GRA 6025 Financial Management

APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/2015

GRA 6025 Financial Management


Responsible for the course
Bogdan Stacescu

Department
Department of Financial Economics

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
6

Language of instruction
English

Introduction


    Learning outcome
    The finance discipline has over the last decades matured to the point where there exists a sound body of theory. In this introductory course, the theory of finance will be illustrated and applied to problems in corporate finance.
    Learning to cope with routine problems is easy, for instance by developing a list of rules for dealing with such problems. However, full reliance on the list-of-rules approach is insufficient as problems that do not fit these rules will be encountered. A thorough understanding of financial theory will facilitate transcending the simple rules.


    Prerequisites
    Bachelor degree qualifying for admission to the MSc programme

    Compulsory reading
    Books:
    Berk, Jonathan, Peter DeMarzo. 2014. Corporate finance : the core. 3rd ed., global ed. Pearson

    Other:
    During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination.


    Recommended reading

    Course outline
    • Finance- An Introduction
    • Accounting Statements and Cash Flows
    • Value and Capital Budgeting
    - Net Present Value
    - Valuation of Bonds and Stocks
    - Alternative Investments Rules
    - Capital Budgeting
    • Uncertainty
    - Capital Market Theory
    - Risk and return
    - The Capital Asset Pricing Model
    • Risk, Return and Capital Budgeting
    • Capital Structure and Dividend Policy
    - Overview of Capital Structure Theories
    - Dividend Policy
    • Introduction to valuation

      Computer-based tools
      Students are recommended to use computer-based tools, such as spreadsheets and statistical software. Such tools, however, are not allowed at the examination. It's learning will also be used to communicate reading materials, practice exercises, assignments.

      Learning process and workload
      A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.

      The instruction consists primarily of presentations and discussions of the readings assigned to the topics listed above. Students are expected to have read the material before each class meeting.

      Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/It's learning or text book.


      Examination
      The course grade will be based on the following activities and weights:
      20%: Class work (in the form of a mix of some/all of the following: hand in of case write ups, projects, and homework; case presentations and class participation; in class midterm and quizzes).
      80%: 3 hour written final exam.
      To get a final grade in the course, students need to complete and achieve a passing grade in both parts of the evaluation.

      In this course class attendence is mandatory. Absences can result in a lower score. Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation.

      This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam elements) and one final exam code. Each exam element will be graded using points on a scale (e.g. 0-100). The elements will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades on the course site in It’s learning.


      Examination code(s)
      GRA 60251 continuous assessment accounts for 100 % of the final grade in the course GRA6025.

      Examination support materials
      A bilingual dictionary, interest tables and BI-approved exam calculator.
      Examination support materials at written examiniations are explained under examination information in the student portal @bi. Please note use of calculator and dictionary in the section on support materials.


      Re-sit examination
      It is only possible to retake an examination when the course is next taught.
      The assessment in some courses is based on more than one exam code.
      Where this is the case, you may retake only the assessed components of one of these exam codes.
      Where this is not the case, all of the assessed components of the course must be retaken.
      All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee.


      Additional information
      Honor Code
      Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honor code system. This is a most significant university tradition. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honor code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed.

      Any violation of the honor 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 honor code and academic integrity. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honor code, please ask.

      This course is not available for students in MSc in Business.