Short Paper and Discussion Moderating Activity (15% of course grade)

Students will write one approved short paper to post by 9:00 a.m. Eastern Coast Time on Monday of their assigned session in our online class conference area.  During the week in which a student posts his/her paper, he/she will serve as moderator for the weekly conference and facilitate discussion related to his/her paper.   Students will sign-up in advance.  The due dates are listed in the Course Guide/Schedule. 

Student should research articles, journals, or books, and report on a financial modeling topic within one of the following contexts/orientations, with the goal of expanding and/or deepening the classes understanding of financial analysis and modeling: 

1)        critical reviews of specific financial models (which may include financial models not covered in class)

2)        critical exploration of the 'technology of modeling', which may include focuses like emerging software employed in financial modeling for the specific topic, or the principles of logic underlying the financial models used for the specific topic (i.e. software for forecasting)

3)        critical evaluation of analysis and modeling employed in the financial management of specific industries (i.e. forecasting in the airline industry)

REMEMBER the words "critically evaluate" are important.  A simple overview or tutorial of software features or of a financial analysis process (i.e. ratio analysis) or financial model (Monte Carlo simulation) will not meet the requirements for this paper. The writer should analyze the topic, bring in relevant research, offer comparisons, and consider pros and cons, or implications for practice.  These are simply a few of the contemplative practices that move a paper into the critical realm.   

NOTE:  Do not reuse papers from your other finance or accounting classes.  This is strictly prohibited and they do NOT meet the focus of this course, which emphasizes financial concepts from the perspective of analysis, modeling and decision making.  For example, a paper that explains cash budgets or forecasting would be too general for this class (based on the paragraph presented above) and would not rise to the level of critical evaluation.  

The instructor evaluates students' papers based on how well they address the topic, critically evaluate their readings and research, employ APA style, and moderate the class discussion by making substantive responses to the majority of the conference participants.  Resources to help you in your graduate level writing are listed in the posting, Writing Resources, under Course Content in the classroom.

Each paper should be 8-10 double spaced pages, excluding appendices, using APA format.  Some sources students may wish to consider are CFO.com, CIO.com, Information Weekly, Wall Street Journal, Strategic Finance, Journal of Accountancy, Journal of Financial Forecasting, Journal of Applied Management, European Journal of Operational Research, and the UMUC Web Databases. Articles from other accounting or financial analysis, modeling, or decision support journals and sources are also acceptable.  If you use an online source, check that it provides credible information.

Students who miss their Monday morning posting date are subject to the Late Work penalties.  Students who do not moderate the discussion related to their papers receive an automatic 10-point deduction from their paper grade.

Also, review sections of the syllabus on Original Work, Avoiding and Preventing Plagiarism, and the Vail Tutorial when completing this assignment.