Applications to MBA programs across the US are declining. WSJ's Jason Bellini traveled to Boston University's Questrom Business School to hear from students who explain why the investment is worth it.

Money makes the world go round, and it’s at the centre of our day-to-day lives for a variety of reasons. A 2018 study found that three quarters of Britons were worried about their finances, and further research concluded that over half of UK adults are concerned that their mental health is suffering in relation to money worries. So, what’s the current situation and how can we improve on teaching young people how to manage their finances?

We take a look, with some help from Business Rescue Expert, company liquidation specialists.

The millennial challenge

Millennials have brought a host of gaps in the teaching of finance to the surface, and countless studies have concluded that when it comes to money, this generation haven’t been taught adequate lessons. Millennials’ spending patterns stand in stark contrast to their predecessors; they’re keen to splash out on experiences and don’t often take to the idea of big commitment purchases seriously — for example, houses. Millennial spending habits signify the disparity of their knowledge and attitude towards budgeting — research has found that 60% of these youngsters said they are willing to spend more than £3.11 on a single cup of coffee, while only 29% of baby boomers would splurge for caffeine. A lack of financial literacy in education has undoubtedly played a role in this, with many young people under the illusion that simply earning a lot of money means that you’ll never be in any debt, along with a general unwillingness when it comes to making sacrifices for the sake of budgeting. One survey found that 42% of teenagers said that they wanted their parents to talk more about finances, and a staggeringly low 32% said that they knew how credit card fees and interest worked. Teenage years are pivotal points for learning, so why is financial literacy being left out?

Revised curriculums

Finances are complex and teaching them can require a lot of technicality and practical examples in order to make any sense. Lessons in finance differ from core subjects like English and Science, as they provide life skills which, if not learned, will be detrimental as kids grow older and enter adult life. One UK primary school created its own bank, to combat ‘below average’ financial literacy learning. Despite financial literacy being introduced to the national curriculum in England in 2014, not everyone believes that school is the place for financial education. Some believe the duty should be on parents to teach their children the real value of money and how to approach it. It’s worth noting that in private schools, faith schools, and academies, it isn’t a compulsory part of the curriculum, so many youngsters would still miss out on these lessons. A lot of schools who do incorporate it into the school day compartmentalize it into general ‘citizenship’ lessons, but it’s arguable whether enough emphasis is placed on it here.

The benefits of teaching financial literacy

The areas of financial literacy currently covered under the national curriculum include savings and investments, pensions, mortgages, insurance, and financial products. It’s still a relatively recent introduction to schools, so not all teachers may feel confident in teaching it yet, due to the specialised, complex nature of the topics. There is also the matter of religious differences in the approach to and teaching of these finance lessons. Followers of the Islamic faith are prohibited from using any form of compound interest. This relates to things like conventional mortgages, student loans and car loans, all of which are commonplace in many other cultures.

For this reason, making financial literacy universal, understandable, and an essential part of learning can be difficult. Maths might seem like an obvious place to drop lessons of finance in amongst existing content, but debate is rife as to whether subjects like trigonometry are still deserving for a place on exam papers, when finance lessons could take their place and provide long-lasting life skills.

While there is undoubtedly an absence and lack of depth in financial literacy, these lessons could become more popular in the future. These skills will prove invaluable for youngsters as they progress through life, and they could eventually counteract the stereotype of a financially irresponsible or illiterate millennials.

Personal finance should be included as a standalone subject in UK schools, affirms Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group.

Mr Green is speaking out days after the leader of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said that learning about finances is as important as learning about sex and relationships.

The Archbishop, Justin Welby, said: “Research has shown that habits and attitudes to money are already being formed at the age of seven.” He added, “We would like to see financial education receive parity with sex and relationships education.”

Mr Green states: “I fully support the view that we need greater and more robust personal finance education in schools.

“Currently, financial education is not a standalone subject, but is instead included within other subjects, such as mathematics.

“It’s a step in the right direction, does not go nearly far enough. It should be a defined subject, alongside more traditional subjects such as English and science.”

He continues: “Financial literacy is a fundamental life skill for successfully participating in modern society, yet it is consistently overlooked or not given the credence it deserves.

“Today’s world is increasingly complex and children need to be taught how to manage their own financial futures by learning how to budget, make sensible decisions for everyday matters, how to effectively save, how to avoid taking on unnecessary and/or avoidable debt, how to analyse and compare financial products, and make provision for their healthcare and old age.

“Contributing to the complexities are monumental technological advances, economic shifts and developments in transactions and communications.”

He goes on to add: “Low levels of financial literacy can have a far-reaching impact on individuals, their families and wider society. Indeed, it was one of the factors that many experts believe help exacerbate the global financial crisis that began in 2008. It is also often connected to greater reliance on state support, and lower standards of living.

The deVere CEO concludes: “Financial literacy can equip young people with the confidence, skills and know-how to obtain future financial freedom for themselves and their families – and this is why we should all support the growing calls for personal finance to be a standalone subject in schools.”

(Source: deVere Group)

Corporate hiring plans for 2017 point to robust employment opportunities for graduates of MBA and business master's programs, according to a new employer survey report from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Globally, 86% of companies plan to hire recent MBA graduates this year, up from 79% that hired them in 2016. Demand for these MBA graduates is strongest in the United States and Asia-Pacific, where 9 in 10 companies plan to hire these candidates.

"Despite the political uncertainty about the status of immigration and work visas in the United States and other parts of the world, companies are keen to hire graduates from this year's MBA and business master's programs, including international candidates," said Sangeet Chowfla, GMAC president and CEO. "This signifies the value these programs create for students and the vital role their skillsets bring employers."

At the time GMAC conducted the Corporate Recruiters Survey in early 2017, respondents in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the United States declared their companies are staying the course with plans to hire international graduate business candidates. Overall, 59% of the survey respondents plan to hire or are willing to hire MBA and business master's graduates requiring legal documentation - a gain of seven%age points from 2016.

Most US companies (55%) either plan to hire (28%) or are open to hiring (27%) an international candidate in 2017 - up from 49% that had such plans last year. The technology industry in the U.S. is the most likely to hire international business graduates this year. Half of U.S. tech firms (50%) plan to hire such candidates in 2017 - up from 27% that planned to hire them last year.

GMAC conducted the 16th annual Corporate Recruiters Survey in February and March 2017 together with survey partners EFMD and MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance (MBA CSEA), in association with 97 participating graduate business schools. Survey findings are based on responses from 959 employers representing more than 628 companies in 51 countries worldwide. Two additional organizations, CEMS and RelishMBA, assisted with recruitment of survey participants.

Additional Key Findings

As the outlook for MBA hiring continues to look bright, so do projected hiring trends for 2017 business master's graduates, especially those with Master in Management and Master of Accounting degrees.

The largest increase in hiring demand compared with 2016 is seen in the share of companies that plan to hire Master in Management graduates; globally, 59% plan to hire recent Master in Management graduates, up nine%age points from last year.
Notably, 70% of manufacturing companies plan to hire Master in Management graduates in 2017, up from 50% of companies that hired them in 2016.
Data analytics expertise continues to be in high demand. Sixty-nine% of employers plan to place recent graduate business school hires into data analytics roles in 2017, just trailing marketing, business development, and finance roles - each with 71%.

For the first time, this year's survey report breaks out the responses specifically among start-up companies, revealing a promising 2017 hiring outlook for business school graduates. Three in 4 start-ups plan to hire recent MBA graduates in 2017, up from the 52% that hired them in 2016. More start-ups also plan to make 2017 hires from graduates of Master in Management (37%), Master of Accounting (23%), and Master of Finance (25%) programs.

Globally, more than half of survey respondents (52%) report that MBA base salaries will increase at (34%) or above (18%) the rate of inflation in 2017. Latin America (74% of respondents) and Asia-Pacific (59%) have the greatest share of companies that plan to increase MBA salaries either at or above the rate of inflation this year.

A majority of European and U.S. companies (57% and 51%, respectively) will maintain 2016 salary rates for new MBA hires in 2017. The projected median base starting salary for recent MBA graduates in the U.S. in 2017 is US$110,000, up from a median of US$105,000 in 2016. This represents an 83% premium over recent bachelor's-degree holders in the U.S., who can expect to receive a median starting salary of US$60,000 in 2017.

"Once again, this year's report brings to light the continued value of the MBA degree to the marketplace," said Megan Hendricks, executive director of MBA CSEA. "The increased interest in specialty master's talent provides further indication of the relevance of these programs at our member

(Source: GMAC)

Around one in four students in the 15 countries and economies* that took part in the latest OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test of financial literacy are unable to make even simple decisions on everyday spending, while only one in ten can understand complex issues, such as income tax.

Some 48,000 15‑year-olds took part in the test, which evaluated the knowledge and skills of teenagers around money matters and personal finance, such as dealing with bank accounts and debit cards, or understanding interest rates on a loan or mobile payment plan. This is the second time PISA has been used to assess students’ ability to face real-life situations involving financial issues and decisions.

“Young people today face more challenging financial choices and more uncertain economic and job prospects given rapid socioeconomic transformation, digitalisation and technological change; however, they often lack the education, training and tools to make informed decisions on matters affecting their financial well-being,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, launching the report in Paris with H.M Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the UN Secretary‑General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development and Honorary Patron of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion. “This makes it even more important that we step up our global efforts to help improve the essential life skill of financial literacy.”

Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Guangdong (China) had the highest average score, followed by the Flemish Community of Belgium, the participating Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island), the Russian Federation, the Netherlands and Australia.

Students who do well in financial literacy are also likely to perform well in the PISA reading and mathematics assessment, and students who have weak financial literacy skills are likely to do poorly in the other core PISA subjects. But on average across the 10 participating OECD countries and economies, around 38% of the financial literacy score reflects factors unique to financial skills.

The gender gap in financial literacy is much smaller than in reading or mathematics. Only in Italy do boys perform better than girls, while girls do better than boys in Australia, Lithuania, the Slovak Republic and Spain.

Socioeconomically‑advantaged students scored much higher than less-advantaged ones. Native-born students also performed better than immigrant students with similar socioeconomic status, particularly in the Flemish Community of Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. The flip side of the strong link between socioeconomic status and performance is that parental support is not enough and there is a role for educational institutions to play in ensuring a level playing field.

On average, 64% of students across OECD countries and economies participating in the study earn money from some formal or informal activity, such as working outside school hours or doing occasional informal jobs. About 59% of students receive money from an allowance or pocket money.

The survey also revealed that, on average, 56% of students hold a bank account, but almost two out of three students do not have the skills to manage an account and cannot interpret a bank statement.

*Participating countries and economies: Australia, Belgium (Flemish Community), Brazil, Canada (British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island), Chile, China (Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Guangdong), Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, the Russian Federation, the Slovak Republic, Spain and the United States.

(Source: OECD)

Florida Atlantic University College of Business has launched a new Center for Forensic Accounting, which will develop and disseminate knowledge on this growing area of study to students, government and the business community.

The Center is one of the first in the country and the only one in Florida to focus on forensic accounting, a field that generally employs a mix of accounting, auditing and investigation to scrutinize financial information and other forms of evidence to provide analysis to courts of law, corporations and others. Michael Crain, D.B.A., is the Center's director and an FAU faculty member since 2008. He has more than 30 years of experience as a practicing certified public accountant specializing in forensic accounting, economic damages and business valuation.

"In addition to education and outreach, one of the missions of the Center is to develop knowledge in forensic accounting and fraud detection and prevention," said Crain. "We're engaging with people who are directly responsible for regulating, detecting and reducing financial fraud and misrepresentation."

The Center recently held a joint two-day conference with the US Treasury Department on the "Forensic Accounting and the Bank Secrecy Act," which attracted participants from the banking industry, forensic accounting, certified fraud examiners and law enforcement from the federal, state and local levels.

FAU has the oldest forensic accounting concentration within a Master of Accounting degree program in the United States. The College of Business currently offers a Masters of Accounting with three different concentrations related to forensic accounting, including in digital accounting forensics and data analytics first offered in fall 2016, and a concentration in business valuation that was added several years earlier. FAU's School of Accounting Executive Programs offers these concentrations as two-year traditional in-person and online degree programs.

"Our School of Accounting is one of the largest in Florida and we support the development in this vital area of accounting that can help so many people," said George Young, Ph.D., director of FAU's School of Accounting.

The median compensation for forensic accountants with certification in the United States is $105,000, according to a 2015-16 global salary study by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Forensic accounting and related fields in fraud and litigation support have been among the top niches in accounting firms in recent years, Crain said.

(Source: Florida Atlantic University College of Business)