and application of accounting methods. It includes the application of double-entry bookkeeping and the financial reporting system of economic entities. The course aims for students to see the importance of the financial accounting system as a kind of database, a crucial component of the accounting information system as a whole, and as a subsystem of the integral information system of the enterprise.
8. Business English 2
Semester: 2, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 5
The main objective is the development of language skills and the acquisition of linguistic corpus in the fields of banking and finance for mastering business communication skills and using professional literature in English.
1. Monetary Economics
Semester: 3, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 9
The course aims to provide basic knowledge of theoretical and empirical issues related to the role of money in the functioning of a market economy. Students will become familiar with fundamental elements of monetary economics, including the definition of money, money creation and demand, the central bank’s influence on the money supply, and the connection between changes in the money supply and changes in overall economic activity and price levels. The course also introduces theoretical foundations for analyzing the role of monetary policy within a specific market economy.
2. Banking
Semester: 3, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 9
The objective of the Banking course is for students to understand the role and importance of central and commercial banking in modern financial structures. Students will learn about the role and significance of the central bank in the banking system of a given country, key segments of commercial banks’ activities such as collecting and disbursing funds, and conducting commission and other transactions. The course will also cover the basics of international financial and banking markets.
3. Introduction to Information Systems
Semester: 3, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 7
The course aims to introduce students to basic concepts and possibilities of modern information technologies. Students will gain essential knowledge necessary for further study of various aspects of information systems, including structure, databases, programming, information system development, etc. The course also provides knowledge equivalent to the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) certification.
4. Business English 3
Semester: 3, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 5
The primary goal is to develop language skills and acquire language proficiency up to the level defined by the program minimum. This is aimed at mastering communication skills in the business environment in English and using professional literature in English.
5. Public Finance
Semester: 4, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 9
The course aims to familiarize students with fundamental theoretical and practical issues in the field of public finance necessary for performing tasks in the private and public sectors. It enables understanding of the tax aspect of transactions as a necessary component for decision-making processes in the business environment. The course also helps students recognize and understand public expenditures that affect individuals’ lives and economic trends, emphasizing their significance for both legal and natural persons.
6. Principles of Marketing
Semester: 4, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 7
The main objective is to introduce students to basic principles and modern concepts of marketing. This includes concepts such as the value delivery concept, satisfaction and loyalty of consumers, market segmentation, marketing information systems, and more. The course covers basic marketing instruments (product, price, promotion or market communication, and distribution), basic market research techniques, and fundamental aspects of the marketing management process in banks, insurance companies, and business organizations.
7. Corporate Finance
Semester: 4, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 9
The course aims to introduce students to the ways in which modern companies raise financial resources, allocate them, and make decisions in the field of finance. It equips students with the knowledge and techniques required for later careers to contribute to creating new value for owners. The course covers decision-making approaches in financial organizations and companies related to investment, financing, and asset management.
8. Business English 4
Semester: 4, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 5
The primary goal is to develop language skills and acquire language proficiency up to the level defined by the program minimum. This is aimed at mastering communication skills in the business environment in English and using professional literature in English.
1. Financial Markets
Semester: 5, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 8
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the basic functioning of financial markets and to present different parts of the financial market, including the money market, capital market, and foreign exchange market. Additionally, one of the primary goals is to familiarize students with the entire financial industry, focusing particularly on investment banks.
2. Financial Risk Management
Semester: 5, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 8
The objective of this course is to teach students about the basic types and manifestations of financial risks (commercial-banking, insurance, etc.) in modern banking theory and practice. It covers understanding the strategies, policies, models, and instruments that commercial banks use in identifying, managing, and controlling risks. The emphasis is on the typology of commercial-banking risks, including credit, interest rate, foreign exchange, and their market forms, as well as risk management strategies for asset and liability management, regulatory, internal, economic capital, and capital adequacy.
3. and 4. Elective Block 1 (2 out of 5)
Semester: 5, Status: Elective, ECTS: 11-16
Digital Finance
Semester: 5, Status: Elective, ECTS: 8
The goal of this course is to acquaint students with the latest technologies and possibilities offered by the internet, web technologies, and services in the fields of banking, payment systems, accounting, insurance, and e-government. It covers the basic principles affirmed in the theory and practice of digital finance, e-business services, and electronic payment models, with the development of students’ ability to apply theoretical knowledge to solve real-world problems.
Financial Reporting
Semester: 5, Status: Elective, ECTS: 8
This course aims to introduce students to the financial reporting system in modern enterprises, covering the basic principles of balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and other elements that constitute the entire system of a company’s financial reports. The objective is for students to understand the essence of basic balance sheet positions in annual and periodic financial statements, as well as key financial parameters revealing a company’s performance.
Entrepreneurship
Semester: 5, Status: Elective, ECTS: 6
The primary objective of this course is to equip students, future entrepreneurs and managers, for the successful execution of business activities in entrepreneurial business. It covers understanding the complexity of the entrepreneurial process, from defining a business idea to its practical realization. Through practical work on a specific business idea (business plan), students should become capable of operationalizing their entrepreneurial business idea and preparing the groundwork for its practical implementation.
Human Resource Management
Semester: 5, Status: Elective, ECTS: 6
The aim of this course is for students to acquire knowledge of the basic concepts, objectives, and tasks of human resource management (HRM). It includes an understanding of HRM practices in developed market economies, different theoretical approaches to the development and use of HRM functions, and knowledge of the basic phases in the human resource management process.
English Language in Banking
Semester: 5, Status: Elective, ECTS: 5
The primary objective of this course is to develop students’ language skills and adopt the linguistic corpus in the field of banking and finance. The focus is on mastering business communication skills and using professional literature in English.
5. Banking Operations
Semester: 6, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 7
The aim of the Banking Operations course is for students to understand the basic types and organizational forms of commercial-banking institutions in modern banking theory and practice. It covers various types of credit and non-credit placements and investment activities of commercial banks, deposit modalities, capital structure, capital adequacy, and principles of asset and liability management.
6. Financial and Actuarial Mathematics
Semester: 6, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 7
The objective of this course is for students to learn basic financial mathematics models based on interest calculations and the fundamentals of actuarial modeling in tariff calculation processes. It also aims to teach the application of tools in applied financial and actuarial mathematics to solve various problems in the fields of economics and finance.
7. Insurance
Semester: 6, Status: Mandatory, ECTS: 6
The main objective of the Insurance course is to introduce students to the basic economic, technical-organizational, and legal aspects of insurance, as well as various types of life and non-life insurance. It includes acquiring basic knowledge related to insurance documents, fundamental risks subject to insurance, and basic elements of risk management in insurance.
8. Elective Block 2 (2 out of 4)
Semester: 6, Status: Elective, ECTS: 13-14
Audit
Semester: 6, Status: Elective, ECTS: 7
The primary goal of the Audit course is to familiarize students with techniques and methods of external auditing of financial statements of companies. It aims to help students understand the connection between auditing and Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting, and other financial accounting disciplines studied at the faculty. The course also intends for students to master the principles of sampling used in external and internal audits and the assessment of the truth and reliability of financial statements.
Stock Market Operations
Semester: 6, Status: Elective, ECTS: 7
The goal of the Stock Market Operations course is for students to understand the basic types and organizational forms of commercial-banking institutions in modern banking theory and practice. It covers various types of credit and non-credit placements and investment activities of commercial banks, deposit modalities, capital structure, capital adequacy, and principles of asset and liability management.
European Union Law
Semester: 6, Status: Elective, ECTS: 7
The main objective of the European Union Law course is for students to become familiar with the historical development of European integration, institutions, rules, legislative procedures, competencies, and sources of EU law. The course aims to approach the legal regulation of EU relationships and highlight the growing regulation of financial institutions and the legal-regulatory aspects of EU digital law.
International Business Finance
Semester: 6, Status: Elective, ECTS: 6
The objective of the International Business Finance course is to enable students to successfully recognize the nature and scale of global financial movements and manage current and future changes in the international financial environment. It covers essential knowledge about supranational financial institutions underlying the international monetary system, as well as the phenomenon of growing and increasingly significant regional integrations, especially the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The course also introduces students to key components of international finance, including the analysis of balance of payments, theory and policy of balance-of-payments adjustment, analysis of macro and micro effects of the functioning and failures of international foreign exchange markets, regimes and policies of foreign exchange rates, driving forces and forms of international capital movements, credit and insurance of export transactions, joint investments in the world economy, and the trend of the globalization of the world economy.
1. International Finance and Global Business
Semester: 7, Status: Mandatory, ESPB: 8
The aim of the course is for students to understand the decision-making process at the executive and managerial levels in a financially and productionally globalized environment. It involves recognizing and minimizing the negative impact of threats and maximizing the benefits of production, trade, and financial internationalization. Topics include motivation for international trade, effects of various trade policies on different market structures, financing foreign trade, understanding and interpreting the balance of payments and exchange rates, hedging with currency derivatives, managing currency risks, policies of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Transnational Corporations (TNC), as well as country risk analysis and currency crises.
2. Investments in Securities
Semester: 7, Status: Mandatory, ESPB: 8
The course aims for students to gain insight into the basic theoretical and methodological concepts necessary for understanding the field of investment analysis in securities and portfolio management. It covers a wide range of investment opportunities in contemporary financial markets and the development of logical thinking for modern portfolio managers. Students will master analytical tools used in decision-making related to investing in risk conditions.
3. and 4. Elective Block 3 (Choose 2 out of 4)
Semester: 7, Status: Elective, ECTS: 14-16
Managerial Accounting
Semester: 7, Status: Elective, ESPB: 8
The goal is for students to master the basic principles of generating reports based on data provided by financial accounting. This includes calculating key indicators expressing the financial performance of companies, combining cost data classified from the perspective of managers at the operational, tactical, and strategic levels, and achieved results. The course also covers financial and non-financial performance indicators used for evaluating business decisions and improving financial and business decision-making systems.
Digital Marketing
Semester: 7, Status: Elective, ESPB: 8
The aim is to create a conceptual framework for a better understanding of the forces that govern marketing and business on the Internet. Students will connect knowledge of new technologies and traditional marketing to better understand the essence, advantages, and potential of digital marketing. The course prepares students to independently interpret and apply marketing concepts in the electronic environment, multi-channel marketing, social networks, mobile devices, electronic communication, and to identify and understand modern trends in the field of digital marketing.
Contemporary Investment Banking
Semester: 7, Status: Elective, ESPB: 7
The objective is for students to understand the essence and key concepts of contemporary investment banking. This includes mastering advanced techniques and methods of managing investments in securities, making decisions about choosing adequate sources of financing, understanding the process and strategic aspects of mergers and acquisitions, and being able to provide basic services in the field of investment banking.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Semester: 7, Status: Elective, ESPB: 7
Students will be introduced to the complex issues of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as a process of creating new business combinations between economic entities. This involves understanding the strategic dimension of M&A as one of the strategic alternatives for the growth of companies and the management’s desire to create value for owners. The course covers the complex financial issues of M&A, starting from the analysis and assessment of companies, through projections and estimates, to the ability to assess financial effects.
5. Strategic Management
Semester: 8, Status: Mandatory, ESPB: 7
The course aims to introduce the importance of strategic management as a modern integrative management discipline. It covers the content and forms of strategic guidance for companies in contemporary turbulent environments (vision, mission, and strategic objectives). Students will be familiarized with the basic components of the external and internal strategic environment of the company and the most important methods and techniques for their analysis. The goal is to develop the ability to recognize basic strategic situations that managers face in companies in developed market economies and prepare future managers to work in a complex and dynamic environment.
6. Ethics in Finance
Semester: 8, Status: Mandatory, ESPB: 6
The course focuses on understanding fundamental knowledge in the field of ethics and its application in the financial sector, especially in banking, investment, accounting, bookkeeping, and auditing. Students will be introduced to trends in understanding and treating ethical issues in finance in the most developed market economies and transition countries. The course aims to foster an understanding of models of ethical behavior in financial organizations and ways of adopting and incorporating them into the practice of professional behavior standards.
7. and 8. Elective Block 4 (Choose 2 out of 4)
Semester: 8, Status: Elective, ESPB: 14
Corporate Governance
Semester: 8, Status: Elective, ESPB: 7
The course objective is for students to become acquainted with the regulatory framework of corporate governance in Serbia and internationally recognized principles, standards, and practices of corporate governance. It aims to enable students to analyze the legal and regulatory framework, as well as the specifics of corporate governance in Serbia, and to develop awareness of good corporate governance. This includes recognizing the importance of good corporate governance practices for companies and the economy as a whole.
Corporate Restructuring
Semester: 8, Status: Elective, ESPB: 7
Students will be introduced to financial and strategic restructuring of corporations and understanding the consequences of this complex process on their functioning. The course covers the impact of corporate restructuring on its most important stakeholders: shareholders, creditors, investors, employees, clients, suppliers, the state, and the local community. It involves understanding and assessing potential sources and mechanisms for creating new value for the owners of the corporation through the restructuring process, considering changes in technological development, changes in legal regulations related to business conditions, changes in the competitive environment, changes in the monetary sphere, etc.
Managerial Information Systems
Semester: 8, Status: Elective, ESPB: 7
The objectives of the course are for students to understand the role and importance of information systems for decision-making in financial and other business organizations. Students will understand the implications of developing new information systems in the context of organizational changes, develop an awareness of the potential that internet technologies offer today, understand the essence of electronic business models, and be able to be part of a team developing information systems for a specific business organization. The course also aims to enable students to evaluate the existing information system of an organization and to be able to express requirements for generating new reports according to the needs from the perspective of a general or functional manager.
Data Analysis
Semester: 8, Status: Elective, ESPB: 7
The course aims for students to understand the main aspects of data analysis, learn to use software tools, manage data, present and analyze it. Students will be introduced to industry best practices and research to be able to independently apply mathematical and statistical methods in market research, consumer behavior, preparation and analysis of online marketing campaigns, and analysis of large amounts of data in financial institutions and other business organizations.
9. Professional Practice
Semester: 6, Status: Mandatory, ESPB: 3
The course aims to introduce students to the organizational structure and work process in financial organizations (banks, insurance companies, investment funds, pension funds) and companies. It involves integrating students into professional teams working on specific tasks relevant to the realization of professional practice, understanding the technology of work and business operations, understanding the specifics of the operation of a particular organization, and acquiring practical knowledge in the field of business finance, banking management, operational management, human resources management, IT management, and marketing.
