This course focuses on tools and techniques used in modern financial management. Material in the course has an applied focus and is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills required for understanding, exploring and analysing financial management issues. The course draws upon topical material in order to contextualise theoretical discussion, and present students with examples in practice.

Specific topics to be covered include: financial mathematics, security valuation, techniques for capital investment decisions, financial decision making, corporate capital structure, cost of capital, dividend decision and policy, leasing decision and the analysis of mergers and acquisitions.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Explain the key issues facing financial managers;
2. Perform asset valuation and project evaluation; and,
3. Explain the finance theory underlying financial management.

Research-Led Teaching

Students undertaking this course will be imparted with the necessary skills for industry based research. This will include involving students in critical analysis of industry based problems such as valuation, capital budgeting and risk assessment.

Additional Course Costs

The course may involve the use of a PC or Mac computer. You need to be familiar with MS Office Suite. These facilities are available at ANU Computer labs free of charge.

Examination Material or equipment

A non-programmable scientific calculator is a necessity for every enrolled student in this course.

Required Resources

Prescribed textbook

Corporate Finance (Global Edition) by Jonathan Berk and Peter DeMarzo, Pearson; 4th or 5th edition is preferable but earlier editions should be fine. E-book copy of the textbook is available via https://library.anu.edu.au/record=b6742055. A small number of hard copies (no digital version) are also available for 2-hour loan in the reserve loan section of the Chifley Library. Additional reading materials including journal articles, newspaper articles will be available on WATTLE.

Recommended Resources

Whether you are on campus , there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Staff Feedback

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

·     in tutorials through interactions with tutors and discussions with other students;

·     through assessments where the lecturer and tutors will provide specific feedback;

·     through consulting teaching staff during their consultation time.

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

Scaling

Your final mark for the course will be based on the raw marks allocated for each of your assessment items. However, scaling may apply. 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 or be the same as the scaled mark of that student), and may be either up or down.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction and revision of assumed knowledge	No tutorial
2	Investment decision rules	Tutorials commence
3	Capital budgeting: Fundamentals
4	Equity and debt financing	Quiz 1
5	Cost of capital
6	Capital structure I: MM theory, taxes and financial distress	Quiz 2
7	Capital structure II: Agency cost, trade-off theory, and asymmetric information	Mid-semester exam on campus will be held either in week 7 or week 8
8	Payout Policy	Mid-semester exam on campus will be held either in week 7 or week 8
9	Capital budgeting: extensions
10	Mergers and Acquisitions	Quiz 3
11	Corporate Governance
12	Revision

Tutorial Registration

Tutorials will be held weekly (starting from Week 2). Tutorials will be available on campus. Students should enroll in their tutorial using MyTimetable.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Quiz	15 %	15/03/2024	17/05/2024	1,2,3
Midterm Exam	35 %	19/04/2024	03/05/2024	1,2,3
Final Examination	50 %	01/06/2024	27/06/2024	1,2,3

* 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

Course content delivery will take the form of on-campus lectures (with recordings available via echo360 on Wattle) and weekly on-campus tutorials. Participation is strongly encouraged in tutorials.

Attendance at lectures and tutorials, while not compulsory, is expected in line with “Code of Practice for Teaching and Learning”, clause 2 paragraph (b).

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

Quiz

Weight: 15%

Duration: 15 minutes

Time: Weeks 4, 6 and 10

Topics covered: lecture prior to each quiz week

Submission: in tutorial

Return: one week after the quiz

Three in-class quizzes are designed as part of the assessment in the course. Each quiz weights 5% and lasts for 15 minutes. The quizzes take place in tutorial sessions. The quizzes are question-based and in the form of analytical and short answer questions. You must show all workings. The marking criteria will be based on model solutions and answers prepared by the lecturer. No make-up or late submission is allowed for this assessment. Details of the quizzes will be provided one week prior to each quiz.

Assessment Task 2

Midterm Exam

Weight: 35%

Submission: in-person

Time: in Week 7

Return: in Week 9

The mid-term exam is a closed-book exam and no formula sheet is allowed. The exam is worth 35%. A mixture of theoretical and practical (numerical) questions will be included. All topics covered in this course from week 1 to week 6 will be examined. Students will be provided with further information regarding the exam in week 6 including access to practice use of any required tools.

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

Assessment Task 3

Final Examination

Weight: 50%

Duration: 3 hours

Time: Examination period

 

This is a closed-book exam and no formula sheet is allowed. The final exam is worth 50%. A mixture of theoretical and practical (numerical) questions will be included. All topics covered in this course will be examined. Students will be provided with further information regarding the exam in week 10 including access to practice use of any required tools. Centrally scheduled examinations through Examinations, Graduations & Prizes will be timetabled prior to the examination period. Please check ANU Timetabling for further information.

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

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

There is no hard copy submission.

Late Submission

No submission of assessment tasks 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.

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.

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