Course Description

Behavioral finance has shown that all people, even financial experts, are prone to making irrational and suboptimal financial decisions. It also explores how people have wants that extend far beyond traditional finance assumption of wanting the highest return at the lowest risk. We are not perfectly rational economic robots; we are easily driven by wants and emotions while working with limited time, knowledge, and energy.

In this course, Rob Stephens, CPA will explore many of the thinking errors and biases exhibited by all people, even the experts. This course will help you identify the nonfinancial wants that drive the financial decisions of your clients and stakeholders. The course will identify ways to improve financial decision-making in the context of personal financial planning and business financial management.

You'll learn from an author that teaches these concepts to MBA students at a university as well as to business advisors and staff. Rob is a CPA that's been a CFO of multiple companies. He also has a master's degree in personal financial planning and a graduate certificate in financial therapy. He served as program manager for a group of investment advisors. 

This course will lead you from foundational finance concepts to practical applications in both personal finance and business finance.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize common behavioral finance biases and heuristics
• Identify ways to reduce thinking errors caused by biases and heuristics
• Recall differences between traditional finance and behavioral finance
• Identify negative financial impacts of finance biases and heuristics

Prerequisites

• None