CBE launches new investment banking certification program

Lehigh and Thomson Reuters have launched the ThomsonOne certification program at the university—the first such program for investment banking introduced by a U.S. business school. The certification program is the result of a growing partnership between Lehigh and Thomson Reuters, one of the world’s leading sources of information for businesses and professionals.

The new program is a win-win situation for students and industry, says Anne Anderson, one of the Joseph R. and Amy M. Perella Chairs of finance and the director of the Financial Services Laboratory (FSL) in Lehigh’s College of Business and Economics.
 
“Our plan is to educate students so they have the same skills as a junior investment banker before they ever leave the university,” says Anderson. “When they enter their first position, they will be better able to compete not only with their peers but also with those who are already on the job.”

Mary Burke, vice president for investment banking at Thomson Reuters, agrees.

“ThomsonOne educates students in the use of rapidly expanding information technology solutions,” Burke says. “It will ensure that students are accustomed to and familiar with the deal-making workflow across the financial services industry and are well-equipped as they begin their careers.”
An edge in the job market

The ThomsonOne certification, which was first offered last spring through the FSL, seeks to give students an edge in the job market and help them achieve their career goals.

Other databases provided by Thomson Reuters are used by students for class projects and by faculty for research. For the certification, students work with a ThomsonOne trainer to learn about mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity deals, SEC filings, ownership, market analysis, company searches and other topics using the tools found at www.thomsonone.com.

The ThomsonOne product is considered a premier news source that is found at a multitude of workplace sites, including those in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, scientific, healthcare and media markets. For students focused on a career in investment banking, learning the ThomsonOne product is a critical skill set to have as they enter the workforce.

Anderson says the ThomsonOne certification program was designed with the needs of Lehigh students in mind.

“We worked with Thomson Reuters to create a program so our students would be capable of managing [financial] data the first day on the job,” she says. “This gives them an extraordinary edge in the workplace and saves their future employers both time and money needed to train entry-level employees.”

The certification consisted of four workshops and four labs extending over eight weeks last spring. A total of 26 junior and senior finance majors participated. The program will be expanded to 12 weeks this fall semester.

Joseph Venables ’11 says the certification class “was set up [in a way that] provides students with a clear understanding of how to use all aspects of the ThomsonOne program and how to use the retrieved data.”

“The tool is a great resource for preparing for interviews as it provides a vast amount of detail on many companies,” Venables adds. “This knowledge helps provide students with a competitive advantage both going into the interview process as well as when they arrive on the first day of work.”

Photography by John Kish IV