Module overview
This module acquaints students with the main concepts, methods and insights in corporate finance at the graduate level. It focuses on firms' financial decision-making and its effect on corporate profits and valuations. Particular emphasis will be placed on the role of asymmetric information in financial decision-making in determining valuations, marekt outcomes and welfare.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Use quantitative reasoning to evaluate decisions
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the consequences of financial decisons made by corporations on their valuations
- the effect of distortions, especially informational distortions, on optimal and actual financial decisions
- key concepts and analytical methods in current corporate finance
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- value corporations based on their financial choices
- apply adequate analytical methods to determine optimal financial decsions for corporations
Syllabus
Topics that this module will cover include:
- the fundamental theoretical concepts of corporate finance, including risk measures and asset valuations.
- capital structure in perfect and imperfect worlds
- payout policy
- corporate finance under asymmetric information (e.g. takeovers, debt and agency problems)
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Lectures and masterclasses
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Teaching | 20 |
| Independent Study | 80 |
| Total study time | 100 |
Resources & Reading list
General Resources
Other course information (including reading and lecture material) available via Blackboard.
Textbooks
Tirole J (2006). The Theory of Corporate Finance. Princeton University Press.
Brealey R, Myers SC and Allen F (2020). Principles of Corporate Finance. McGraw-Hill.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
Assessment in this module is thorugh 100% end of module written examination. This is supported by continuous formative assessment through exercises and problem sets. This is the same for internal repeat. Assessment for external repeat and referral is through 100% end of module written examination as well.
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Final Exam | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Final Exam | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Final Exam | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External