Foundations of Finance is designed to familiarise students with the components of the financial system as well as to introduce them to the three basic ideas underpinning finance, namely the time value of money, diversification and arbitrage. In doing so, the course provides students with introductory exposure to financial transactions, institutions and markets including debt, equity, foreign exchange and derivative markets and the instruments traded therein. It also provides students with a solid foundation for later studies in finance.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
On satisfying the requirements for this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Understand financial transactions, institutions and markets, including money markets, stock markets, foreign exchange, derivatives markets and contracts.
- Understand the ideas behind the time value of money and be able to calculate the value of cash flows relating to a number of financial instruments.
- Understand the concept of diversification, including the risk and return relationship and have the ability to calculate optimal weights for a portfolio comprising of two financial assets.
- Understand concepts of arbitrage, and utilise derivatives for risk management purposes.
Other Information
See the course outline on the College courses page. Outlines are uploaded as they become available.
Indicative Assessment
- In-Tutorial Quizzes - 15% (best 4 of 5 count)
- Mid-Semester Exam - 25% (or 0% if not attempted/redeemed)
- Final Exam - 60% (or 85% if Mid-Semester not attempted/redeemed)
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
Students taking this course are expected to commit at least 10 hours a week to completing the work. This will include:
- 2 hours a week attending the lecture;
- 1 hour a week attending the tutorial they have enrolled in; and,
- 7 hours a week reviewing lectures materials, preparing for tutorials and attempting practice questions.
If students attend optional workshops, their minimum expected time commitment to the course will increase to 11 hours in weeks when the workshops are run.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Preliminary Reading
Majors
Minors
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 3
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2016 | $3480 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2016 | $4638 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2643 | 15 Feb 2016 | 26 Feb 2016 | 31 Mar 2016 | 27 May 2016 | In Person | N/A |
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7605 | 18 Jul 2016 | 29 Jul 2016 | 31 Aug 2016 | 28 Oct 2016 | In Person | N/A |
