This course provides a detailed analysis of derivative contracts and their use in risk management strategies. As technology improves and corporations become more innovative, they will be able to isolate and break out more and different kinds of risk that then can be controlled and managed. At this time, risk management is a new area in financial management but is developing very rapidly. This course will consist of two main parts. The first part of the course focuses on the building blocks of derivatives (namely futures, forwards, swaps, and options) and the factors that determine the value of these securities. The second part focuses on the importance and implementation of risk management strategies. We will spend considerable time understanding the dimensions of risk management issues. We will also use cutting-edge software for analyzing risk management problems, such as Riskmetrics and Creditmetrics, and examine actual company cases.