Corporate Finance and Investment ECON5066

  • Academic Session: 2024-25
  • School: Adam Smith Business School
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: No
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No

Short Description

The course provides a graduate-level analysis of corporate finance and financial markets and supplies students with the necessary knowledge and skills to tackle corporate finance problems. Students will learn about the workings of mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance and basic valuation of companies and investment projects through a group work assignment. The basic concept of present value is applied also to financial market instruments, such as stocks and bonds. Students are introduced to the theories of firm capital structure, starting from the Modigliani-Miller propositions, and adding complexity by introducing various real-world frictions such as taxes, costs of financial distress, agency costs and benefits of debt, as well as asymmetric information. The course concludes with an advanced treatment of the valuation of investment projects if a mix of debt and equity is used to finance them

Timetable

20 hours of lectures (2 hours per week for 10 weeks)

Tutorials: 4 hours (4 x 1 hour tutorial).

On campus.

Requirements of Entry

Students must be registered on one of the associated programmes listed in this course specification.

Excluded Courses

None

Assessment

 

 

 

 

 

1 group presentation (25%), 1 final exam (60%), 1 in course exam (15%).

ILO (covered)

Assessment

Weighting

Word Length/Duration

2, 4, 5, 6

Group project/presentation

25%

Around 10 minutes

1-3

In-person Degree Exam

60%

2-hour exam (2 of 4 questions to be answered; fixed start time with 2 hours to complete)

Main Assessment In: April/May

Course Aims

The course aims to provide students with a sound knowledge of corporate finance theories and techniques and the appropriate skills to demonstrate and apply them. The course will make students understand how companies formulate decisions regarding corporate governance, capital structure, and mergers and acquisitions. The course will also demonstrate how firms raise different types of debt and equity financing.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

 

1. show understanding of the theory and applications of corporate finance.

2. demonstrate your critical thinking through presentations, discussions, and exams.

3. reason logically and work analytically.

4. communicate effectively and clearly in written and oral formats in groups or individually.

5. demonstrate your ability to successfully work in diversified groups and collaborate with your peers.

6. Work collaboratively in a group to produce a combined piece of coursework, by liaising with other class members, allocating tasks and co-ordinating group meetings.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.