Finance
Financial-Information Management
Worth 9 of 100 questions at area level, 10 at state and 12 at ICDC.
From the knowledge base
Source passages for this area.
FINANCE CLUSTER DECA's
Cluster Exam §20 · pages 19–20
20. FINANCE CLUSTER DECA's Finance career pathways include: Accounting, banking services, corporate finance, insurance, securities and investments. 2026–27 Finance blueprint Area District Associatio n ICDC Business Law 7 8 7 Communications 5 4 3 Customer Relations 5 5 4 Economics 6 5 4 Emotional Intelligence 9 8 6 Entrepreneurship 1 0 0 Financial Analysis 24 28 30 Financial-Information Management 9 10 12 HR Management 1 0 0 Information Management 6 5 5 Marketing 1 1 1 Operations 6 5 4 Professional Development 13 14 15 Risk Management 6 7 9 Strategic Management 1 0 0 This is probably the easiest cluster for your algorithm to prioritize: Finance students must become extremely strong at financial analysis. At ICDC, Financial Analysis + Financial-Information Management alone account for 42 questions out of 100 .
FINANCE EVENTS DECA currently associates these high-school…
Cluster Exam §22 · pages 22–23
22. FINANCE EVENTS DECA currently associates these high-school events with Finance. Event Code Focus Principles of Finance PFN Intro accounting, banking, business finance, insurance and investment; BAC exam Accounting Applications Series ACT Applying accounting and financial data to management decisions Business Finance Series BFS Higher-level corporate financial planning and analysis Financial Services Team Decision Making FTDM Banking/financial-services cases Financial Consulting FCE Individual financial consultation based on annual situation Finance Operations Research FOR Research project involving a financial-services organization Stock Market Game SMG Investment portfolio simulation Virtual Business Challenge—Accounting VBCAC Accounting/business simulation ACT focuses on collecting, organizing and analyzing financial data and understanding financial statements. BFS applies similar skills at a more corporate/strategic financial-planning level. FTDM involves financial institutions and financial-service decision-making.
WHO TAKES WHICH EXAM?
Cluster Exam §4 · pages 5–5
4. WHO TAKES WHICH EXAM? This is one of the first pieces of logic the website needs. Competitor/event type Exam Principles of Business Management & Administration Business Administration Core Principles of Entrepreneurship Business Administration Core Principles of Finance Business Administration Core Principles of Hospitality & Tourism Business Administration Core Principles of Marketing Business Administration Core BMA Individual/Team events Business Management & Administration Entrepreneurship Individual/Team events Entrepreneurship Finance Individual/Team/Consulting events Finance Hospitality Individual/Team/Selling events Hospitality & Tourism Marketing Individual/Team/Selling/IMC events Marketing Personal Financial Literacy Personal Financial Literacy Many written projects/business plans No cluster exam Virtual Business Challenges Simulation rather than cluster exam This distinction matters tremendously. For example, someone competing in Principles of Marketing (PMK) might naturally assume they should study the Marketing Cluster Exam. They should not. The current PMK event uses the Business Administration Core exam . Similarly, Principles of Finance competitors take BAC, not the Finance Cluster Exam.
THE SEVEN KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS
Cluster Exam §63 · pages 59–60
63. THE SEVEN KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS Ultimately I would structure your content like this: DECA │ ├── Business Administration Core │ ├── Business Law │ ├── Communications │ ├── Customer Relations │ ├── Economics │ ├── Emotional Intelligence │ ├── Entrepreneurship │ ├── Financial Analysis │ ├── HR │ ├── Information Management │ ├── Marketing │ ├── Operations │ ├── Professional Development │ └── Strategic Management │ ├── Business Management & Administration │ ├── Entrepreneurship │ ├── Finance │ ├── Hospitality & Tourism │ ├── Marketing │ └── Personal Financial Literacy Then every lower cluster adds specialized instructional areas and deeper concepts.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUSTER
Cluster Exam §17 · pages 16–17
17. ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUSTER Entrepreneurship should be modeled differently from management. Management asks: "How do we operate an organization effectively?" Entrepreneurship asks: "How do we recognize an opportunity, create value, build a viable organization and grow it under uncertainty?" DECA describes Entrepreneurship Series competitors as recognizing opportunities, determining needs, identifying markets, using marketing research, identifying capital sources and applying management skills. 2026–27 Entrepreneurship blueprint Area District Associatio n ICDC Business Law 4 4 3 Channel Management 3 3 3 Communications 1 0 1 Customer Relations 1 1 1 Economics 3 3 2 Emotional Intelligence 6 6 4 Entrepreneurship 14 13 14 Financial Analysis 10 9 11 HR Management 5 4 4 Information Management 4 3 2 Marketing 1 1 1 Marketing-Information Management 2 3 2 Market Planning 5 6 6 Operations 13 13 14 Pricing 2 3 2 Product/Service Management 4 4 4 Professional Development 5 5 4 Promotion 6 7 8 Quality Management 1 1 1 Risk Management 2 3 4 Selling 1 1 1 Strategic Management 7 7 8 Entrepreneurship is unusually broad. Students need meaningful knowledge of: entrepreneurship + finance + operations + strategy + marketing.
The final ask differs by event BOR
20-Page Written Events §122 · pages 346–347
122. The final ask differs by event BOR: Approve/implement our strategic recommendation. PM: Recognize project impact and management effectiveness. EIB: Finance the venture. IBP: Invest in international launch. EFB: Finance franchise acquisition/launch. EBG: Fund the growth plan. This should affect the closing.