IC207: Trends in Finance

Module code: IC207

Module provider: Finance and Accounting; Henley Business School

Credits: 20

Level: 5

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Antony Moore, email: t.moore@icmacentre.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 9 September 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module provides students with an overview of key financial events from the past, with the aim of better understanding the financial system today and gaining insights into potential future developments. The first half of the module will cover key themes in financial history by exploring the linkages between innovations, bubbles and crises through case studies. The second half of the module will focus on topics of current interest, encouraging the students to place these within a longer historical context and to consider their wider contemporary relevance. The topics covered may change from year to year depending on current events. Students will further develop their communication and independent study skills via coursework essays and contributions to in-class discussions

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

• identify and explain key issues and events in the historical development of finance
• discuss the significance of current events and potential future developments in finance by placing them within their wider historical, social and global context
• evaluate the impact of historical financial innovations and consider the potential costs and benefits of current innovations
• demonstrate their ability to work independently and to collaborate in groups, in order to carry out research and to articulate arguments effectively, both in writing and orally.

Module content

1. Module introduction
2. Financial innovations in history
3. Financial bubbles in history
4. Financial crises in history
5. Financial history case study
6. What (good) is finance?
7. Current topics in finance. These will vary depending on what is topical and the potential to invite guest speakers. Previous topics have included: behavioural economics, cryptocurrencies, cyber risks, ethics in banking, financial regulation, and the power of narratives in finance.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Each topic is introduced by a lecture and followed by more detailed discussion in small group seminars. There will also be seminars focused on presentation and essay writing skills and an opportunity for students to give a short presentation on their chosen topic for the second coursework assignment.

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark. 

There will be short quizzes about each week’s topic that students can use to check their understanding, as well as discussion boards where they can post their ideas and receive comments from the module convenor and fellow students. 

Students can choose to give a short presentation about their chosen topic for their second coursework assignment during a seminar and receive feedback from the module convenor and their fellow students, or they can arrange an individual meeting with the module convenor to discuss their ideas. 

Reassessment

Additional costs