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Financial Instruments Course Information

Welcome to the American Academy of Financial Management’s Financial Instruments Web Course featuring Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s Graduate Program Professor Stephen Polak.

Prof. Stephen Polak, CPA has spent the last 20 years with the U.S. Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service. Currently he is assigned to a LMSB Financial Products group as a "Financial Products and Transaction Examiner" where he is responsible for the examinations of Financial Products used by Multi National Entities. Prof. Polak is a regular external/internal speaker for the Internal Revenue Service on advance tax topics. His outside activities include reviewing manuscripts for the “Journal of Accountancy” as an Editorial Advisor. He is a licensed Certified Public Account, Insurance/Annuity Producer, and Stock Broker/Registered Investment Advisor (NASD/FINRA Series 7 and 66).

11 years of professional “online interactive” training experience – thus we have developed a process for introducing YOU, the professional, to this innovative method for skills transfer. You will be pleasantly surprised that our academic institution delivers much more value than a continuing education company:

– access to the most robust online library of subscription databases*
– direct faculty engagement
– career services course, lectures, & support**
– active alumni online network**

For professionals seeking a Masters/Doctoral degree (such as our own), our courses carry three academic credits (via the USA accreditation system).***

The Orientation course will introduce you and your 30 new colleagues step-by-step to all of the above plus

(1) how the asynchronous TWEN course system works
(2) how the weekly online interactive MegaMeeting webinars work, and
(3) course syllabi, books, and the instructor.

An Orientation live lecture will be given January 14th (repeated live the 16th and 18th) whereas the Financial Instruments course begins January 19th and ends April 30th.

Obtain the key learning outcomes:

 Examines the tax aspects of financial instruments, products, and transactions
 Covers basic principles, including financial terminology, types of market participants, as well as timing, character, and source
 Explore the detailed rules regarding stocks, bonds, options, forward contracts, futures contracts, convertible & contingent payment instruments, swaps, and hybrid instruments
 Understand tax compliance issues include wash sales, constructive sales, short sale rules, straddles, market discount, original issue discount, Section 1256 and notional principal contract regulations.