Course detail

International Finance

FP-ifKAcad. year: 2026/2027

The course focuses on the following areas: an introduction to international finance, the international monetary system, the balance of payments, exchange rate mechanisms, the European Monetary Union, international financial institutions, financial management in multinational companies, terms of payment and the financing of international trade, export credit agencies, foreign direct investment, financial derivatives and hedging.

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

6

Assignment to study programme types

Master's

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

prof. Ing. Mária Režňáková, CSc.

Department

Department of Economics (ÚE)

Entry knowledge

Students are required to have a knowledge of corporate finance (financial management) and macroeconomics.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

The course concludes with an examination. The final mark is based on a seminar paper and a final test.
The seminar paper may be written individually or in pairs. The paper must meet standard requirements for formatting and content (title page, introduction, bibliography, etc.). The paper should be 10–20 pages in length and should contain at least 15 citations (with an emphasis on the use of academic sources when dealing with older topics). Students are expected to use academic English.
The paper must be submitted before the presentation date; the expected duration of the presentation is 15 minutes plus discussion. The paper is assessed on the basis of the following criteria: formal criteria, structure, fulfilment of the paper’s objective, accuracy of citations, presentation (clarity, communication with the audience) and adherence to the deadline. A maximum of 50 marks can be awarded; the pass mark is 25 marks.
The final examination is written and consists of 5 open-ended questions and 5 closed questions (multiple-choice, 4 options, 1–4 correct answers), with a maximum of 5 marks per question. The pass mark is 25 marks.
The examination is graded according to the ECTS scale.

Aims

The goal is to get to know and understand:

  • Framework conditions for the management of corporate finance in international area;
  • Payment conditions in export contracts, taking into account the potential risks;
  • Information sources for assessing the business and financial solvency of foreign business partners or other parties;
  • Disposable Payment and Paying-hedging instruments in foreign trade, which may be different variations of smooth payments or documentary payments;
  • Short-and medium-and long-term refinancing instruments, such as bank loans (eg, state-supported by the Czech Export Bank), factoring, forfeiting, export leasing, etc.;
  • Various forms of FX hedging, contracts providing exchange rate risk, credit risk by providing export credit insurance and various forms of bank or government guarantees.


Students will be able to identify individual needs according to the area of company international activities, they will be aware of the financial backing of these needs, they will be able to define and apply external resources for export financing, as well as methods of hedging.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

KRUGMAN, Paul R., OBSTFELD, Maurice and MELITZ, Marc. International economics: Theory and policy. 10th ed. Pearson, 2015. ISBN 978-1-292-01955-0. (EN)
LAURENT, L. Jacque. International corporate finance: Value creation with currency derivatives in global capital markets.Nashville, TN: John Wiley & Sons, 2014. ISBN 978-1-118-78186-9. (EN)
MADURA, J. International financial management. 12th ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2015. ISBN 978-1-133-94783-7. (EN)
MISHKIN, Frederic S. Economics of Money, Banking and Financial Markets, Global Edition. Pearson Education UK, 2015. EISBN: 978129209419. (EN)
SHENKAR, Oded, Yadong LUO a Tailan CHI. International business. 4th edition. New York ; London: Routledge, 2022. ISBN 978-0-367-47237-5. (EN)

Recommended reading

BALDWIN, R. – WYPLOSZ, CH. The economics of European integration. 4th ed. McGraw-Hill Education - Europe, 2012. ISBN 978-0077131722.
MORRISON, J. The international business environment: global and local marketplaces in a changing world. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4039-3691-2.
STIGLITZ, Joseph E. a Miguel d'Escoto BROCKMANN. The Stiglitz report: reforming the international monetary and financial systems in the wake of the global crisis. New York, N.Y: The new press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-59558-520-2. (EN)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme MGR-UFRP-KS Master's 2 year of study, winter semester, compulsory, fundamental theoretical courses of the profile core

Type of course unit

 

Guided consultation in combined form of studies

16 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Ing. Viktor Hřebačka, Ph.D.

Syllabus

  1. Definition of the subject of international finance. Balance of payments. Development of the international monetary system. Exchange rate systems. European Monetary Union. International financial institutions
  2. Financing of multinational corporations. Foreign investment and investment strategies of multinational corporations. Capital structure and capital planning in multinational corporations. Introduction to portfolio theory and international investment. Financial derivatives and currency hedging
  3. Presentation of seminar papers

Self-study

100 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

prof. Ing. Mária Režňáková, CSc.

Individual preparation for an ending of the course

40 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

prof. Ing. Mária Režňáková, CSc.