BØK 3632 Financial Strategy

BØK 3632 Financial Strategy

Course code: 
BØK 3632
Department: 
Finance
Credits: 
7.5
Course coordinator: 
Christian Heyerdahl-Larsen
Course name in Norwegian: 
Finansiell styring
Product category: 
Bachelor
Portfolio: 
Bachelor of Business Administration - Programme Courses
Semester: 
2023 Autumn
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Bachelor
Teaching language: 
Norwegian
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

The essence of business administration includes corporate finance (i.e. investment and financing). Good knowledge within these areas is a necessary prerequisite to understand the economic content of investment and financing decisions, obtain decision-relevant information, discuss and assess alternatives, make correct decisions and convey relevant and useful information.
The aim of this course within the field of corporate finance is to provide the students with essential basic knowledge and skills, so that they can take part in discussions on problems in finance and carry out simple analyses within the field, make correct decisions and communicate the results of the analyses in a comprehensible manner.
The course Financial Strategy is mainly focused on financing issues and management of financial risks. By studying the main activities carried out in a company as financing projects over multiple periods, emphasis is placed on evaluating all economic and sustainable effects of the project and of taking a long-term perspective. The course therefore starts with capital structure and dividend decisions, followed by an introduction to option pricing.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

After completing the course, students are required to master tasks such as

  • Understand the concepts of debt and equity, such as bonds and equity issues:
  • Understand the concept of capital structure and the relationship between leverage and risk
  • Understand the meaning of perfect capital markets
  • Understand the basic elements in a valuation process
  • Understand the impact of taxes on valuation of assets
  • Understand the importance of dividend
  • Understand option pricing
Learning outcomes - Skills

Students having completed the course are required to conduct analytical exercises such as:

  • Calculate the value of a bond and a share issue
  • Calculate impact on of debt-to equity ratios on risk in equity and the value of the company with or without debt
  • Explain the importance of taxes for valuation of the assets in an international context
  • Explain the impact of sustainable investment decisions
  • Explain the importance of the dividend
  • Explain theories contrary to the perfect capital markets
  • Explain the principles in the options pricing
General Competence

The course is based on Modigliani and Miller's propositions for capital markets, and then explains challenges in real world. The student should be able to relate to the importance of these different theories for the business, the owners, the employees and the community. The student should be able to ask critical questions to all the aspects that have a bearing on a company's value. Moreover, the students, after this course, should be able to reflect on how a business should be run in order to be a positive and sustainable contribution to society in general.

Course content
  1. Short summary of BØK 3423 Finans
  2. Risk. BMN kap. 1-2
  3. Risk and cost of capital. BMN kap. 3
  4. Financing - Long term financing. BMN kap. 4-5
  5. Capital structure and risk. BMN kap. 6
  6. Capital structure and value - Modigliani & Miller (no taxes). BMN kap. 7
  7. Capital structure and value - Modigliani & Miller (taxes). BMN kap. 8
  8. Adjusted present value. BMN kap. 9
  9. Valuation. BMN kap. 10
  10. Dividend. BMN kap. 11
  11. Options. BMN kap. 12
Teaching and learning activities

The course is conducted with 14 regular lectures of 2 hours each. In the course room at Itslearning, there are resources including videos, assignments, solutions and self-correcting tests that are connected to each lecture.

There are 3 voluntary tests in the course, and 2 hours of guidance/help will be given to solve these tests by a student assistant.

The student is responsible for obtaining all relevant course information provided by the lecturer in the first lecture, and which are not published on the course homepage / It's learning or syllabus. Use of spreadsheet is recommended in the course.

E-Learning

Where the course is delivered as an online course, the lecturer will, in collaboration with the study administration, arrange an appropriate combination of digital learning resources and activities. These activities will correspond to the stated number of teaching hours delivered on campus. Online students are also offered a study guide that will provide an overview of the course and contribute to course progression. The total time students are expected to spend completing the course also applies to online studies.

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

Higher Education Entrance Qualification

Disclaimer

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

Required prerequisite knowledge

The course Basic Financial Management from the Bachelor of Business Administration Program, Introduction to Finance or equivalent.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Invigilation
Weight: 
100
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
Duration: 
3 Hour(s)
Exam code: 
BØK36321
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination every semester
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
28 Hour(s)
Feedback activities and counselling
6 Hour(s)
Review of assignments in plenary
Student's own work with learning resources
136 Hour(s)
Examination
40 Hour(s)
Exam incl. preparations
Sum workload: 
210

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.