Institute of Finance
Establishment of the Institute
The Institute of Finance commenced its operations on 1 October 2019, within the Kolegium Ekonomii, Finansów i Prawa, as a result of structural and organisational transformations at the Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Krakowie (UEK). The Institute comprises eight departments which originated from the former Faculty of Finance and Law (previously: Faculty of Finance) operating until 30 September 2019.
The Faculty of Finance at UEK was established in the 2002/2003 academic year and from 1 October 2016 it was transformed into the Faculty of Finance and Law. The establishment of the Faculty was a consequence of the University’s intensive development over the past two decades.
This growth manifested in the development of scientific staff, increase in number of students, research and publication achievements — primarily in the Faculty of Economics, where finance-oriented departments operated, a department researching modern applications of accounting in microeconomic processes, and a department focusing on research into environmental protection and financing of the natural environment.
The creation of the Faculty was also made possible by the development of mathematical sciences and their application in economics and finance. Equally successful was the development of legal science and its various specialisations, including business law, commercial law, securities law, financial law, banking law and tax law. The Faculty of Finance and Law was the result of the development both of the Faculty of Economics and of the Faculty of Management, which hosted the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Law.
Mission of the Institute
The mission of the Institute of Finance derives from the historical motto of the University — Rerum cognoscere causas et valorem (“to know the causes and value of things”).
This mission is expressed through educational and research activities that extend knowledge in the areas of social sciences and legal sciences, the training of highly-qualified staff in the field of economic sciences, the building of proper social attitudes, and the upbringing of youth in the spirit of respect for the law and democracy.
Activities of the Institute
At the Institute, first-cycle studies are offered in the field of Finance and Accounting, in both Polish and English, and in both full-time and part-time modes. For second-cycle (master’s) studies, also in full-time and part-time modes, students can deepen their knowledge in five study fields whose curricula have been adapted to the needs of the market.
These, in addition to Finance and Accounting, include: Financial Audit; Banking and Risk Management; Financial Markets; and Public Finance and Local Government Finance.
Since the 2018/2019 academic year, the Institute has offered the possibility of an Individual Study Programme expanded with the subject “Tutorials” within the Multi-Directional Individual Educational Path (WISE). WISE aims at modern and interdisciplinary education using a master-student relationship. This offer is addressed to students of full-time first- and second-cycle studies.
Pursuing its fundamental aims, the Institute of Finance strives to intensify teaching at postgraduate studies. Demand for this type of knowledge is growing along with the development of the financial sector in Poland and the general development of economic relations.
In particular, the Institute offers postgraduate studies in the fields of financial analysis; banking; financial and managerial accounting; financial management; tax advisory; public procurement law; local government finance; and business insurances.
Human-Resources Potential
The departments constituting the Institute of Finance conduct interdisciplinary research on contemporary financial phenomena and processes, the role of money in the market economy, financial institutions, financial instruments, public finance, local-government finance, banking, monetary policy, capital markets, as well as on the theory of accounting and financial accounting, and the economics of environmental protection and sustainable development.
Staff of the Institute implement projects and expert analyses in cooperation with various entities, particularly financial institutions. In all disciplines the research outputs of the Institute’s staff are noticed on a national as well as international scale, and scientific-research activity constitutes the dominant area of professional activity.
The Institute’s staff also hold responsible functions in various public institutions, financial-market entities, supervisory bodies of corporations, and national and international scientific societies. The human-resources potential of the Institute of Finance consists of highly-qualified researchers with practical experience and collaboration with the economic environment, which means that this is a dynamic research and teaching unit of the University.
Graduates
Graduates of the Institute (previously the Faculty of Finance and Law) are valued employees and easily find employment primarily in banks, consulting firms, brokerage offices, investment-fund services, accounting offices, tax offices, tax-advisory firms, state and local-government administration, enterprises of various sectors, European Union institutions in Poland and other EU member states; in risk-management departments in financial and non-financial institutions; in eco-investment funds; audit companies; insurance companies; planning-management services of local-government bodies at all levels; public-finance and municipal-asset management institutions; and various other institutions or practising as freelancers, e.g., tax advisor, investment advisor, statutory auditor, accountant, dealer or broker.
The Director of the Institute of Finance, Prof. UEK Dr hab. Elżbieta Kubińska, is responsible for decisions regarding the course of the above-mentioned studies. All student applications from these fields should be submitted to the Director of the Institute of Finance and filed at the current Dean’s Office.