The Missing Curriculum Link: Personal Financial Planning

Abstract

With increasing personal and business financial challenges facing today’s professionals, we, as business school faculty, have a responsibility to offer the educational background that should enable rising professionals to successfully manage finances.  Unfortunately, the results of a recent analysis of curriculum offerings in Personal Financial Planning indicate that we, as faculty, have not fully accepted this responsibility.  Only three out of the 131 four-year institutions reviewed have a required Personal Financial Planning course in their curriculums. Quite frankly, we’re permitting launching a generation of students who are unprepared to manage both their own and potentially others’ financial affairs.  With that shortfall of a course offering as a backdrop, we suggest the following content for a required Personal Financial Planning course for all students majoring in Business Administration.