Course Syllabus 221G CORPORATE FINANCE Contact Details for Professor Tel: +32 473 31 21 46 E-mail: oksana.golubtsova@peig.be Course Description The course focuses on establishing the operating and technical foundation for financial decision-making for the firm. Many of the fundamental concepts and tools that will be introduced apply equally well to other areas of business as well as one's own personal financial management. Within these topics students learn: the structure of the firm and financial market, the notion of time impact on money, the trade-off between risk and return, the approach to balance investments with capital funding, the impact of firm's financial policy on leverage and shareholders' return, the management of the funds needed for operations, and the implications Course Prerequisites (if any) BUS141P, STA101P Learning Objectives After this course, you should be able to: I. Acquire knowledge and understanding of - Business and its functional fields, including financial markets operating mechanism, financial management goals and implications, and principles of corporate governance - Firms and markets - The external environment
- Quantitative and qualitative research II. Apply knowledge - Get acquainted with the academic literature and be able to locate pertinent and relevant information on a specific topic - Identify, analyze and solve a problem, for example, perform valuation of future and discounted cash flows; employ the concepts of bond and equity valuation - Input data, generate and interpret results, and identify additional need for research III. Judgement - Being able to critically evaluate existing research, question the status quo, and provide alternative solution possibilities; to make a justified investment decision applying project analysis and evaluation of multiple investment criteria - Process and analyze data, using the appropriate tools, e.g. analyze financial statements and perform financial planning, applying various models - Assess whether business decisions are ethical IV. Communication - Write an analysis on a current issue in business and economics - Present and defend an issue orally - Participate in debates with peers V. Attitudes - Work independently - Work with others, take on responsibility and show leadership - Work in team with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds, to include the ability to work in virtual teams due to different locations of team members - Be ethical, professional and self-critical Course schedule Part One: Overview of Corporate Finance 1 Introduction to Corporate Finance 2 Corporate Governance 3 Financial Analysis and Planning Part Two: Valuation of Future Cash Flows 4 Introduction to Valuation: The Time Value of Money 5 Discounted Cash Flow Valuation 6 Bond Valuation 7 Equity Valuation Part Three: Capital Budgeting 8 Net Present Value and Other Investment Criteria 9 Making Capital Investment Decisions 10 Project Analysis and Evaluation
Part Four: Risk and Return 11 Some Lessons from Recent Capital Market History 12 Return, Risk, and the Security Market Line Part Five: Cost of Capital and Long-Term Financial Policy 13 Cost of Capital 14 Raising Capital 15 Financial Leverage and Capital Structure Policy 16 Dividends and Payout Policy Part Six: Topics in Corporate Finance 17 Short-Term Financial Planning and Management 18 International Corporate Finance 19 Behavioural Finance 20 Financial Risk Management Course Materials Textbook: Fundamentals of Corporate Finance by David Hillier (Leeds University), Iain Clacher (Leeds University); published by McGraw-Hill (ISBN: 9780077125257, MH_ID: 0077125258) Case Studies and Additional Readings: Corporate Finance by David Hillier (University of Strathclyde); published by McGraw-Hill (ISBN : 9780077139148) Course Assessment The students will be evaluated on the basis of their performance as follows : Class tests & home assignments 20 Term paper 20 Midterm examination 30 Final examination 30 TOTAL 100 Grading Scale of Vesalius College Vesalius College grading policy, in line with the Flemish Educational norms, is now as stated follows:
Letter grade Scale of 20 Scale of 100 A 17.0-20.0 85-100 A- 16.1-16.9 81-84 B+ 15.3-16.0 77-80 B 14.5-15.2 73-76 B- 13.7-14.4 69-72 C+ 13.1-13.6 66-68 C 12.3-13.0 62-65 C- 11.5-12.2 58-61 D+ 10.7-11.4 54-57 D 10.0-10.6 50-53 F 0-9.9 0-49 Further description of assessment activities and Grading Criteria The following criteria will be applied in assessing your written work: - Evidence of understanding the concepts, theories and ideas developed in the course. - Ability to apply the acquired theoretical knowledge towards analyzing and solving financial assignments and case studies. Additional Course Policies It is categorically prohibited to use the cell phones during the classes. Anybody violating this requirement will be requested to leave the class, consequently losing the attendance points for that specific class. All assignments are due by the deadline specified by the instructor. Late assignment submissions are subject to the explicit approval. Academic Honesty Statement Academic dishonesty is NOT tolerated in this course. Academic honesty is not only an ethical issue but also the foundation of scholarship. Cheating and plagiarism are therefore serious breaches of academic integrity. Following the College policy, cheating and plagiarism cases will be communicated in writing to the Associate Dean for Students and submitted to the Student Conduct Committee for disciplinary action.
If you refer to someone else s work, appropriate references and citations must be provided. Grammar, spelling and punctuation count, so use the tools necessary to correct before handing in assignments.