PGDM Core Subject

Financial Analytics

Course Objective


Primary PO Mapping: PO2 (Critical Thinking) & PO4 (Communication).

Strategic Focus: Utilizing quantitative tools and AI-driven insights to synthesize complex information and minimize cognitive bias in business advisory.

 

Mandatory Textbook: Financial Analytics with R by Mark J. Bennett and Dirk L. Hugen.

 


Internal Assessment Scheme (70 Marks)

Component

Marks

Description

Mapped CO

Simulation

20

 

The Prediction Engine: Building an AI-driven stock price or churn predictor.

+1

CO3, CO5

Case Study

10

 

"The Moneyball Moment": Analyzing data-driven turnarounds in finance.

CO4

Presentation

10

 

"Data Storytelling": Presenting financial insights to a non-technical board.

CO5

Mid Term

10

Internal written exam covering Descriptive Analytics & Probability.

CO1, CO2

Project

10

 

"The Kaggle Challenge": Predicting financial outcomes using real datasets.

CO5

Class Participation

10

Participation in coding labs and data discussions.

All

 


20-Session Plan

Each session assumes 90 minutes of class time plus 60 minutes of pre-class preparation.

 

Session

Topic

Pre-Reading (Bennett & Hugen)

Daily Assignment

1

Introduction to Financial Analytics

Ch 1: Data & Statistics

 

2

Financial Data Types & Sources

Ch 2: Financial Data

 

3

Visualizing Financial Data

Ch 3: Visualization

A1: Technical Charts

+1

4

Descriptive Stats for Returns

Ch 4: Returns Analysis

 

5

Probability Distributions in Finance

Ch 5: Probability

A2: Normal Dist. Lab

6

Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)

Ch 6: Data Wrangling

 

7

Hypothesis Testing - I (A/B Testing)

Ch 7: Hypothesis Testing

A3: P-value Analysis

+1

8

Hypothesis Testing - II (ANOVA)

Ch 8: Multi-group Analysis

 

9

Correlation vs. Causation in Markets

Ch 9: Correlations

A4: Spurious Correl.

10

Mid-Term Internal Exam

Review Sessions 1–9

 

Mid-Term (10M)

11

Simple Linear Regression

Ch 10: Linear Models

 

12

Multiple Regression for Forecasting

Ch 11: Multi-Reg

A5: Market Forecast

13

Logistic Regression for Credit Risk

Ch 12: Binary Outcomes

 

14

The Prediction Engine (Sim 1)

Manual: Building Predictors

 

Simulation (10M)

15

Interactive BI Dashboards (Sim 2)

Manual: Executive Reports

 

Simulation (10M)

+1

16

Time Series Analysis & Trends

Ch 13: Time Series

 

17

Ethics in AI & Algorithmic Bias

Technical Note: Data Privacy

A6: Ethics Audit

+1

18

Optimization & Simulation (Monte Carlo)

Ch 14: Portfolio Ops

 

19

Presentation: Data Storytelling

Manual: Persuasive Defense

 

Presentation (10M)

20

Course Synthesis & Final Portfolio

Review of Strategic Insight