This course provides an introduction to the valuation of cash flows. Topics include: compound interest functions; valuation of annuities certain; loans repayable by instalments; comparison of value and yield of cash flow transactions; valuation of fixed interest securities, with and without tax on interest and capital gains; duration and volatility of securities; introduction to concept of immunisation and matching; consumer credit contracts. 

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Define and describe in detail the use of cash flow models, simple and compound rates of interest and discount as well as compare and distinguish between nominal and effective rates of interest and discount;
2. Describe in detail the various types of annuities and perpetuities and use them to solve financial transaction problems;
3. Derive equations of value and various tools like linear interpolation & annuity tables;
4. Communicate the difference in capital budgeting decision tools like Net Present Values, Internal Rates of Return and Discounted Payback Periods;
5. Analyse in depth basic fixed interest financial transactions like Loan Valuation, Fixed Interest securities (eg. Bonds) and employ the skills developed in this course to evaluate such transactions. Incorporate the effects of taxation on such financial transactions;
6. Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the term structure of interest rates and its applications in forward and spot rates; and
7. Define in detail the interest rate risk in terms of duration and convexity of fixed interest products, using this to define immunisation and assess its use in mitigating interest rate risk.

Research-Led Teaching

This course covers the relevant parts of the professional Actuaries Institute syllabus, for the subject of CM1: Actuarial Mathematics Core Principles. Wherever possible the examples used in this course will reflect real world situations to emphasize the use of the techniques covered.

Examination Material or equipment

Further information on examination material will be provided to students in lecture time and on Wattle. The final assessment will be held in the examination period with details to be advised no later than teaching week 10 of the semester.

Required Resources

All course notes and materials will be provided via Wattle. You will need access to a calculator to complete exercises required for this course. You will need access to a computer to get the materials necessary for the course.   We will use MS Excel in this course. Some classwork and tutorial questions and solutions will be illustrated using MS Excel.  Learning guides and short video lectures will be made available on wattle for students to learn the application of the concepts taught in this course. Some assignment questions will require the use of MS Excel or a spreadsheet program.

Recommended Resources

There are no prescribed textbooks for this course.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Following each assignment, feedback will be given to the whole class about the general performance on each assignment.
• Students will also have the opportunity to speak with the tutors and the lecturer about their individual performance in the assignments.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

Assessment Requirements

Any student identified, either during the current semester or in retrospect, as having used ghost writing services will be investigated under the University’s Academic Misconduct Rule.

Scaling

Your final mark for the course will be based on the raw marks allocated for each of your assessment items. However, your final mark may not be the same number as produced by that formula, as marks may be scaled. Any scaling applied will preserve the rank order of raw marks (i.e. if your raw mark exceeds that of another student, then your scaled mark will exceed the scaled mark of that student) and may be either up or down.

Referencing Requirements

Please see the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. For a more interactive guide on what this is all about, please see http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/.

Support for Students

The University offers a number of support services for students. Information on these is available online from http://students.anu.edu.au/studentlife/

Exemption from Actuarial Professional examination

This course along with Life Contingencies (STAT3037) makes up for the CM1 examination of the Actuaries Institute. More details regarding the grades required for exemption and the procedure to follow is detailed on this webpage: Actuaries Institute requirements.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Cash-flow models. Simple and compound interest. Accumulated and present values.
2	Nominal and effective rates of interest and discount. Force of interest.
3	Introduction to annuities and their valuation.
4	Perpetuities. Continuous, increasing, decreasing and indexed annuities.	Assignment 1 Due
5	Equations of value. Introduction to linear interpolation and annuity tables. Dealing with inflation.
6	Loan valuation and payments. Capital budgeting including NPV, IRR and DPP.
7	Measuring investment performance. TWRR and MWRR.
8	Valuation of fixed interest securities, with and without tax on interest and capital gains.
9	Calculating yields. Allowing for callable features and inflation. Extending to property and share valuation.
10	Yield curve and term structure of interest rates. Calculating forward and spot rates.	Assignment 2 Due
11	Interest rate risk: duration, effective duration and convexity. Conditions for and determination of immunisation.
12	Revision

Tutorial Registration

Tutorials will be available on campus, live through scheduled Zoom sessions and as pre-recorded videos. Information regarding enrolments for these options will be provided on Wattle during O-Week of the semester.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Assignment 1	10 %	15/03/2022	29/03/2022	1
Assignment 2	15 %	13/05/2022	24/05/2022	1-5
Final Exam	75 %	02/06/2022	30/06/2022	1-7

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Guideline and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using 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. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

All lectures will be pre-recorded or in the form of Zoom sessions. Weekly workshops will be conducted on campus (recorded and available via echo360 on Wattle). Tutorials will be available on campus, live through scheduled Zoom sessions and as pre-recorded videos. Information regarding enrolments for these options will be provided on Wattle during O-week prior to the start of the semester. Arrangements for consultations will be advised in week 1 if there are any changes. 

Examination(s)

Centrally scheduled examinations through Examinations, Graduations & Prizes will be timetabled prior to the examination period. Please check ANU Timetabling for further information.

Assessment Task 1

Assignment 1

The details of Assignment 1 including the topic, and the word limit and other requirements, will be made available on Tuesday 8 March.

Value: 10%

Due date: Tuesday 15th March 20:00 (Week 4)

Assessment Task 2

Assignment 2

The details of Assignment 2 including the topic, and the word limit and other requirements, will be made available on Tuesday 3 May. 

Value: 15%

Due date: Friday 13 May 20:00 (Week 10)

Assessment Task 3

Final Exam

The final exam will be held during the exam period with details to be advised no later than week 10 of the semester.

Value: 75%

Date: Specific date to be advised.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

The assignment is to be submitted online on Wattle at the pre-specified location via Turnitin. You must attach an assignment cover sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

There are no hardcopy submission for this course.

Late Submission

No submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date will be permitted. If an assessment task is not submitted by the due date, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material.

Returning Assignments

Assignments will be returned via Wattle.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Students will not be permitted to resubmit assignments.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Access and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students