BUS 312Unit 1

Finance is time travel.

Name: Business Tutor
Address: Burnaby, BC, CA
Telephone: +1-604-916-5838
Price range: C$30–C$129

Why a dollar today is not a dollar next year, who makes financial decisions and for whom, and where the money comes from. Then compounding, discounting and choosing between two projects on a live timeline.

Part 1 · What finance is · Step 1 of 12

Every financial decision is a claim on future cash flows

money inmoney outt = years from today

Finance is the study of how people and firms get, spend and manage scarce resources. Buying a machine, taking a degree and buying a bond look like different choices, but they have the same shape: you pay now and receive cash later. On a timeline, money out is an arrow down, money in is an arrow up. Height shows the size; position shows when it arrives.

Try it: Switch between the three deals. Then open the bond and look at it from the side of the firm that issues it.

Decision

Paid now

$40,000

Received later

$60,000

Over

5 years

A bakery pays $40,000 today for a new oven. It brings in $12,000 more cash a year for five years. Notice you cannot just add the arrows up: $60,000 later is not the same as $60,000 today. Why not is step 3.

Financial decision = a claim on a stream of future cash flows

The whole course is about putting one value on streams like these.

Same shape every time: pay now (t = 0), receive later (t = 1, 2, 3 …)

Outflow first, inflows later. That is why firms need financial markets (step 9).

Practise

Practise the time value of money

Compounding, discounting, break-even rates and project choice, plus the firm: decisions, the finance function, business forms, agency costs and markets. Answer first, then check.

Score

0 / 0

Future valueQuestion 1 of 14

You deposit $4,500 in an account paying 4% a year and leave it for 6 years. How much is in the account at the end?

Midterm coming up and cash flow still feels slippery?

Bring your problem sets. We work through them together until every type feels routine.

Book a session Next toolNext: Statements, tax and CCA

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Still unsure about something? Message us and you will hear back within a day.

See all questions

In person, we meet at the SFU Burnaby campus or in a private meeting room near Brentwood in Burnaby. Online sessions run on Zoom. You choose when you book.
Create a free account, pick your course and a time, and send the request. We review it and confirm by email within 24 hours. The email has your time and place, or your Zoom link for online sessions.
After the session. Nothing is charged when you book.
Tell us within 24 hours and you get a full refund. No forms, no arguing.
Yes, and it is free. Open your account page and choose "Change time or notes" or "Cancel session", or message us on WhatsApp.
SFU Beedie accounting, finance, statistics and economics courses. The full list is on the Courses page. If yours is missing, message us and we will tell you within a day whether we can cover it.
Yes. Two or more students taking the same course can book together and each pays less per hour. Exam prep packages are also available before midterms and finals.
Yes. After each session you get an email report with what was covered, what to practise next and any files from the session. You can re-read them on your account page.

Finance is time travel.

Every financial decision is a claim on future cash flows

Practise the time value of money

Midterm coming up and cash flow still feels slippery?

Questions, answered.

Where do sessions take place?

How do I book, and how do I know it is confirmed?

When do I pay?

What if I am not happy with a session?

Can I move or cancel a session?

Which courses do you cover?

Do you run group sessions?

Do I get notes after the session?