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Turner College Finance Professor Brett Cotten Raising the Bar in MBA-Level Finance Education

In prepping for his Managerial Finance course in the Turner College's MBA program, finance professor Brett Cotten spent a lot of time revising and restructuring it to fit the new hybrid format. To effectively teach in the new format, he recorded, edited, and eventually published 24 different videos to deliver course content. Cotten also wanted to ensure the class was practical, so he gives students the opportunity to apply what they were learning to realistic business situations. To accomplish this, he utilizes many class examples, sets aside time for in-class assignments, and makes projects a substantial part of the course. "While people generally think of finance as quantitative, and it is, my projects always include a written component because I believe it is critical that students be able to clearly communicate their assumptions, methods, and the results of their analyses. I also want students to be able to apply the concepts and tools they learn, and these projects allow them to do so," Cotten stated. One of the projects is a financial statement analysis wherein students analyze the financial statements of a publicly traded company in order to gain insight into the firm’s profitability, efficiency, liquidity, and solvency. Students conduct their analyses using financial ratios and other tools that are discussed, and then they present the results of their analyses about the firm’s financial strength and health. The second project is a capital budgeting project in which students analyze a plan under consideration by a firm. Students are required to build proforma financial statements and identify the cash flows associated with the plan. After identifying the relevant cash flows, students use a number of capital budgeting tools to evaluate the plan. For the most recent iteration of the course, the students rewarded Cotten's efforts with a 4.76 (out of five) on the evaluation instrument, in addition to providing a number of written comments listing the benefits of the course. Those efforts are now being recognized through Cotten's nomination for the 2026 Turner College Graduate Teaching Award. 
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