Two down; four to go — or maybe five.
Red Deer College business instructor Patrick O’Meara has closed the cover on his second textbook in a little more than a year, and is now looking ahead to the next.
Advanced Personal Financial Concepts delves into the underlying issues of investing, said O’Meara. For instance, it teaches readers the differences between compound and simple interest, and tax-free savings accounts and registered retirement savings plans.
“We wanted to drill down into the concepts — the mathematics behind it, the ideas behind it — so they had a much deeper understanding.”
Last year, O’Meara published his first text: Fundamentals of Retail Credit in Canada. It covers basic topics like interest rates, credit bureau reports, the five Cs of credit (character, capacity, capital, collateral and conditions) and credit products.
He hopes to publish his next text, a study guide for the Canadian Securities Course, in a year to 18 months. Thereafter, he plans to write books on investment vehicles like options and derivatives, business math and statistics for financial analysis.
O’Meara, who is chair of business and commerce at the Donald School of Business, estimates that he invested 1,500 hours of his own time in the first two texts. His objective has been to promote financial literacy — especially among students.
“It’s become something that I’m very passionate about.”
College and university business courses typically focus on applied materials for professions like accounting or finance, rather than for students’ personal lives, said O’Meara.
“It doesn’t necessarily produce a financially literate student,” he said, describing one accountant he knew who was skilled in corporate tax planning but uncertain about RRSPs.
Fundamentals of Retail Credit in Canada is already in use at Red Deer College.
“My next step is to see if other colleges that have diplomas in financial services will use it,” said O’Meara, who also sees a place for his texts in high schools.
A bank has even inquired about using his materials for staff training.
Unlike most U.S. business texts, O’Meara’s books contain Canadian examples like Telus and Canadian Natural Resources.
To make them even more user-friendly, he’s planning to record accompanying podcasts.
“That means that this summer I’ll probably be spending some of my time developing some podcasts, so people can download them and have that voice-over copy as well.”
Also in the works is a book for the general population designed to give practical information about credit and investing. It was motivated by people approaching O’Meara for help with financial planning.
“I think where my value added is, is in being able to produce material that people can use for themselves.”
In addition to teaching at Red Deer College, O’Meara has worked for several Canadian chartered banks. He has a master’s degree from Niagara University in New York state.
Information about his textbooks can be found online at www.muchlearning.org/?page=author&author_id=pat
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com