Unit Outline*
MGMT8616
Advanced Topics in Management: Corporate FinanceD4-OFF (QT2) 2011Singapore
Professor Millicent Chang
Business School
www.business.uwa.edu.au
* This Unit Outline should be read in conjunction with the Business School Unit Outline Supplement available on the Current Students web site http://www.business.uwa.edu.au/students
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© The University of Western Australia 2011
Please ensure you change this date to the current year each time you revise your unit outline.
UNIT DESCRIPTION
Introduction
Welcome to Advanced Topics in Management: Corporate Finance. My name is Millicent Chang and I am the coordinator for this unit.
Unit content
In this unit, we examine the role of the financial manager who stands between the operations of the firm and the capital markets. The financial manager is involved in: the firm’s investment or capital budgeting decision (the question of what real assets the firm should invest in) and the firm’s financing decision (how the funds for these investments are to be raised). Emphasis in this unit is on the latter. It will provide an understanding of the basis for decisions made by managers and the effect of such decisions on the value of the firm.
The goal of the unit
The goal of the unit is to introduce MBA students to the roles and responsibilities of the financial manager. The tools used by an effective manager will be investigated and they include:
§ dividend policy;
§ equity and debt financing;
§ capital structure; and
§ credit risk.
Learning outcomes
On completion of this unit, you should be able to:
§ understand the effect of investment and financing decisions on firm value;
§ understand the trade-offs in capital structure decisions.
Educational principles and graduate attributes
In this unit, you will be encouraged and facilitated to develop the ability and desire to:
· Critically evaluate corporate finance problems through case studies discussed during class;
· Develop competencies to evaluate issues facing world stock exchanges through the completion of an individual essay and
· Demonstrate self-management and independent learning skills through the completion of the prescribed weekly exercises.
TEACHING AND LEARNING RESPONSIBILITIES
Teaching and learning strategies
The delivery of the unit involves a series of seminars and tutorials. During the seminars, a broad overview of the topic will be provided and important issues will be highlighted. You are expected to read the assigned chapters to bring yourself up to speed on the issues. You will also have an opportunity to put into practice what you have learnt through case studies. Subsequently, you will be given the opportunity to discuss these issues in the tutorial.
The emphasis of the unit is on developing skills and having a grounded understanding of corporate finance.
Teaching and learning evaluation
You may be asked to complete two evaluations during this unit. The Student Perception of Teaching (SPOT) and the Students’ Unit Reflective Feedback (SURF). The SPOT is optional and is an evaluation of the lecturer and the unit. The SURF is completed online and is a university wide survey and deals only with the unit. You will receive an email from the SURF office inviting you to complete the SURF when it is activated. We encourage you to complete the forms as your feedback is extremely important and can be used to make changes to the unit or lecturing style when appropriate.
Attendance
Participation in class, whether it is listening to a lecture or getting involved in other activities, is an important part of the learning process, therefore it is important that you attend classes. More formally, the University regulations state that ‘to complete a course or unit students shall attend prescribed classes, lectures, seminars and tutorials’. Where a student, due to exceptional circumstances, is unable to attend a scheduled class, they are required to obtain prior approval of the unit coordinator to be absent from that class. Any student absent from class without having had such absence approved by the unit coordinator may be referred to the faculty for advice and may be required to withdraw from the unit.
CONTACT DETAILS
We strongly advise students to regularly access their student email accounts. Important information regarding the unit is often communicated by email and will not be automatically forwarded to private email addresses.
Unit coordinator/lecturerName: / Professor Millicent Chang
Email: /
Phone: / 61 8 6488-2971
Consultation hours:
Lecture times: / Block I
24 March, 7.00pm – 10.00pm
25 March, 7.00pm – 10.00pm
26 March, 9.00am – 6.00pm
Block II
28 April, 7.00pm – 10.00pm
29 April, 7.00pm – 10.00pm
30 April, 9.00am – 6.00pm
Lecture venue: / PSB Academy
Tutor
Name: / Lim Kaim Soon
Email: /
Phone: / TBC
Consultation hours: / TBC
Tutorial times: / 6 April, 7.00pm – 10.00pm
13 April, 7.00pm – 10.00pm
8 May, 2.00pm – 5.00pm
16 May, 7.00pm – 10.00pm
Tutorial venue: / PSB Academy
TEXTBOOK(S) AND RESOURCES
Unit website
http://www.webct.uwa.edu.au
Recommended/required text(s)
Brealey, R., Myers, S., & Allen, F. 2005, Principles of Corporate Finance, 9th edition, McGraw-Hill, New York.
UNIT SCHEDULE
Session / Session times / Topics / Text reference(Brealey et al & BRUNER)
Teaching
BLOCK
ONE / 24 March / Payout Policy and Capital Structure / Chapters 17-20
Case study 30: Leveraged restructuring
Case Study 31: Financial flexibility
Case Study 32: Choice of debt and equity financing
25 March
26 March
6 April / Tutorial 1 / Chapter 17: PQ15, PQ16, PQ18
Chapter 18: PQ11, PQ21
13 April / Tutorial 2 / Chapter 19: PQ12, PQ19, PQ22
Chapter 20: PQ16, PQ22, PQ23
(a & b)
Teaching
BLOCK
two / 28 April / Exam 1 / Covering all material from Teaching Block One including material in tutorials
29 April / Credit Risk and Value of Corporate Debt
Managing Risk
Mergers / Chapters 24-25
Case study 39: Convertible bond valuation and financing
Chapter 27
Chapter 32
30 April
8 May / Tutorial 3 / Chapter 23: PQ11, PQ13
Chapter 24: CQ15, CQ16
16 May / Tutorial 4 / Chapter 27: PQ17, PQ19, PQ21
Chapter 32: PQ9, PQ10, PQ12
7 June / Exam 2 / Covering all material from Teaching Block Two including material in tutorials
PQ = Practice Question
ASSESSMENT MECHANISM
The purpose of assessment
There are a number of reasons for having assessable tasks as part of an academic program. The assessable tasks are designed to encourage you to explore and understand the subject more fully. The fact that we grade your work provides you an indication of how much you have achieved. Providing feedback on your work also serves as part of the learning process.
Assessment mechanism summary
Item / Weight / Due date / RemarksTutorial preparation and participation / 10% / During tutorials / This item will be assessed by your tutor
ASX/SGX Merger Essay / 15% / 14 April
Reflective journal / 15% / 30 May
Exam 1 / 30% / 28 April
Exam 2 / 30% / 7 June
Note 1: Results may be subject to scaling and standardisation under faculty policy and are not necessarily the sum of the component parts.
Note 2: Your assessed work may also be used for quality assurance purposes, such as to assess the level of achievement of learning outcomes as required for accreditation and audit purposes. The findings may be used to inform changes aimed at improving the quality of Business School programs. All material used for such processes will be treated as confidential, and the outcome will not affect your grade for the unit.
Assessment components
Tutorial preparation and participation (10%)
Tutorial preparation and participation is immensely important to you benefiting from this unit. You are expected to play an active role in expressing your opinion, asking questions and contributing to class discussion. This approach is intended to create a more stimulating learning environment and provide you with the opportunity to practise your communication skills.
All forms of class participation will be noted for grading purposes. Tutorial marks will be based on participation (50%) and preparation (50%). Your tutor may collect several pieces of work during the tutorials.
ASX/SGX Merger Essay (15%)
The essay is an assessment that is to be completed individually and is due on 14 April 2011 at 4pm via email to Millicent Chang
Essay Question: Evaluate the impact of the proposed merger between the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on the Australian economy and Australia’s standing in the Asia-Pacific region.
This method of assessment has been selected to assess your understanding of the proposed merger and also your ability to analyse its impact on Singapore. To start, you will have to research the topic and an easy and fast way to do so is through an Internet search. Type in the relevant keywords (SGX, ASX, merger) and then study the material you have found. You may also want to refer to the flowing website for tips on starting an essay.
(http://www.studentservices.uwa.edu.au/ss/learning/online_services/jump_start/starting_an_essay)
Required format: Font: Times New Roman; Font size: 12 point; Spacing: 1.5 Spacing; Justified; Margins: 2.5cm on all sides; Page limit: 2 pages (excluding reference page) and work presented over the 2page limit will be disregarded by the examiner. Please make sure you correctly and completely cite the sources you have used and provide a list of references. See http://libguides.library.uwa.edu.au/harvard for the Harvard referencing method.
The response to the essay question will be graded based on its accuracy, completeness, and relevance. The form of your answer will be assessed in terms of clarity, organisation, spelling, punctuation and grammar (Reiner, Bothell, Sudweeks and Wood, 2002)[1]. It may have been awhile since you have written an essay so get started early. Please direct any questions you may have about this assessment to Millicent Chang.
Reflective journal (15%)
You are required to keep a reflective journal (learning journal) on the process of your learning throughout the course. I will provide you with more information on this part of the assessment in the first class.
Exam 1 (30%)
This is a 3 hour open book exam with 10 minutes’ reading time. It is based on material covered in Teaching Block One, including the material in tutorials. The exam will consists of multiple choice and short answer questions.
Exam 2 (30%)
This is a 3 hour closed book exam with 10 minutes’ reading time. It is based on material covered in Teaching Block Two, including the material in tutorials. However, students are expected to recall concepts from Teaching Block One, though the material will not be directly examined. The exam will consists of multiple choice questions, short answer questions and an essay question.
Submission of assignments
Submit your assignment on WebCT.
Student Guild
Phone: (+61 8) 6488 2295
Facsimile: (+61 8) 6488 1041
E-mail:
Website: http://www.guild.uwa.edu.au
Charter of Student Rights and Responsibilities
The Charter of Student Rights and Responsibilities outlines the fundamental rights and responsibilities of students who undertake their education at UWA (refer http://handbooks.uwa.edu.au/undergraduate/poliproc/policies/StudentRights ).
Appeals against academic assessment
The University provides the opportunity for students to lodge an appeal against assessment results and/or progress status (refer http://www.secretariat.uwa.edu.au/home/policies/appeals ).
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[1] http://testing.byu.edu/info/handbooks/WritingEffectiveEssayQuestions.pdf