Revised 01/01/2016
FINC3131 BUSINESS FINANCE I
Spring2016
CRN21163 (MW 14:00 – 15:15, Atkinson 207)
CRN21178 (MW 15:30 – 16:45, Atkinson 207)
Note: It is your responsibility to read, understand and abide by all of the course information and policies listed below. Failure to do so could result in your failing this course or being withdrawn from the course by your instructor or by the Department of Economics and Finance. The course syllabus provides a general plan for the course and deviations may be necessary.
Instructor: Dr. Leng Ling
Office: 414 Atkinson Hall
Telephone: (478) 445-2587
Course website: http://lengling.gcsu.edu
E-mail:
Office Hour: MW 13:00 – 14:00; other time by appointment only.
Course prerequisite
1. ACCT 2102, Principles of Accounting II
2. ECON 2105, Principles of Macroeconomics & ECON 2106, Principles of Microeconomics
or
Econ 2100, Economics and Society
All students, regardless of degree program (graduate or undergraduate) or status (transient or post-baccalaureate), must have completed all the prerequisites with a grade of "D" or better. There are no exceptions. Those students who have not met these requirements must withdraw from this course immediately. The Department of Economics and Finance will disenroll you if you have not successfully completed all prerequisites. This action will result in a financial loss and a final grade of "WF" for the course in some circumstances.
Topics
Finance is a broad subject covering three separate and interrelated fields of study: Corporate Finance, Investments, and Financial Markets and Institutions. This course summarizes many of the important topics and issues in corporate finance. Specifically, this course is an introduction to the financial management of a non-financial corporation. In this course, you will learn the following topics: review of financial statements, financial statement analysis, time value of money, valuation of various classes of securities, and the estimation and analysis of cash flows in the capital budgeting process. This course has been designed to introduce to business students an overview of the function of financial management in most industrial firms and to provide finance minor students with a solid foundation on which elective courses will build.
Outcomes
The students will be able to
1. Demonstrate the calculation and use of financial ratios.
2. Employ the time value of money theory to evaluate financial instruments such as bonds and stocks.
3. Evaluate the risk-return framework in financial decision-making.
4. Demonstrate how to calculate the cost of capital and explain how it is affected by a firm’s capital structure.
5. Using NPV, IRR, and other rules for capital budgeting.
6. Estimate cash flows in capital budgeting.
Required textbook
Fundamentals of Financial Management (Concise 8th Edition) by Brigham and Houston
ISBN: 978-1-285-065144 or 978-1-285-065137 (access card is not required)
All supplementary materials are posted on the course website. Supplementary materials include teaching slides, solutions to assigned homework, sample exams, etc. Students should print out slides and take them to class because there is NO time in class to copy slides to your notebook.
Calculator
It is necessary that you have a financial calculator to use throughout the course. A scientific calculator without financial functions does NOT work for this course. I use Texas Instruments BA II Plus and will demonstrate how to use it to solve problems. I do not know how to use other models. Bring your calculator to each class as we will have a lot of in-class exercises. An App of calculator in cellphone is not permitted in exams!
Attendance policy
Each student is expected to attend ALL scheduled class meetings for the entire duration of the class meeting. It is your responsibility to sign the attendance sheet. If you do not sign up for any reason, you will be considered as being absent. The attendance sheet may be circulated at any time during the class period. Students arriving more than 15 minutes late are not permitted to sign the attendance sheet.
Students who missed 4 classes for whatever reasons will earn a “F” for this class.
Students who missed no more than two classes will earn 2 points of extra credit added to the course grade.
Grading structure
Your final grade for the course will be assigned according to the following grade weight schedule. Extra credit may be earned on solving in-class problems.
Exam One 15%
Exam Two 15%
Exam Three 15%
Final Exam 20%
Homework 10%
9 quiz 20%
Group project 5%
100%
A – 90% +
B – 80% +
C – 70% +
D – 60% +
F – Below 60%
Exam policy
The exams will consist of questions covering concepts and mostly numeric problems. I will provide formula sheet for each exam. Cellphone is not allowed during exams.
If you are not able to take an exam on the scheduled date but with a valid excuse, you can take the exam earlier or on the following day if you informed me in time so that I can arrange the make-up exam. If you missed the exam with valid excuse and informed me much later so that I do not have enough time to arrange the make-up on the following day, the weight of that exam will be added to the final exam. If you cannot show the proof of a valid excuse such as the note from a doctor and an accident report from the police, then you will earn zero for the exam. If you miss more than one exam, except for the first one with a valid excuse, all others will be assigned zero.
If you take the exams in the testing center, then you need to arrange the test earlier and return the finished exam to me no later than 5 pm on the date of class exam. Otherwise, you will earn zero.
Course outline
The course syllabus and course calendar are TENTATIVE. Depending on our progress, some topics may be covered in greater depth and for longer periods, some topics may be given less coverage and less time, and some topics may be dropped altogether. It is your responsibility to be aware of all administrative announcements (e.g., exam information, schedule and/or assignment changes) made any time during scheduled class period regardless of whether or not you are in attendance.
Communication
Outside of the scheduled class times, I may need to communicate with either the entire class or individual students via e-mail. I send emails to your email registered in PAWS. Every day check your email account.
Student Opinion Surveys
Near the end of the semester, you will be asked to complete an online survey. Your responses are valued because they give important feedback to instructors to help improve student learning. All responses are completely confidential and your name is not stored with your responses in any way.
Religious Observance Policy
Students are permitted to miss class in observance of religious holidays and other activities observed by a religious group of which the student is a member without academic penalty. Exercising of one’s rights under this policy is subject to the GC Honor Code. Students who miss class in observance of a religious holiday or event are required to make up the coursework missed as a result from the absence. The nature of the make-up assignments and the deadline for completion of such assignments are at the sole discretion of the instructor. Failure to follow the prescribed procedures voids all student rights under this policy.
Assistance for Student Needs Related to Disability
If you have a disability as described by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, you may be eligible to receive accommodations to assist in programmatic and physical accessibility. Disability Services, a unit of the GCSU Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, can assist you in formulating a reasonable accommodation plan and in providing support in developing appropriate accommodations to ensure equal access to all GCSU programs and facilities. Course requirements will not be waived, but accommodations may assist you in meeting the requirements. For documentation requirements and for additional information, we recommend that you contact Disability Services located in Maxwell Student Union at 478-445-5931 or 478-445-4233.
Academic Honesty
The integrity of students and their written and oral work is a critical component of the academic process. The submission of another’s work as one’s own is plagiarism and will be dealt with using the procedures outlined in the Student Academic Dishonesty section in the undergraduate catalog.Remember that allowing another student to copy one’s own work violates standards of academic integrity.
Please note the graduate link is: http://catalog.gcsu.edu/en/2014-2015/Graduate-Catalog/Academic-Policies/Student-Code-of-Conduct/Student-Academic-Dishonesty .
Also see the student Honor Code at the following website: Link.
Fire Drills
Fire drills will be conducted annually. In the event of a fire alarm, students will exit the building in a quick and orderly manner through the nearest hallway exit. Learn the floor plan and exits of the building. Do not use elevators. If you encounter heavy smoke, crawl on the floor so as to gain fresh air. Assist disabled persons and others if possible without endangering your own life. Assemble for a head count on the front lawn of main campus or other designated assembly area.
Turnitin
This course (or section) may use plagiarism prevention technology. Students have the option of submitting papers online through a plagiarism prevention service or allowing the instructor to submit hard copies of these papers. The papers may be retained by the service for the sole purpose of checking for plagiarized content in future student submissions.
Software Creation
The intellectual property of class assignments and other materials developed using university resources that are commercialized are reviewed under the USG and GC policies to determine ownership and/or payment rights. USG policies can be found at http://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/policy/6.3_intellectual _properties/ and GC policies can be found at http://gcsu.smartcatalogiq.com/en/Policy-Manual/Policy-Manual/Academic-Affairs/EmploymentPolicies-Procedures-Benefits/Faculty-Professional-Development-Opportunities/Faculty-Research/Intellectual-Property-Policy-and-Procedures .
Academic Grievances or Appeals
An academic grievance or appeal is an allegation by a student of substantial and/or unjustified deviation, to the student’s detriment, from policies, procedures and/or requirements regarding admission, grading policies, special agreements, instructor’s requirements and academic requirements of the University. Students shall have the right to file academic grievances or appeals according to the following procedures approved by the University. Academic Grievances or Appeals link
Graduate Student Petition: http://www.gcsu.edu/registrar/docs/GraduatePetition.pdf
Undergraduate Student Petition: http://www.gcsu.edu/registrar/docs/Student_Petition_Undergraduate.pdf
My Suggestions
1. Textbook chapters should be read before and after the class. If you do not read textbook, you are very likely to fail the class.
2. There are a lot of in-class exercises that need your participation. Please do not let go these opportunities to practice. Otherwise, you are just wasting your time and money.
3. Work hard. Spend at least 7 hours every week (outside classroom) on this course to read the textbook, review slides, redo in-class exercises, do practice assignments and turn in homework assignments.
4. This course can be as tough as a math course as it uses a lot of math. Unlike courses in marketing and management, this course does not have subjective answers.
5. The ten quiz (usually on each Monday) will cover the topics learned in the prior classes.
6. Students are expected to be familiar with solving one-unknown variable equations. If you forgot most of this skill, please pick it up ASAP. You can get helps from me and the learning center in the library.
7. Please make sure you fully understand the topics that I cover during the lecture. I will be very pleased to explain again the same concept or problem if you ask for it. If you are confused during the lecture, please do not hesitate to stop me immediately.
8. The questions in exams are similar to those in my slides, on the whiteboard, in quiz, practice and homework, and in sample exams posted on web. However, I usually do not just copy my examples or homework questions and paste to exams. I do not cover all topics in the textbook because of time constraint.
9. You are welcome to email me or drop by my office during the office hours to ask any question. Please set up an appointment first if you want to visit me at other time.
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