Mission Statement
The purpose of the Center is to spark collaboration between faculty, students, alumni and industry partners by seeking external funding to support projects, producing events that bring participants together to exchange ideas and information, and raising awareness of current practice in the variety of disciplines covered by the Center.
Definition of Business Analytics
A simple definition of Business Analytics is "the use of computing to gain business insight from data." The data may be obtained from a company’s internal sources, third party providers or from public sources. Examples of Business Analytics include
- Descriptive Analytics: A set of technologies and processes that use data to understand and analyze business performance.
- Predictive Analytics: The extensive use of data and mathematical techniques to uncover explanatory and predictive models of business performance representing the inherent relationship between data inputs and outputs/outcomes.
- Prescriptive Analytics: A set of mathematical techniques that computationally determine a set of high-value alternative actions or decisions given a complex set of objectives, requirements, and constraints, with the goal of improving business performance.
At present, Rider faculty and students are pursuing projects in marketing, university enrollment management, tourism, accounts receivable management and basketball analytics.
Business Analytics and Forensic Accounting
The Center for Business Analytics is closely aligned with Rider's programs in Forensic Accounting to help meet the challenges of corporate fraud and the many forms of computer crime. Our scope goes beyond investigation and prosecution to include compliance with government regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and prevention of crimes such as corporate fraud, identity theft, computer hacking and terrorism.
Objectives
- To provide students with coursework to supplement their degree programs with certificates in Business Analytics or Business Forensics.
- To provide graduate students with specialized degrees in forensics through the Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program and analytics through the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program.
- To provide sustained professional development programming and consulting services education to corporate, non-profit and government organizations.
- To conduct research that expands the knowledge base and serves to enlighten corporations, non-profits and government organizations on issues and developments in business analytics.
- To form partnerships to enhance discussion and exchange of knowledge and to collaborate with practitioners on their current projects.
- To be known as a point of collection for the most current and up to date information in the field and to schedule timely, informative events.
Forensic Accounting program ranks among the Top 10 Nationwide