Module ECON49710: Finance (EBS)

Department: Economics and Finance

ECON49710: Finance (EBS)

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To develop students' understanding of the external economic and financial context in which organisations operate and of the financial management of organisations.
• To enable students to acquire and demonstrate knowledge and understanding of those elements of economic analysis that are relevant for managing in the global economy.
• To develop skills in the application of economic analysis in business decision making and planning.
• To develop a critical understanding of key economic aspects of the global business environment and the impact of changes in that environment at national and international levels.
• To provide students with a critical appreciation of the financial tools of accounting and finance, in particular, the techniques of financial statement analysis and investment appraisal.
• To provide students with a critical understanding of the factors affecting the financial planning and risk assessment of a firm and of the financing and capital structure decisions, giving insight into topical issues.

Content

• An introduction to financial markets, financial decisions and organisational goals
• The cost of capital
• Capital structure decisions
• Financial risk management
• Dividend Policy
• An introduction to firm valuation

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the module, the students will have an advanced knowledge and critical appreciation of:
• the fundamentals of financial markets in which firms operate;
• the investment decision, the financing decision and the dividend decision and how these relate to each other and to firm value;
• concepts of risk and return;
• key elements of financial risk management;
• the estimation of cost of capital and its application;
• the theory and practice of dividend policy;
• key introductory techniques for firm valuation.

• Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
• Apply their financial understanding in relation to management decisions that impact on the investment decision, the financing decision and the dividend decision in a global context;
• Apply the knowledge acquired to analyse specific finance problems;
• Use the tools and techniques covered to estimate key finance metrics such as the weighted average cost of capital and use these in computing firm valuations;
• Be adept at identifying and evaluating methods by which financial risks can be managed.

• Written communication; planning, organising and time management; problem solving and analysis; using initiative; computer literacy.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Learning outcomes are met through classroom-based workshops, supported by online resources. The workshops consist of a combination of taught input, groupwork, case studies and discussion. Online resources provide supplementary material for the workshops, typically consisting of directed reading and video content.
• The formative assessment consists of classroom-based exercises involving individual and group analyses of specific business situations/problems relevant to the learning outcomes of the module. Feedback will be given as appropriate.
• The summative assessment is an individual project which requires students to conduct a financial analysis of an individual firm.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Classroom-based exercises involving individual and group analyses of specific business situations/problems relevant to the learning outcomes of the module. Oral and written feedback will be given on a group and/or individual basis as appropriate.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University