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ABFIB students learn about the world of business through required courses and optional electives and projects.

Required Courses:

Introduction to Business

The Introduction to Business is a full-year freshman-level course held twice a week. This core course is divided into three sections: Introduction to Business, Introduction to Business Law, and Current Business Topics. The objectives of this course include defining the nature of U.S. business and identifying its main goals, describing different types of global economic systems according to the means by which they control the factors of production through input and output models, and showing how demand and supply affect resource distribution in the United States. Students will also be able to identify the elements of private enterprise and explain the various degrees of competition in the U.S. economic system, as well as explain the criteria for evaluating the success of an economic system in meeting its goals. In addition, the topics of business ethics and social responsibility will be covered.  

Advanced Business Topics I

The first half of the year includes the basics of an operational theory of management presented under the functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. The emphasis is on the manager’s role in creating and maintaining an internal environment for performance. Cases are presented and discussed in detail. During the second half of the year, the course is designed to be an introduction to the study of the methods and institutions involved in the movement of goods and services from producers to customers. Marketing will enable students to understand the process, development, opportunities and strategies in developing a marketing mix. Emphasis will be placed on consumerism, social and legal aspects of the process, market understanding and decision-making. We will examine pricing, distribution, promotion and product policies.

Advanced Business Topics II

Advanced Business Topics II (ABT II) is a full-year sophomore-level course held twice a week. Course content includes an in-depth understanding of financial accounting concepts and financial statement preparation and analysis, an understanding of U.S. and international financial markets (interest rates, bond and stock markets), the structure and functioning of U.S. and international financial institutions and corporate financial management topics. The course will incorporate lectures, power-point presentations, classroom discussions, use of the Financial Trading System (FTS) course software and a variety of online analytic tools and data sources. Students will be expected to keep up with key economic data, economic, political and current events, and developments in the financial markets. There will be significant classroom discussion dealing with current world events and their financial consequences.

Business Applications

Business Applications is a full-year sophomore course held twice a week.  Students begin the course by developing an understanding of the many roles of technology in a business.  Next, students perform If-Then analysis in Excel to make business decisions.  The next part of the course is centered on a database project in which students will design and create their own database in Microsoft Access.  Finally, students will use business simulations to utilize the knowledge that they have learned in all of their freshmen and sophomore year business courses and test their decision making skills in an interactive environment.    

IB Microeconomics HL

IB Microeconomics HL is a full-year junior year class held four times a week. In this course, students will begin by developing an understanding of economics as a social science and then move on to introductory concepts such as scarcity, choice, the Production Possibilities Frontier, and rationing systems. The majority of the time in this course will be spent on microeconomic theory: markets, supply and demand, equilibrium price and quantity, price controls, elasticities, theory of the firm and market failure. Students will apply economic theory to current events and demonstrate their ability to evaluate current events using economic models.

IB Macroeconomics HL

IB Macroeconomics HL is a full-year senior-level class held four times a week. In this course, students will study the macroeconomic principles that drive the global economy; also, they will gain an appreciation for the economic developments and policy tradeoffs that dominate our news headlines and political discourse. Furthermore, they will learn to analyze and measure the state of the economy and understand the determinants of economic growth; the tradeoffs between inflation and unemployment, demand-driven and supply-side macroeconomic theories, fiscal and monetary policy; international trade and foreign exchange markets and global economic development. We will spend time in class discussing and analyzing current world news and economic developments in order to apply economic theories to real-world situations.

International Baccalaureate Program

All ABFIB students will partake in the International Baccalaureate Program (IB) during their junior and senior years. The IB curriculum includes academically challenging courses and final examinations, which prepare students for success at universities and life beyond. It is a balanced program that has been designed to address the intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being of students. The program has gained recognition and respect from the world’s leading universities.

The full IB Diploma Program is exclusively available to students of ABFIB, though students from other academies are welcome to request admittance into the IB humanities courses.

Business Scope & Sequence

Elective Courses and Projects:

Financial Markets & Trading Level I

This course is a one-trimester elective open to all students at BCA. Conducted in a real-time trading room environment, it serves as an introduction to the financial markets. The course format will be lecture and classroom discussion based, and students will have opportunities to use the Financial Trading System (FTS) course software to learn about introductory stock and options markets concepts. Course content will include detailed discussion of current economic developments and stock and index equity options markets, as well as extensive participation in FTS Real-time trading cases and related analytic tools. Students will be expected to develop and maintain a Financial Analysis Template to analyze and evaluate company financial performances. Students will also be expected to keep a Trading Journal to summarize the results of their investment decisions and to keep up with key economic data, political and economic current events and developments in financial markets.

Financial Markets and Trading Level II

This course is a one-trimester elective that continues to build on the stocks and options material presented in the Financial Markets & Trading Level I elective. Classes will comprise of lectures, classroom discussions and hands-on use of the Financial Trading System (FTS) course software to learn about Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), intermediate-level equity options concepts and introductory fixed income concepts. Course content will include detailed discussion of the stock, options and bond markets, and extensive participation in FTS Real-time trading simulations and related FTS analytic tools. Students will continue to keep a Trading Journal to summarize the results of their trading decisions. Students will also be expected to keep up with key economic data, political and current events and developments in the financial markets.

Entrepreneurship: BCAMart  

BCAMart is BCA’s only student-led and operated business and is the official school store of the Bergen County Academies. It is open during school days from 1:30 – 4:10 in the first floor cafeteria. A variety of products, including food, drinks, clothing, and school supplies, are sold there. BCAMart is offered as a project to BCA students from all academies who want to experience what it is like to own their own business.  Students are divided into four groups (operations, marketing, purchasing, and finance) and perform tasks for their respective areas.