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Financial MattersCollege of Business Administration

Department of Finance & Law

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It has been an exceptional year for the department. I hope

you enjoy reading about our students, faculty, and programs. We

have made many additions, alterations, and advancements to the

finance program and department. Our mission statement remains

to become Michigan’s school of choice for finance for both students

and for employers.

In order to achieve that mission, let me start with

a few of this year’s highlights that will demonstrate

our progress:

We started the Michigan Finance Scholars (MFS) program under

the leadership of Max Dolinsky, Jim Felton, and Brad Taylor.

The MFS is a group of elite finance students who are willing to

put in extra time to further themselves and their career. Students

work through case studies at least once per month on Saturday mornings, have morning meetings that

consist of workshops featuring job interviewing and search strategy, resume building, online program

advancements, and other soft skills. Students in MFS report bi-weekly detailing their progress. To enter

the program, students must perform well on an entrance exam, complete an interview, and maintain an

above average, specified grade point average. Information on this program can be found at tinyurl.com/CmichMFS

We have implemented an accelerated track for finance majors, allowing students to take their

first finance class (FIN302) in their sophomore year (instead of junior). Also, additional coursework in

accounting has been added to the finance major requirement to give our students the skills necessary to

excel after graduation.

Abu Amin, an an adviser to the Central Finance Club (CFC), led a trip to Chicago. The trip focused on

meeting CMU alumni so that CFC students could seek advice on their careers and tour various financial

firms.

In short, it has been another great year for the CMU finance community. Please reach out to me if you

have comments, want to get involved or give back.

We are fired up!

Table of Contents

Nancy J. WhiteDepartment Chair

Greetings from the Department of Finance & Law

Nancy J. White

Welcome Letter

Meet Our Students

First Co-Hort

Michigan Financial Scholars

Employers

Alumni

Finance Speaker Series

Faculty

Alumni Involvement

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Representing Central Michigan UniversityDr. Brad Taylor has encouraged and mentored students to participate in business case competitions around the state. Last year, Brad took two teams to the Corporate Lending Challenge at Grand Valley State University, sponsored by the Risk Management Association. Additionally, we sent a team to the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Cup, also in Grand Rapids. These competitions prepare students to handle “real world” situations,think on their feet, and to compete with other motivated students around Michigan. This also gives students a chance to network with potential employers. As the finance program continues to grow and prosper, we have added a Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) Challenge to our list of competitions in Fall of 2018.

Eric Scott is from Canton, MI; he attended Salem high school where he played baseball and graduated with a class of about 1,600 students. His passion for finance and accounting started early as he was trading in a joint account with his father at the age of seventeen. Eric is a double

major in finance and accounting and as a sophomore, he was the youngest member to join the Michigan Finance Scholars program. Regarding joining MFS early Eric explains, “it puts you ahead of everything, I am just starting my first finance class, and everything it covers is stuff I have learned through the scholar’s program.”

At the start of his junior year, Eric has already completed a finance internship with Timothy Roberts & Associates, a boutique financial advising firm focused on repositioning assets and

Emily Telesco is from Rochester Hills, MI and graduated from Rochester High School in 2015. She is starting off her senior year after completing a summer internship with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Emily has accepted a full-time position with RBC in a two-year rotational program as an

operations analyst. During her summer internship, she was on the GELP (global equity-linked products) trade sports team and specialized in reporting and settling for GELP sales and trades team members.

“I literally had no clue what I wanted to do with my degree until I went to RBC and found out what the real world was like.”

Emily was one of five students to be sponsored for a trip to New York City with Professor Jim Felton last fall. She stressed how this excursion set her up to earn the Jon Voigtman scholarship and the prestigious internship with RBC. After the

Derek Humphrey is from Davison, MI and graduated from CMU Spring 2018 majoring in finance. He is currently living in Dallas, Texas working as an analyst for Goldman Sachs. Derek has been interested in finance since he started trading with

his dad during his freshman year of high school. His five-year plan is to keep working towards being the best analyst and see where that takes him. “Very rarely do things go as planned, so, taking opportunities as they come has been my philosophy as opposed to planning things out,” Derek explains.

When discussing his experience in the CMU finance program, Derek describes that his time was mainly self-driven. Therefore, he is so excited to see the advancements the department has been making with the Michigan Finance Scholars. Derek reflects, “I wish I could have been a part of this as a student, but I am glad to be a part of the initiative from the industry side.”

Left to right: Bernard Chao, Daniel Kimani, Brad Taylor (Adviser), Blake Bachelor, and Lynn Jones at the ACG Cup in Grand Rapids

Eric ScottGraduating May 2020

Emily TelescoGraduating May 2019

Derek HumphreyGraduated May 2018

retirement planning. This was just a start for Eric as his dream job would be something in New York City related to banking, risk analysis, investments, or credit analysis. “I just think somewhere in a boardroom with a whole bunch of suits on, talking billions, is the dream,” Eric explained as he emphasized the importance of trying everything once while figuring out the finance field.

Eric’s advice to incoming and current finance students is to “just show up”- don’t skip class, go to office hours, get involved, and introduce yourself. “You want to have people in your corner,” Eric declares, “these finance professors will hustle for you. The difference is you are not just here to graduate, you are here to learn the skills necessary to find a job.”

Undergraduate Sophomore

Recent Graduate

Undergraduate JuniorNYC trip and witnessing the work environment at a bank that size, she fell in love, and knew she had to do whatever it takes to get there. She proved this by continuously reaching out to the contacts she had made in NYC to ensure an interview spot. Emily showed her dedication to success by making the drive to NYC for her interview over Spring Break, in a snowstorm, and only a day after having a wisdom teeth surgery.

Emily reflects on how her CMU experience set her up for this opportunity by stressing the importance of getting involved in the finance clubs and programs and going the extra mile on her own time. “You can’t sit around. A job will not be handed to you,” she emphasizes about the difficulty in finding a job in the financial field. She also provides the advice on networking as much as possible and creating strong relationships with professors and finance faculty.

Derek mentions a couple pivotal moments throughout his time at CMU. One of which being the trip to NYC with Professor Jim Felton. This first contact with large financial institutions showed him a picture of a possible future and solidified his desire to go after these positions. Additionally, he thanks the finance faculty for giving him the ability to discuss finance not just at a base level but conversationally. When talking about Professor Brad Taylor, Derek says, “he would purposefully tell me I was wrong or how poor the quality of my work was knowing that this would drive me to continue to improve it.”

He also explains the importance of realizing that academia is very structured and comparably, the industry is fluid. Understanding this while transitioning after graduation is something important to getting a head start in the industry.

Derek’s other advice for graduating students is to just genuinely care about the work they are doing. “When I say stay curious that means ask questions, keep up on current events, and to be knowledgeable and able to talk about what’s going on,” he says that this is the best way to accomplish your goals.

Meet Our Students

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Michigan Finance ScholarsWe started the Michigan Finance Scholars (MFS) program under the leadership of Max Dolinsky, Jim Felton

and Brad Taylor. The MFS program is available to elite finance majors in the department. To enter the

program, students must perform well on an entrance exam, have an interview with the faculty supporting the

MFS program and have a high grade point average. Students work through case studies once per month on

Saturday morning and work on job interviewing and other soft skills. Students in the program must report bi-

weekly on their progress. Information on this program can be found at tinyurl.com/CmichMFS

Applying to MFS:While exceptions may be considered, here is a preferred profile of an applicant:

» Junior or Sophomore

» Finance major (minor in Accounting is a plus)

» GPA above 3.5

» An active member of Central Finance Club (for details contact Bernard Chao at chao1b@cmich.edu)

» Taking or plan to take the Finance section of FIN 302

» General availability for potential meetings on

Early Wednesday mornings (7:30 – 9:45)

Wednesday evenings for CFC meetings (19:00 – 20:00)

Friday afternoons (14:00 – 17:00)

Saturday mornings (8:00 – 12:00)

To apply to the MFS program, bring your resume and come to Grawn Hall room 278 to take the entrance exam on the first Friday of classes, August 31st at 8:00 am. Coffee & bagels will be provided to get you in the mood for the two-hour exam. The exam will consist of questions on critical thinking, quantitative, economics, accounting, general knowledge, and recent events.

If the exam conflicts with your schedule or for any questions, email Max Dolinsky at dolin1m@cmich.edu

Blake BachelorDecember 2019

Credit Analyst Intern at Team Financial Group

Jonathan BorkDecember 2018Client Accountant at

Cushman and Wakefield

Mitchell Brussel Alexis Downing

Blake EadsMay 2019

Traveling, Summer Classes and CFA Level 1 Prep.

Shae BerghoeferMay 2019

Summer 1 and Summer 2 Full-Time Student

Austin HarveyMay 2019

Project Manager at MHM Construction, LLC

Madison McDonnell

Ghadah MoquimMay 2019

Financial Associate Intern at Tahakom Group

Randy OstermanMay 2019

Intern at Principal Financial Group

Eric ScottMay 2020

Financial Associate at Timothy Roberts and Associates

Ty ShowermanMay 2019

Study Abroad, IT Quality Measurement and Performance Intern at CMS Energy

Spencer TimmMay 2019

Financial Analyst Intern at Haworth

Zac Tobey May 2019

Tax Intern at Cain & Sisung CPAs PC and Intern at Hantz Financial Services

Bailey WesselDecember 2018

Wealth Management Advisory Intern at Merrill Lynch

Wayland WilliamsMay 2019

Treasury Services Intern at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Michigan Finance Scholars First Cohort

I am looking forward to this school year more than any other before. Let’s win some competitions and put this program on the map! — Austin Harvey

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Special thanks to General Motors!

We are grateful to General Motors for bringing their analytical team on CMU campus to provide coaching for our students. From dusk till dawn, GM analysts Elise, Caleb, Joshua and their manager Mark spent their time leading workshops on advanced Excel, capital budgeting case study and interviewing skills. Students were impressed by the knowledge and wisdom the industry professionals had to offer and especially appreciated their mentorship while having lunch with them.

General Motors recruiters plan to be back on campus in the fall to recruit our students for their internships & full-time finance analyst positions.

Alpha Kappa Psi Career Fair, Oct 12

The Alpha Kappa Psi Career Fair is on October 12 and is both a great resource for finding career opportunities and gaining experience in speaking with potential employers. There are almost 60 listings specifically for Accounting and Finance majors for full-time and part-time jobs and internships.

Career Fair for Accounting & Finance Majors: Meet the Recruiters

On September 13, CMU hosted a career fair with a focus on accounting and finance majors. This was a great opportunity for our students to get an early start on their job search. There were over 40 employers there including Deloitte, PwC, Meridian, Plante Moran, General Motors, Dow, University of Michigan, Thomson Reuters, KPMG, Accenture, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Ford Motor, Auto-Owners Insurance, Quicken Loans, and many others. This event also led to students receiving on-campus interviews in the following weeks.

Community Outreach

We increased our outreach to the local business community. We have connected with the Central Michigan Manufacturers Association (CMMA) and we provided a presentation to local employers about the benefits of either providing internship or full-time positions to CMU finance students or graduates. We hope to continue recruiting local businesses and connecting them with our students.

Alumni Luncheon in NYC

We have engaged with our alumni in New York City. In July, a team of faculty led by CBA Dean Chuck Crespy met with CMU alumni in New York City. The purpose of the event was to re-connect with the alumni and inform the alumni about the great improvements that we are making to the Finance program. Every October, we have taken five sophomore students to New York for internship interviews and discussions and tours of finance related firms. This year, we plan to increase the number students going to New York to twelve selected from the new cohort of Michigan Finance Scholars.

During the luncheon, many alumni expressed interest in contributing to our program in four ways:

» Mentor our students

» Come to CMU campus to be part of Finance Speakers Series

» Assist us with bringing students to NYC and give them company tour

» Connect our students with internship opportunities

Special thanks to our alum, Jon Voigtman, for helping to host the event!

This year we plan to increase our outreach to alumni in other cities where we have a significant alumni presence including: Detroit, Chicago and Minneapolis.

General Motors Finance speaking to Michigan Finance Scholars, April 2018 (Left to right: Elise Sandler, Caleb Mathers, Joshua LaFountain and Mark Nadolski)

Employers

Dean Crespy addresses the New York Alumni

Alumni

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Finance professionals across the industry will be coming to CMU to speak upon their expertise, experience, and market niche. They will give students real-life exposure to the industry environment along with a chance to learn about different positions, market trends, and financial analysis. The Central Finance Club (CFC) has had a number of engaging speakers on campus to advise students on a variety of career-related issues. We hope to work together to extrapolate the most from these events and grow them in number and variety.

Past Speakers:

Michael Wahl, Managing Director F/C, PNC Bank, has spoken to CFC and Futures and Options classes.

Peter Konyndyk has also spoken to the Central Finance Club about his career as a Financial Advisor at Plante Moran.

Guy Daigneault, Janet M. Hewlett and Mark E. Van Faussien spoke at Grawn Atrium on Friday, Sep 21st

Guy Daigneault is an author and speaker as well as a Certified International Wealth Manager, Certified Executor Advisor (CEA), and a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FSCI). He has worked with National Bank Financial since 2008 and specializes in portfolio management. He has developed programs such as The Prosperity Blueprint™ and the Red-Carpet Experience to provide exceptional client services. Together with his team, he manages more than one-quarter of a billion dollars in assets. Daigneault has a book currently in editing titled The Happiness Algorithm: Welcome the Obstacles. He spoke to our students about the lifestyle that will lead to success, happiness, and stress management as well as his experience in wealth management.

Janet is a Senior Managing Director and Co-founder of Azimuth Capital Management LLC. Janet has been in the industry for over 30 years and focused much of her efforts on investment research and building and managing investment portfolios. Jan leads Azimuth’s equity portfolios and sits on the Investment Committee.

Mark is also a Senior Managing Director and sits on the Investment Committee at Azimuth Capital Management LLC. He has over 25 years’ experience in investment research, portfolio management, client service, business development, and firm management. Mark leads Azimuth’s active portfolio management and works closely with many private client accounts. Mark started his career with Merrill Lynch and was President and CEO of an investment advisory firm he helped grow to more than $1.6 billion in assets. He spoke with our students about both the experiences that led him to his position and advice for getting a head start over the competition. He gave our students unprecedented insights for joining the job market and making oneself stand out. We are very grateful for his openness and willingness to speak about what matters.

Happy Retirement, John Mitchell!

After 43 years of service, John Mitchell has retired from the department. John has been a leading figure in the development of the finance program at CMU. John started the International Finance course in 1976 and also started the Options and Futures course. John was on the first team to initiate assessment in college and department in the early 90s and served for many years as CBA Assessment Director.

John received CMU Service Award in 2013 and served as Departmental Personnel Chair. He has also been a productive researcher with over 600 citations of more than 40 papers and over 13,000 SSRN downloads. We are grateful for his significant contribution and we wish him well in his retirement!

Other changes in faculty include, Assistant Professor Dr. Jiri Tresl accepting a position at the University of Manheim in Germany. And Dr. Tzveta Vaveta joining us in August as a full-time fixed-term faculty.

Recognizing the Extraordinary Brad

Dr. Brad Taylor joined CMU in Fall 2015, after deciding to retire from the corporate world and go into academia. Brad received his accounting degree in 1984 from the University of Calgary and started his career at Arthur Andersen. Since 1990, he has served as a CFO for three different companies, while working in eight different countries.

Brad brought his wealth of financial knowledge and corporate wisdom to CMU, giving our students a competitive advantage, which allows us to develop a program with our students competing against Ivy League schools. Brad has been a backbone of our Michigan Finance Scholars program, as he conducts weekend workshops based on real-world business cases. Additionally, he prepares and takes our students to competitions at other universities.

We are very proud to have Brad be part of our team and are excited about the growth of our program as the result of his contribution!

FacultyFinance Speaker Series

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The CMU finance department is eager to increase our alumni outreach and involvement. Many alumni may wish to assist current students. There are many ways that you can participate including:

» Scholar Advisory Committee — help design and lead the Scholars program

» Student Mentor — assist students with career/internship questions, provide advice and network to Scholars to help grow beyond the class-room)

» Alumni Speaker — Finance Professional Speaker Series (on Campus or in your city)

» CBA Faculty Resource — industry expert to assist professors and faculty for study ideas, case study projects, video discussions, etc.

» Student Tour Host — to meet with CMU Scholars when they visit – provide tour and career discussion

» Internship Sponsor — work within their firm to help place a CMU Scholar

» Intern Host — provide direction for CMU Intern moving to a new city

» Alumni Networking — CBA Alumni mixer attendant

» Financial Support — contribute funding for experiences/visits, certifi-cation/testing, program administration, etc.

By getting involved with our current students, you have the opportunity to meet the next generation of the best and brightest students in finance. If you searching for entry-level personnel, you will have access to those students. In addition, every time we improve the quality of our program, it reflects positively on all alumni from the program.

Alumni Involvement: How Can They Get Involved?