GBUS 8190

Course Description

This course is about blending finance, tax law, accounting, and strategy in the analyses of high-value-added business decisions. This course is not about: tax compliance (the correct way to file tax returns), tax complexity (finding loopholes), tax minimization (beating Uncle Sam), or tax evasion (filing illegal returns). Students are provided with a framework for evaluating the priority that taxes, which directly or indirectly pervade most business transactions, have in business decisions. Students will explore how taxes affect a variety of fundamental business issues such as forming a company, compensating employees, attracting investors, and positioning worldwide operations. While the topics deal primarily with U.S. income taxes, the course's conceptual framework applies irrespective of time and jurisdiction. Students seeking careers in entrepreneurship, management consulting, investment banking, venture capital, or industry, especially general management, corporate finance, or accounting, will find this course of interest. No prior knowledge of taxation is required. The principal modes of instruction are cases, articles, and the group project that enables each student to tailor the course to address an area of personal interest.