FIN254: Introduction to Financial Management [Fall 2010] Instructor:
Office: NAC857
Blog: http://szm-nsu.blogspot.com
Email:
Office Hours: ST: 11 am to 1 pm or by appointment.
Course Description: The first part of the course will give students an orientation to the financial analysis of companies. A solid understanding of the linkages between the financial statements (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement) is crucial for properly analyzing the financial statements and the course will help students understand the linkages.
The second part of the course will help students learn the tools and techniques to perform valuation of cash flows that is the core element in evaluating and making investment decisions. Starting with the principles of time value of money (TVM), the students will gain exposure to: i) valuation of cash flows, stocks and bonds; and ii) criteria used by financial managers in making investment decisions.
Required Text: Ross, Westerfield, Jordan: Fundamentals of Corporate Finance; Eighth Edition; 2007; McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Marks/Weight Distribution:
Assignments 10%
Quizzes 15%
Mid-term 1 15%
Mid-term 2 25%
Final Exam 30%
Class participation 5%
Course Policies:
- Assignments, Quizzes, and Exams – Quizzes will be given at the beginning of the class. If you are late, you will miss the quiz forever. All quizzes and exams have to be taken. There would be no re-take of any exam. Tentative dates for the assignments (assigned dates) and exams are given in the course outline. Assignments may be collected from my blog link or the resource drive.
- Missed quizzes and exams – You will get a zero in a quiz if you miss. There is absolutely no scope of make-up for missed quizzes under any circumstances. Make-up exams taken within one week of the regular exam will account for 85% marks instead of 100%. Similarly, make-up exams taken after one week of the regular exam will account for only 75% marks instead of 100%. However, a student may sit for a make-up exam just once. Make-up exams are usually more difficult than the regular exams, thus should be avoided.
Class Schedule:
| Lec. No | Date | Day | Lecture Topic | Assigned Readings |
| 0 | 21-Sep-10 | T | Introduction to the Course and Warm-up | |
| 1 | 26-Sep-10 | S | Introduction to Corporate Finance | Chap 1 |
| 2 | 28-Sep-10 | T | Financial Statements, Taxes, and Cash Flow (A#1) | Chap 2 |
| 3 | 03-Oct-10 | S | ||
| 4 | 05-Oct-10 | T | Working with Financial Statements(A#2) | Chap 3 |
| 5 | 10-Oct-10 | S | ||
| 12-Oct-10 | T | Mid-Term 1 | Chap 1-3 | |
| 17-Oct-10 | S | Holiday: Durga Puja | ||
| 6 | 19-Oct-10 | T | Introduction to Valuation: The Time Value of Money (A#3) | Chap 5 |
| 7 | 21-Oct-10 | Thu | ||
| 8 | 24-Oct-10 | S | Discounted Cash Flow Valuation(A#4) | Chap 6 |
| 9 | 26-Oct-10 | T | ||
| 10 | 31-Oct-10 | S | ||
| 11 | 02-Nov-10 | T | Interest Rates and Bond Valuation(A#5) Stock Valuation (A#6) | Chap 7 &Chap 8 |
| 12 | 07-Nov-10 | S | ||
| 13 | 09-Nov-10 | T | ||
| 14 | 14-Nov-10 | S | Review for the Second Midterm Exam | |
| 21-Nov-10 | S | Mid-Term 2 | Chap 5-8 | |
| 15 | 23-Nov-10 | T | NPV and Other Investment Criteria (A#7) Making Capital Investment Decisions (A#8) | Chap 9 & Chap 10 |
| 16 | 28-Nov-10 | S | ||
| 17 | 30-Nov-10 | T | ||
| 18 | 05-Dec-10 | S | Project Analysis and Evaluation | Chap 11 |
| 19 | 07-Dec-10 | T | Lessons from Capital Market History; Return, Risk, & SML; Cost of Capital; Financial Leverage | Chap 12,13, 15, & 17 |
| 20 | 12-Dec-10 | S | ||
| Rev | 14-Dec-10 | T | Review for the Final Exam & Course Wrap-up | |
| TBA | Final Exam (Comprehensive) | |||
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If you are interested for 1% Extra Credit, please download and read the detailed version of the course outline.