GRA 6541 Advanced Corporate Finance

GRA 6541 Advanced Corporate Finance

Course code: 
GRA 6541
Department: 
Finance
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Jiri Woschitz
Course name in Norwegian: 
Advanced Corporate Finance
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc in Finance
Semester: 
2026 Spring
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

This course deals with contemporary issues in corporate finance and refines tools to evaluate investments, capital structure, and corporate securities. The course explores how corporate finance decisions are affected when the classic Modigliani-Miller capital structure irrelevance-assumptions are relaxed, focusing on the consequences of taxes, bankruptcy, information asymmetries, and agency conflicts, among others. In this context, it discusses the important role and the various features of firm debt financing. The course introduces students to modern corporate financial theories as well as empirical patterns and studies.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

Student should be able to:

  1. Develop an understanding of different economic mechanisms that drive firms' capital structure and financing choices
  2. Understand how firm value may be impacted by financing choices
Learning outcomes - Skills

Students should be able to:

  1. Identify pros and cons (trade-offs) of different financing choices
  2. Interpret empirical evidence in the light of corporate finance theory
  3. Analyse and discuss in a structured and "precise" manner
General Competence

Students should be able to:

  1. Critically reflect and have ethical awareness in connection with topics in corporate finance
  2. Structure and articulate economic arguments in writing
Course content

The exact course content may vary from year to year, but will include topics such as:

  • Capital Structure Decisions
  • Taxes
  • Bankruptcy and Corporate Restructuring
  • Information Asymmetry and Agency Costs
  • Debt Financing
  • Valuation Techniques
  • Option Valuation in Corporate Finance
  • Venture Capital and Private Equity
  • Liquidity
  • Merger and Acquisitions
  • Dividend Policy and Share Repurchases
  • Initial Public Offerings
  • Behavioral Corporate Finance
Teaching and learning activities

The learning will take place through lectures, discussions, and assignments. Students are expected to prepare for the lecture by studying the relevant materials (as will be communicated in the lectures). There will be an assignment and other learning materials available.

The softwares to be used are Excel and possibly R.

Software tools
Software defined under the section "Teaching and learning activities".
Additional information

It is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class. 

Honour Code
Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honour code system. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honour code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed. Any violation of the honour code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for cheating. These issues are a serious matter to everyone associated with the programs at BI and are at the heart of the honour code and academic integrity.

Qualifications

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Disclaimer

Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Submission PDF
Exam/hand-in semester: 
First Semester
Weight: 
30
Grouping: 
Individual
Duration: 
4 Week(s)
Comment: 
Assignment
Exam code: 
GRA 65412
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Exam category: 
School Exam
Form of assessment: 
Written School Exam - pen and paper
Exam/hand-in semester: 
First Semester
Weight: 
70
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
  • Bilingual dictionary
Duration: 
3 Hour(s)
Exam code: 
GRA 65413
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
All exams must be passed to get a grade in this course.
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
24 Hour(s)
Lectures (synchronous teaching)
Digital resources
12 Hour(s)
Asynchronous learning activities
Group work / Assignments
24 Hour(s)
Student's own work with learning resources
100 Hour(s)
Sum workload: 
160

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.

Reading list