Select topics from the BS course Finance II, but more in depth. Topics include cost of capital, evaluation and selection of financing alternatives for the long term and the short term, alternatives for the dividend policy and capital structure, bond issues, stock issues, credit rating, mergers and acquisitions, and financial restructuring. Corporate finance is discussed from the viewpoint of both the Chief Financial Officer, who needs to master both the practical and theoretical aspects of the position, as well as that of investors and creditors, who need to assess the credit rating and going concern.

The course will cover the main points of statistics and pricing in finance. Emphasis is placed on introducing students to the use of statistical and mathematical methods to analyze, price and obtain information about financial instruments. Emphasis is placed on real examples where students are trained to solve tasks similar to those they may have to solve in their jobs in the financial market.

In the statistical part of the course, ideas about continuous and sparse probability distributions, expected values, variance and standard deviation, confidence intervals, null hypotheses and linear regression analyses, both simple and multivariate, will be reviewed. The basic ideas of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) will also be reviewed.

The pricing part of the course will deal with the pricing of futures contracts on shares, bonds and currency and interest rate swaps, the construction of interest rate curves, as well as the types and characteristics of options.

Course content: Corporate and investment valuation. Discussion of the content and analysis of financial statements in the context of valuation of companies and investments. Discussion of various methods for valuation, suitable for valuation of different companies such as operating companies, real estate companies, banks, insurance companies, etc.

The course will cover the main points of statistics and pricing in finance. Emphasis is placed on introducing students to the use of numerical and mathematical methods to analyze, price and obtain information about financial instruments. Emphasis is placed on real examples where students are trained to solve tasks similar to those they may have to solve in the workplace.

The statistical part of the course will cover time series analysis. There, models such as auto regressive models (e. Auto regressive model, AR model) and models with moving averages (e. Moving-average model, MA model) will be introduced to play. Also the combination of ARMA, ARIMA and SARIMA models. Finally, conditional variance models or ARCH and GARCH models will be reviewed.

In the pricing section, we will cover binomial trees, Wiener processes, Ito's auxiliary theorem, the Black-Scoles-Merton model and the pricing of stock and currency options.

The purpose of the course is to teach students how to apply financial theory in practice. The course will present how to approach practical financial problems by using theory in the spreadsheet environment of Excel and in the coding environment of Visual Basic. Cornerstone financial models will be assessed using real world data. Upon completion of the course, students should be comfortable with pricing securities (bonds, stock, derivatives) and performing various types of risk evaluations. Topics covered include portfolio management and evaluation, assessment of equilibrium stock pricing models, option pricing (e.g. Monte Carlo), volatility predications (e.g. GARCH models), bond immunization strategies, term structure estimation, etc. In short, the purpose of the course is to help students learn how to use the tools necessary to use financial theory in a practical way which will benefit them in any finance or research related position.

In this course, the main types of fixed income instruments and interest rate derivatives will be covered. Emphasis will be placed on bonds in international context as well as the special features of the domestic bond market. Some of the issues covered will be: traditional, indexed-linked, callable and convertible bonds, credit and interest rate derivatives. Pricing, portfolio management and risk management for fixed income instruments and derivatives on those will also be covered.

The objective of the course is to afford the students an opportunity to apply the tools and theories of finance that they have studied in other courses (see the prerequisites), to complete assignments and define the conditions behind certain theories/models/methods, being used. Practical cases improve decision making skills, through confronting diverse and real cases. The goal of the assignments is not necessarily to work out one correct solution, as is common in both undergraduate and graduate assignments, but rather to recognize the underlying problem and use the appropriate financial tools and theories to deal with the problem. In fact, the cases are written in such a way that there is no one single correct solution. It is, however, possible to pose good or bad reasoning to support a solution. Thus it is important to be able to substantiate why a particular financial tool was selected as a solution to the problem.
Emphasis will be placed on students adopting the technical aspects of the subject matter, i.e. that they are able to present the problems under consideration clearly and comprehensively, and that they can use the appropriate calculations to solve them.

The main emphasis of the course is on the role of financial markets and institutions. The interplay between central bank and commercial banks is explored in relation to interest rate - and exchange rate determination. Furthermore, the connection between monetary and fiscal policy is mapped out, regarding both price and financial stability. The second emphasis of the course is on the role of the banking system in the economy and on the function of main asset markets. The main structural characteristics of Icelandic financial markets are described in comparison to foreign markets.

The course will take place in the basic concepts of financial information systems (AIS). Review the business processes, structures, and roles of financial information systems. System development and documentation methods will be accessed. Computer fraud and misuse of information systems will be discussed. Information security, labour regulations and international standards, accessibility, controls and measures will be reviewed to help increase the security of sensitive information. The nature of the review will be reviewed and an audit system will be introduced. Major corporate processes, such as revenue, charges, and manufacturing processes, will be reviewed and shown in a data flow shortage. The system development process and system development methods will be reviewed. Audits using IT audits have increased significantly over the last decade and many computer systems have seen the light of day, for example. Standadfusion and Adaptive GRC. The way information systems use affects procedures will be reviewed and will discuss how the use of artificial intelligence can affect risk assessment and assessment of the effectiveness of contemporary surveillance operations. Finally, system design, implementation and operation of information systems will be discussed. One group assignment. Efforts will be made to introduce to students the main financial information systems in use in the market. The project is based on both teaching materials and therefore material is presented in the lectures. 

The basic concepts and theories regarding ADA (Audit Data Analytics) are covered. Audit Data Standards (ADA) will also be introduced. Explore how data analytics can be used to perform automated audit procedures that are usually performed manually. Introducing the ISO PC 295 Audit Data Collection m.t.t. audit. 

Engage in the theoretical structure of companies related to Management Systems and Control Systems. Different types of units of responsibility (departments, divisions, business units.) 

The issues and legal sources of company law will be discussed. Different categories of companies and different points of view will be covered when resolving issues. The characteristics of the main types of financial companies will be explained. For discussion will be e.g. their financial basis and rules relating to the status of their counterparts, governance, the responsibilities of management and auditors and the legal status of members. The main topic of the course concerns private limited companies and public limited companies and the fundamentals that result from the limited liability of their owners, ie. on the protection of the funds of these companies. These are rules on the payment of share capital, registration of share capital, increase and decrease of share capital, own shares and rules on disbursement of capital with dividends or on dissolution of companies. The merger and division of public limited companies and the rules that must be met in that connection will be discussed. The moratorium, composition agreements and bankruptcy proceedings of companies will also be discussed. The role of auditors in connection with their work for companies will also be discussed.

The course is based on a series of cases according to the course outline. Each case is carefully prepared for this course and a guideline for the reading material is also provided and the readings are related to the cases in question. It is the case discussion that drives the learning process. The order of the cases reflect the design of the course. The first case addresses competitiveness from an overall point of view. Then the focus is on how international and specialized the distribution of the value chain has become in the developed countries, which has resulted in clusters and cluster activities. The cases also address the role of government and the role of institutes of collaboration. The cases covered address different key issues in many industries and in many parts of the world, both in developed and developing countries. The key subject is how to understand the key aspects of National Economic Strategy. The class uses the case teaching method (the Harvard model) and it is the students that do analyse the cases through their discussion which is facilitated by the teacher. The students also prepare an extensive team project (a cluster analysis) and present their results in class. In addition the student write an individual report on the subject.

This course will provide a deep understanding of the complex topic of international finance. It will introduce the theory of international finance and key concepts with reference to current issues and potential policy actions. International finance is sometimes viewed as the funding side of international trade, but as financial deepening has continued with increased capital flows driven by foreign direct investment and speculative investment between countries it has become much more important to sustainable prosperity of countries. Currently flows of funds are multiple higher than flows of goods than services. The current inflation crisis which is accompanied by monetary tightening in most developed economies effects capital flows in many countries. Why is that? This effects exchange rates and may have important implications in countries where short term external funding is heavily used. Abrupt changes in financial flows may have detrimental effects on both economic and financial stability in vulnerable economies. This course will help you understand the interaction between financial flows and economic and financial stability. Understanding economic sustainability is also crucial for global investment decisions. Is it likely that the currency of a country will remain stable and that the external positions is sustainable to the extent that it will support viable and strong economic growth underpinning good returns on investments. 

This topic is particularly important for investors and policy makers in open economies like Iceland, where investment and policy decisions are heavily influenced by currency movements and capital flows.

The course will start with introductions of financial concepts important for the class. Then we will learn about national accounts and balance of payments. Foreign exchange rates and international financial markets will be next. Then we will turn to theory about long and short run interaction of monetary policy, interest rates, production and exchange rates. Last we will focus on capital flows, debt sustainability and international financial cycles. Emphasis will be on current issues, including the increased risk posed by monetary policy tightening in major economies. There is a large policy decision spillover from large economies to other countries, which is an inherent part of intergraded financial markets and amplifies economic fluctuations and increases financial stability risks. We will explore how these risks accumulate and potentially materialize. Also how can policies lean against the accumulation of these risks or what kind of reactions are possible when capital flow crisis hit.    

In this course the learner will get overview of the main issues in operation of fishing companies. The main topics are: Fisheries management: The ITQ system and other methods used to manage fisheries around Iceland e.g. effort control and fishing gear limitations, comparison to other countries. Processing and markets: Overview of primary products and processing methods, along with the most important markets for Icelandic seafood: Operation of fishing companies in Iceland: The working environment and financial status of fishing companies: Historical overview of Icelandic fisheries: Practical training: Visit to vessel/processing plant and processing of fish into primary products in laboratory.

The aim of the course is for students to acquire a better knowledge and understanding of the main issues concerning the analysis of annual accounts that are prepared in accordance with international accounting standards. Special emphasis will be placed on fair value accounting and preferably the entry of financial instruments, e.g. equities, bonds and derivatives. The rules on impairment of financial assets and other assets will also be reviewed. The main requirements of IFRS standards regarding the recognition of fixed assets at fair value will also be explained, e.g. property, plant and equipment and investment assets, as well as reference to the recalculation of lease obligations in the annual accounts. 

Special emphasis on following accounting standards, 
IFRS 9: Financial Instruments,
IFRS 7: Financial Instruments: Disclosures 
IFRS 13: Fair value measurement 
IFRS 16: Leases 
IFRS 2: Share-based Payment 
IAS 32: Financial Instruments: Presentation 
IAS 40: Investment Property 

The course deals with accounting, methodology and ethics.
Accounting theory, will i.a. discusses: 1) standardization in the preparation of annual accounts, 2) conceptual systems for accounting, 3) development of accounting, 4) accounting concepts, 5) international accounting, and 6) various special problems in the preparation of accounts.
Methodology, will i.a. discusses: qualitative methodology, main methodology, population, data collection, quay square, presentation and structure of essays, etc.
Ethics and honesty related to work on a dissertation and its basic concepts.  

The course focuses on the nature and workings of international financial markets, in particular from the perspective of asset management. Topics covered include key theories on asset pricing and market efficiency, dynamic portfolio optimization, risk and return assessment, financial crises, behavioral finance, and ethical issues. The acquisition of technical expertise is emphasized; students should be able to systematically work on and apply the necessary formulas. In addition, emphasis is placed on students’ acquisition of solid understanding of the nature and workings of financial markets. The course is partly based on the BS course in Portfolio Management and students are expected to have completed this or a comparable course, or to familiarize themselves with the relevant material along with the material covered in this course.

This course is taught every other year. It will the taught in autumn 2024.

This course will familiarize students with the basic foundations of microeconomic theory and   how to apply that theory to analyse economic decision making, for both consumers and firms and organizations, and both in markets and the public sector. The topics cover both consumer and production theory, the different market structures, welfare economics, as well as analysing market changes and government intervention. In addition to the theoretical foundations of economic analysis, the course material will also encourage and engage students in discussion on applied microeconomics and students will be required to work on assignment/exercises.

The course covers ethical issues regarding business operations, executives’ connections with government, communication with government officials, and corporate social responsibility in general. A broad range of ethical concepts, codes of conduct, and business ethics will be discussed. Students will, furthermore, be introduced to different theories and analytical tools for use in handling ethical challenges in the business environment. Emphasis will be on case studies on ethical dilemmas in business operations. Guest lecturers will be sought from business and the community to share their practical experience and students will work on the solution of practical problems.

Industrial organization is a field of economics that studies the structure of and boundaries between firms and markets and the interactions of firms strategic behavior of firms. The study of industrial organization adds to the perfectly competitive model real-world frictions such as limited information, transaction costs, costs of adjusting prices, government actions, and barriers to entry by new firms into a market that may be associated with imperfect competition. It then considers how firms are organized and how they compete, and examines deviations from the model of perfect competition in exchanges between firms, and between firms and households. These deviations occur, for instance, because of oligopoly, monopoly, attempts to limit entry to markets, transaction costs, and incomplete information.

The purpose of Cost benefit analysis is to facilitate social decision making. The purpose of the course in Cost benefit analysis is to introduce to the student the foundation of CBA. CBA is used in many applications where governmental agencies at all evels are involved. CBA is routinely used to assist in making decisions regarding highway projects, health-care projects and so on. CBA is also useful to evaluate projects involving environmental damage or renewal. Topics include: Conceptually correct measures of social surplus vs. measures actually used. Estimating consumer surplus, producer surplus, and government revenue (i.e., social surplus) in primary and secondary markets, the social discount rate, uncertainty and the value of information. Existence value, contingent valuation and the value of time,crime, life, noise, and other pleasures and pains.

The course is intended as an introduction to tax law and tax practice applicable to business operations in Iceland and to offer some practice in solving simpler problems in this field. The term business operations refers on the one hand to various forms of legal persons and on the other hand to individual engaged in business operations or independent services in their own name. At the end of the course the student will be familiar with the taxes and duties levied on business operations in Iceland, the basic provisions of Icelandic law and other provisions on which the levy of the duty is based and certain procedures in solving tax problems.

The objective of this course is to introduce and explain the fundamental economic laws of natural resource utilization. Optimal utilisation patterns in static and dynamic contexts are examined. The reasons for frequently observed suboptimal utilization of natural resources are explained. On that basis, efficient management regimes for natural resource utilization are discussed. The economics of fisheries, energy and the environment are specifically examined. Standard methods of analytical economics are employed.

The course has three linked facets (taught in English) and is suitable for students of economics, business, finance and political science. 

• how the human species makes decisions
• how the decision-weaknesses of others can be strategically exploited
• insights and tools to improve students’ own decision-making now and in the future.

“Decisions have consequences”. In addition to providing an increased understanding of the science of economic and financial decision-making, this course improves the decision-making of each participant. The ability to make better decisions conveys a life-long, and broad, competitive advantage.

The instructor is an experimental game theorist and practicing strategist and strategic consultant. The course combines new trends in behavioral game theory and scientific strategy with application in business and geopolitics.

The class is interactive. Attendance of at least 80% is required as part of the assessment. The course is thus not suitable for students who cannot attend much due to a conflicting schedule.

Course topics include:

• Controlling emotion
• Neurological research on intuition, and leveraging one's own intuition.
• Influencing the decisions of others.
• Improving the decisions of groups and teams.
• Bubbles and crashes in the financial markets: understanding and possibly profiting from cycles.
• The science of risk versus how humans usually think about risk
• Mass movements, mobs, violence and crowd control, and strategizing in such situations.
• Politics behind the scenes.
• How the human brain really makes decisions (as opposed to the standard economic model of optimization).
• Identifying common errors and traps that prevent effective decisions.
• Analyzing one's own decision-making processes and pinpointing problem areas.
• Techniques to improve one’s judgments and decisions.

The course will cover in detail the rules of national law and international agreements on the conclusion and interpretation of double taxation agreements. The full tax liability of individuals and companies due to domicile in a state and its termination in one of the member states of a double taxation agreement will be discussed if a person or company is domiciled in two or more countries at the same time. Rules on limited tax liability and the division of taxing rights between member states of a double taxation treaty will be explained. Methods for mitigating double taxation under national law and a double taxation treaty will be discussed when income is taxed in two or more countries. It will be discussed how double taxation agreements can be used in tax planning with the establishment of companies in different countries. The impact of the EEC or ESS Convention on the tax laws of individual states, harmful tax competition and what has been done to eradicate it will be disclosed. Students will be trained in the use of double taxation agreements with problem solving solutions and realistic tasks. At the end of the course, it is assumed that the student has a good insight into the complex system that national law and double taxation agreements can spin on the financial measures of individuals and companies in modern society.

Transfer-Pricing Methods (TPM) often predict where profits and costs fall. TPM is an important factor in globalization, but TPM is governed by the rules of the home country and also the published rules of the OECD. TPM is closely related to tax law in the country in question. TPM rules are examined and their effects analyzed.

Basic concepts related to investment and valuation are covered, and the structure of the annual accounts and how the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow are discussed. A "fundamental analysis" is argued, and comparable multiple analysis method where value can be obtained. It will be examined how cash flow, profit, excess profit, normal profit, and valuation are related, as well as the effect on yield. Analysis of profitability to approach the "right value" of the company. Growth has a major impact on valuations related to, among other things, P / E and P / B. Valuation and sensitivity analysis methods. 
Valuation is closely related to financing and operability, and covered how valuation is related in one way or another to the concepts of financial position and going concern of companies. The concepts will be examined in the light of IFRS and ISA in a broad context and understanding of continuing operations. 
Financial and performance monitoring systems is covered. Success can be related to both financial and non-financial items. Procedures as well as methodologies for evaluating results are important to get the right picture of the operating position. 
Group assignments are based on both teaching material and the material presented in the lectures.

This course covers negotiation, with a focus on negotiating skills, behavior in negotiation, and the legal aspects of contracts. The objective of the course is to prepare students, through active practice, to be effective in identifying opportunities for creating value, solving conflicts, conducting negotiations, designing deals and implementing them. The course is based on lectures, practical assignments and simulations. Lectures introduce theories and concepts in the field of negotiation, as well as the structure and common terms of contracts. Simulations allow students to participate in realistic negotiations that address common issues that arise in real-life business negotiations.

This course covers the basic methodology of macroeconomics and trains students in applying this to analyse various economic phenomena. Main topics are long-term economic growth, optimal saving, dynamic optimization, sticky prices, credit rationing and market failure in financial markets, long-term unemployment and the natural rate of unemployment, short- and long-term fluctuations in employment and production.

The objective of the course is to provide students with insight into law & economics, which focuses on the economic analysis of law and the legal process. The course will cover core concepts in law & economics, which lay the foundation of all economic analysis of law such as the price system, efficiency criteria (Pareto and Kaldor-Hicks) and the Coase theorem. The course will then proceed with coverage of the main subfields of law & economics, such as property law & economics, tort law & economics, contract law & economics, competition (or antitrust) law & economics, and economics of civil procedure and crime. The following topics provide some examples: Which rules provide the optimum protection of legal rights? Under which circumstances is government intervention justified? Does the initial allocation of rights impact resource allocation in the economy or can transfer of rights through contract promote efficiency? What are the costs and benefits associated with legal rules? Which liability rules minimize the social costs of accidents? What is the efficiency associated with contract remedies and breach? Can we allocate the benefits of mergers between producers and consumers? Is there economically efficient level of crime? Under what circumstances are settlements more efficient that suits? If time permits, topics in behavioral law & economics, game theory and the law and private enforcement of law in medieval Iceland will also be discussed. Even though law & economics is typically viewed as a field in legal studies, many of the theorems in the field have been advanced by economists, like Nobel prize winners Gary Becker, Ronald Coase, Oliver Hart, Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson. Equal emphasis will be placed on theoretical insights and practical applications. The course should be of interest to anyone curious about the impact of laws and regulations on human activity and economic efficiency, and particularly those in the field of law, economics, business and political science. Mathematical proficiency equal to that of the minimum requirements for admission to the University of Iceland is required. The course will be conducted in Icelandic.

The objective of the internship program is to develop students’ skills and expand their network of professional relationships and contacts. The internship for graduate students is 7.5 ECTS which equals 200 hours within a company or an organization. Students complete work assignments under the guidance of specialists in public and private organizations. The tasks shall be relevant to the specialization of the student’s studies. Each student can only complete one internship position. Further stipulations regarding the internship are laid out in each particular internship contract and contract addendum.

Internships are advertised separately at the beginning of each semester. Further information can be found here.

Please send inquiries to vidskipti@hi.is

The objective of the internship program is to develop students’ skills and expand their network of professional relationships and contacts. The internship for graduate students is 7.5 ECTS. Students complete work assignments under the guidance of specialists in public and private organizations. The tasks shall be relevant to the specialization of the student’s studies.Each student can only complete one internship position.
Further stipulations regarding the internship are laid out in each particular internship contract and contract addendum.
Internships are advertised separately at the beginning of each semester. Further information can be found here.

Please send inquiries to vidskipti@hi.is

Select topics from the BS course Finance II, but more in depth. Topics include cost of capital, evaluation and selection of financing alternatives for the long term and the short term, alternatives for the dividend policy and capital structure, bond issues, stock issues, credit rating, mergers and acquisitions, and financial restructuring. Corporate finance is discussed from the viewpoint of both the Chief Financial Officer, who needs to master both the practical and theoretical aspects of the position, as well as that of investors and creditors, who need to assess the credit rating and going concern.

The course will cover the main points of statistics and pricing in finance. Emphasis is placed on introducing students to the use of statistical and mathematical methods to analyze, price and obtain information about financial instruments. Emphasis is placed on real examples where students are trained to solve tasks similar to those they may have to solve in their jobs in the financial market.

In the statistical part of the course, ideas about continuous and sparse probability distributions, expected values, variance and standard deviation, confidence intervals, null hypotheses and linear regression analyses, both simple and multivariate, will be reviewed. The basic ideas of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) will also be reviewed.

The pricing part of the course will deal with the pricing of futures contracts on shares, bonds and currency and interest rate swaps, the construction of interest rate curves, as well as the types and characteristics of options.

Course content: Corporate and investment valuation. Discussion of the content and analysis of financial statements in the context of valuation of companies and investments. Discussion of various methods for valuation, suitable for valuation of different companies such as operating companies, real estate companies, banks, insurance companies, etc.

The course will cover the main points of statistics and pricing in finance. Emphasis is placed on introducing students to the use of numerical and mathematical methods to analyze, price and obtain information about financial instruments. Emphasis is placed on real examples where students are trained to solve tasks similar to those they may have to solve in the workplace.

The statistical part of the course will cover time series analysis. There, models such as auto regressive models (e. Auto regressive model, AR model) and models with moving averages (e. Moving-average model, MA model) will be introduced to play. Also the combination of ARMA, ARIMA and SARIMA models. Finally, conditional variance models or ARCH and GARCH models will be reviewed.

In the pricing section, we will cover binomial trees, Wiener processes, Ito's auxiliary theorem, the Black-Scoles-Merton model and the pricing of stock and currency options.

The purpose of the course is to teach students how to apply financial theory in practice. The course will present how to approach practical financial problems by using theory in the spreadsheet environment of Excel and in the coding environment of Visual Basic. Cornerstone financial models will be assessed using real world data. Upon completion of the course, students should be comfortable with pricing securities (bonds, stock, derivatives) and performing various types of risk evaluations. Topics covered include portfolio management and evaluation, assessment of equilibrium stock pricing models, option pricing (e.g. Monte Carlo), volatility predications (e.g. GARCH models), bond immunization strategies, term structure estimation, etc. In short, the purpose of the course is to help students learn how to use the tools necessary to use financial theory in a practical way which will benefit them in any finance or research related position.

In this course, the main types of fixed income instruments and interest rate derivatives will be covered. Emphasis will be placed on bonds in international context as well as the special features of the domestic bond market. Some of the issues covered will be: traditional, indexed-linked, callable and convertible bonds, credit and interest rate derivatives. Pricing, portfolio management and risk management for fixed income instruments and derivatives on those will also be covered.

The objective of the course is to afford the students an opportunity to apply the tools and theories of finance that they have studied in other courses (see the prerequisites), to complete assignments and define the conditions behind certain theories/models/methods, being used. Practical cases improve decision making skills, through confronting diverse and real cases. The goal of the assignments is not necessarily to work out one correct solution, as is common in both undergraduate and graduate assignments, but rather to recognize the underlying problem and use the appropriate financial tools and theories to deal with the problem. In fact, the cases are written in such a way that there is no one single correct solution. It is, however, possible to pose good or bad reasoning to support a solution. Thus it is important to be able to substantiate why a particular financial tool was selected as a solution to the problem.
Emphasis will be placed on students adopting the technical aspects of the subject matter, i.e. that they are able to present the problems under consideration clearly and comprehensively, and that they can use the appropriate calculations to solve them.

The main emphasis of the course is on the role of financial markets and institutions. The interplay between central bank and commercial banks is explored in relation to interest rate - and exchange rate determination. Furthermore, the connection between monetary and fiscal policy is mapped out, regarding both price and financial stability. The second emphasis of the course is on the role of the banking system in the economy and on the function of main asset markets. The main structural characteristics of Icelandic financial markets are described in comparison to foreign markets.

The course will take place in the basic concepts of financial information systems (AIS). Review the business processes, structures, and roles of financial information systems. System development and documentation methods will be accessed. Computer fraud and misuse of information systems will be discussed. Information security, labour regulations and international standards, accessibility, controls and measures will be reviewed to help increase the security of sensitive information. The nature of the review will be reviewed and an audit system will be introduced. Major corporate processes, such as revenue, charges, and manufacturing processes, will be reviewed and shown in a data flow shortage. The system development process and system development methods will be reviewed. Audits using IT audits have increased significantly over the last decade and many computer systems have seen the light of day, for example. Standadfusion and Adaptive GRC. The way information systems use affects procedures will be reviewed and will discuss how the use of artificial intelligence can affect risk assessment and assessment of the effectiveness of contemporary surveillance operations. Finally, system design, implementation and operation of information systems will be discussed. One group assignment. Efforts will be made to introduce to students the main financial information systems in use in the market. The project is based on both teaching materials and therefore material is presented in the lectures. 

The basic concepts and theories regarding ADA (Audit Data Analytics) are covered. Audit Data Standards (ADA) will also be introduced. Explore how data analytics can be used to perform automated audit procedures that are usually performed manually. Introducing the ISO PC 295 Audit Data Collection m.t.t. audit. 

Engage in the theoretical structure of companies related to Management Systems and Control Systems. Different types of units of responsibility (departments, divisions, business units.) 

The issues and legal sources of company law will be discussed. Different categories of companies and different points of view will be covered when resolving issues. The characteristics of the main types of financial companies will be explained. For discussion will be e.g. their financial basis and rules relating to the status of their counterparts, governance, the responsibilities of management and auditors and the legal status of members. The main topic of the course concerns private limited companies and public limited companies and the fundamentals that result from the limited liability of their owners, ie. on the protection of the funds of these companies. These are rules on the payment of share capital, registration of share capital, increase and decrease of share capital, own shares and rules on disbursement of capital with dividends or on dissolution of companies. The merger and division of public limited companies and the rules that must be met in that connection will be discussed. The moratorium, composition agreements and bankruptcy proceedings of companies will also be discussed. The role of auditors in connection with their work for companies will also be discussed.

The course is based on a series of cases according to the course outline. Each case is carefully prepared for this course and a guideline for the reading material is also provided and the readings are related to the cases in question. It is the case discussion that drives the learning process. The order of the cases reflect the design of the course. The first case addresses competitiveness from an overall point of view. Then the focus is on how international and specialized the distribution of the value chain has become in the developed countries, which has resulted in clusters and cluster activities. The cases also address the role of government and the role of institutes of collaboration. The cases covered address different key issues in many industries and in many parts of the world, both in developed and developing countries. The key subject is how to understand the key aspects of National Economic Strategy. The class uses the case teaching method (the Harvard model) and it is the students that do analyse the cases through their discussion which is facilitated by the teacher. The students also prepare an extensive team project (a cluster analysis) and present their results in class. In addition the student write an individual report on the subject.

This course will provide a deep understanding of the complex topic of international finance. It will introduce the theory of international finance and key concepts with reference to current issues and potential policy actions. International finance is sometimes viewed as the funding side of international trade, but as financial deepening has continued with increased capital flows driven by foreign direct investment and speculative investment between countries it has become much more important to sustainable prosperity of countries. Currently flows of funds are multiple higher than flows of goods than services. The current inflation crisis which is accompanied by monetary tightening in most developed economies effects capital flows in many countries. Why is that? This effects exchange rates and may have important implications in countries where short term external funding is heavily used. Abrupt changes in financial flows may have detrimental effects on both economic and financial stability in vulnerable economies. This course will help you understand the interaction between financial flows and economic and financial stability. Understanding economic sustainability is also crucial for global investment decisions. Is it likely that the currency of a country will remain stable and that the external positions is sustainable to the extent that it will support viable and strong economic growth underpinning good returns on investments. 

This topic is particularly important for investors and policy makers in open economies like Iceland, where investment and policy decisions are heavily influenced by currency movements and capital flows.

The course will start with introductions of financial concepts important for the class. Then we will learn about national accounts and balance of payments. Foreign exchange rates and international financial markets will be next. Then we will turn to theory about long and short run interaction of monetary policy, interest rates, production and exchange rates. Last we will focus on capital flows, debt sustainability and international financial cycles. Emphasis will be on current issues, including the increased risk posed by monetary policy tightening in major economies. There is a large policy decision spillover from large economies to other countries, which is an inherent part of intergraded financial markets and amplifies economic fluctuations and increases financial stability risks. We will explore how these risks accumulate and potentially materialize. Also how can policies lean against the accumulation of these risks or what kind of reactions are possible when capital flow crisis hit.    

In this course the learner will get overview of the main issues in operation of fishing companies. The main topics are: Fisheries management: The ITQ system and other methods used to manage fisheries around Iceland e.g. effort control and fishing gear limitations, comparison to other countries. Processing and markets: Overview of primary products and processing methods, along with the most important markets for Icelandic seafood: Operation of fishing companies in Iceland: The working environment and financial status of fishing companies: Historical overview of Icelandic fisheries: Practical training: Visit to vessel/processing plant and processing of fish into primary products in laboratory.

The aim of the course is for students to acquire a better knowledge and understanding of the main issues concerning the analysis of annual accounts that are prepared in accordance with international accounting standards. Special emphasis will be placed on fair value accounting and preferably the entry of financial instruments, e.g. equities, bonds and derivatives. The rules on impairment of financial assets and other assets will also be reviewed. The main requirements of IFRS standards regarding the recognition of fixed assets at fair value will also be explained, e.g. property, plant and equipment and investment assets, as well as reference to the recalculation of lease obligations in the annual accounts. 

Special emphasis on following accounting standards, 
IFRS 9: Financial Instruments,
IFRS 7: Financial Instruments: Disclosures 
IFRS 13: Fair value measurement 
IFRS 16: Leases 
IFRS 2: Share-based Payment 
IAS 32: Financial Instruments: Presentation 
IAS 40: Investment Property 

The course deals with accounting, methodology and ethics.
Accounting theory, will i.a. discusses: 1) standardization in the preparation of annual accounts, 2) conceptual systems for accounting, 3) development of accounting, 4) accounting concepts, 5) international accounting, and 6) various special problems in the preparation of accounts.
Methodology, will i.a. discusses: qualitative methodology, main methodology, population, data collection, quay square, presentation and structure of essays, etc.
Ethics and honesty related to work on a dissertation and its basic concepts.  

The course focuses on the nature and workings of international financial markets, in particular from the perspective of asset management. Topics covered include key theories on asset pricing and market efficiency, dynamic portfolio optimization, risk and return assessment, financial crises, behavioral finance, and ethical issues. The acquisition of technical expertise is emphasized; students should be able to systematically work on and apply the necessary formulas. In addition, emphasis is placed on students’ acquisition of solid understanding of the nature and workings of financial markets. The course is partly based on the BS course in Portfolio Management and students are expected to have completed this or a comparable course, or to familiarize themselves with the relevant material along with the material covered in this course.

This course is taught every other year. It will the taught in autumn 2024.

This course will familiarize students with the basic foundations of microeconomic theory and   how to apply that theory to analyse economic decision making, for both consumers and firms and organizations, and both in markets and the public sector. The topics cover both consumer and production theory, the different market structures, welfare economics, as well as analysing market changes and government intervention. In addition to the theoretical foundations of economic analysis, the course material will also encourage and engage students in discussion on applied microeconomics and students will be required to work on assignment/exercises.

The course covers ethical issues regarding business operations, executives’ connections with government, communication with government officials, and corporate social responsibility in general. A broad range of ethical concepts, codes of conduct, and business ethics will be discussed. Students will, furthermore, be introduced to different theories and analytical tools for use in handling ethical challenges in the business environment. Emphasis will be on case studies on ethical dilemmas in business operations. Guest lecturers will be sought from business and the community to share their practical experience and students will work on the solution of practical problems.

Industrial organization is a field of economics that studies the structure of and boundaries between firms and markets and the interactions of firms strategic behavior of firms. The study of industrial organization adds to the perfectly competitive model real-world frictions such as limited information, transaction costs, costs of adjusting prices, government actions, and barriers to entry by new firms into a market that may be associated with imperfect competition. It then considers how firms are organized and how they compete, and examines deviations from the model of perfect competition in exchanges between firms, and between firms and households. These deviations occur, for instance, because of oligopoly, monopoly, attempts to limit entry to markets, transaction costs, and incomplete information.

The purpose of Cost benefit analysis is to facilitate social decision making. The purpose of the course in Cost benefit analysis is to introduce to the student the foundation of CBA. CBA is used in many applications where governmental agencies at all evels are involved. CBA is routinely used to assist in making decisions regarding highway projects, health-care projects and so on. CBA is also useful to evaluate projects involving environmental damage or renewal. Topics include: Conceptually correct measures of social surplus vs. measures actually used. Estimating consumer surplus, producer surplus, and government revenue (i.e., social surplus) in primary and secondary markets, the social discount rate, uncertainty and the value of information. Existence value, contingent valuation and the value of time,crime, life, noise, and other pleasures and pains.

The course is intended as an introduction to tax law and tax practice applicable to business operations in Iceland and to offer some practice in solving simpler problems in this field. The term business operations refers on the one hand to various forms of legal persons and on the other hand to individual engaged in business operations or independent services in their own name. At the end of the course the student will be familiar with the taxes and duties levied on business operations in Iceland, the basic provisions of Icelandic law and other provisions on which the levy of the duty is based and certain procedures in solving tax problems.

The objective of this course is to introduce and explain the fundamental economic laws of natural resource utilization. Optimal utilisation patterns in static and dynamic contexts are examined. The reasons for frequently observed suboptimal utilization of natural resources are explained. On that basis, efficient management regimes for natural resource utilization are discussed. The economics of fisheries, energy and the environment are specifically examined. Standard methods of analytical economics are employed.

The course has three linked facets (taught in English) and is suitable for students of economics, business, finance and political science. 

• how the human species makes decisions
• how the decision-weaknesses of others can be strategically exploited
• insights and tools to improve students’ own decision-making now and in the future.

“Decisions have consequences”. In addition to providing an increased understanding of the science of economic and financial decision-making, this course improves the decision-making of each participant. The ability to make better decisions conveys a life-long, and broad, competitive advantage.

The instructor is an experimental game theorist and practicing strategist and strategic consultant. The course combines new trends in behavioral game theory and scientific strategy with application in business and geopolitics.

The class is interactive. Attendance of at least 80% is required as part of the assessment. The course is thus not suitable for students who cannot attend much due to a conflicting schedule.

Course topics include:

• Controlling emotion
• Neurological research on intuition, and leveraging one's own intuition.
• Influencing the decisions of others.
• Improving the decisions of groups and teams.
• Bubbles and crashes in the financial markets: understanding and possibly profiting from cycles.
• The science of risk versus how humans usually think about risk
• Mass movements, mobs, violence and crowd control, and strategizing in such situations.
• Politics behind the scenes.
• How the human brain really makes decisions (as opposed to the standard economic model of optimization).
• Identifying common errors and traps that prevent effective decisions.
• Analyzing one's own decision-making processes and pinpointing problem areas.
• Techniques to improve one’s judgments and decisions.

The course will cover in detail the rules of national law and international agreements on the conclusion and interpretation of double taxation agreements. The full tax liability of individuals and companies due to domicile in a state and its termination in one of the member states of a double taxation agreement will be discussed if a person or company is domiciled in two or more countries at the same time. Rules on limited tax liability and the division of taxing rights between member states of a double taxation treaty will be explained. Methods for mitigating double taxation under national law and a double taxation treaty will be discussed when income is taxed in two or more countries. It will be discussed how double taxation agreements can be used in tax planning with the establishment of companies in different countries. The impact of the EEC or ESS Convention on the tax laws of individual states, harmful tax competition and what has been done to eradicate it will be disclosed. Students will be trained in the use of double taxation agreements with problem solving solutions and realistic tasks. At the end of the course, it is assumed that the student has a good insight into the complex system that national law and double taxation agreements can spin on the financial measures of individuals and companies in modern society.

Transfer-Pricing Methods (TPM) often predict where profits and costs fall. TPM is an important factor in globalization, but TPM is governed by the rules of the home country and also the published rules of the OECD. TPM is closely related to tax law in the country in question. TPM rules are examined and their effects analyzed.

Basic concepts related to investment and valuation are covered, and the structure of the annual accounts and how the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow are discussed. A "fundamental analysis" is argued, and comparable multiple analysis method where value can be obtained. It will be examined how cash flow, profit, excess profit, normal profit, and valuation are related, as well as the effect on yield. Analysis of profitability to approach the "right value" of the company. Growth has a major impact on valuations related to, among other things, P / E and P / B. Valuation and sensitivity analysis methods. 
Valuation is closely related to financing and operability, and covered how valuation is related in one way or another to the concepts of financial position and going concern of companies. The concepts will be examined in the light of IFRS and ISA in a broad context and understanding of continuing operations. 
Financial and performance monitoring systems is covered. Success can be related to both financial and non-financial items. Procedures as well as methodologies for evaluating results are important to get the right picture of the operating position. 
Group assignments are based on both teaching material and the material presented in the lectures.

This course covers negotiation, with a focus on negotiating skills, behavior in negotiation, and the legal aspects of contracts. The objective of the course is to prepare students, through active practice, to be effective in identifying opportunities for creating value, solving conflicts, conducting negotiations, designing deals and implementing them. The course is based on lectures, practical assignments and simulations. Lectures introduce theories and concepts in the field of negotiation, as well as the structure and common terms of contracts. Simulations allow students to participate in realistic negotiations that address common issues that arise in real-life business negotiations.

This course covers the basic methodology of macroeconomics and trains students in applying this to analyse various economic phenomena. Main topics are long-term economic growth, optimal saving, dynamic optimization, sticky prices, credit rationing and market failure in financial markets, long-term unemployment and the natural rate of unemployment, short- and long-term fluctuations in employment and production.

The objective of the course is to provide students with insight into law & economics, which focuses on the economic analysis of law and the legal process. The course will cover core concepts in law & economics, which lay the foundation of all economic analysis of law such as the price system, efficiency criteria (Pareto and Kaldor-Hicks) and the Coase theorem. The course will then proceed with coverage of the main subfields of law & economics, such as property law & economics, tort law & economics, contract law & economics, competition (or antitrust) law & economics, and economics of civil procedure and crime. The following topics provide some examples: Which rules provide the optimum protection of legal rights? Under which circumstances is government intervention justified? Does the initial allocation of rights impact resource allocation in the economy or can transfer of rights through contract promote efficiency? What are the costs and benefits associated with legal rules? Which liability rules minimize the social costs of accidents? What is the efficiency associated with contract remedies and breach? Can we allocate the benefits of mergers between producers and consumers? Is there economically efficient level of crime? Under what circumstances are settlements more efficient that suits? If time permits, topics in behavioral law & economics, game theory and the law and private enforcement of law in medieval Iceland will also be discussed. Even though law & economics is typically viewed as a field in legal studies, many of the theorems in the field have been advanced by economists, like Nobel prize winners Gary Becker, Ronald Coase, Oliver Hart, Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson. Equal emphasis will be placed on theoretical insights and practical applications. The course should be of interest to anyone curious about the impact of laws and regulations on human activity and economic efficiency, and particularly those in the field of law, economics, business and political science. Mathematical proficiency equal to that of the minimum requirements for admission to the University of Iceland is required. The course will be conducted in Icelandic.

The objective of the internship program is to develop students’ skills and expand their network of professional relationships and contacts. The internship for graduate students is 7.5 ECTS which equals 200 hours within a company or an organization. Students complete work assignments under the guidance of specialists in public and private organizations. The tasks shall be relevant to the specialization of the student’s studies. Each student can only complete one internship position. Further stipulations regarding the internship are laid out in each particular internship contract and contract addendum.

Internships are advertised separately at the beginning of each semester. Further information can be found here.

Please send inquiries to vidskipti@hi.is

The objective of the internship program is to develop students’ skills and expand their network of professional relationships and contacts. The internship for graduate students is 7.5 ECTS. Students complete work assignments under the guidance of specialists in public and private organizations. The tasks shall be relevant to the specialization of the student’s studies.Each student can only complete one internship position.
Further stipulations regarding the internship are laid out in each particular internship contract and contract addendum.
Internships are advertised separately at the beginning of each semester. Further information can be found here.

Please send inquiries to vidskipti@hi.is