Undergraduate Course: Corporate Finance (BUST10012)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course considers topics including corporate governance, debt policy, dividend policy, corporate restructuring, market efficiency and behavioural biases in corporate decision making. |
| Course description |
The course considers aspects of financial management and the funding and governance of companies believed to be of academic interest and practical importance. The aims are to introduce students to current thinking and empirical research on the chosen topics, and to develop skills of understanding and analysis. The course builds on the corporate finance learned earlier in the degree programme, and so it assumes some knowledge of discounted cash flow, the cost of capital, and the main ideas relating to debt policy, dividend policy and raising equity. The course adds to students' knowledge mainly by introducing them to empirical research on the topics studied. Research in corporate finance is a social science. Its aim is to understand about value creation and financial decision-making as observed in the corporate sector. Students will learn about the current state of knowledge regarding each topic studied, and they will learn about how research in this field is conducted, through studying the research design of selected papers.
Syllabus
What determines a company¿s gearing?
What determins a company¿s payout policy?
Bank lending to companies
Raising equity: seasoned equity offers
Takeovers
Corporate governance and the role of stock markets
Family firms
International differences
Private equity
Student Learning Experience
The course consists of ten two-hour classes in Semester Two.The classes will combine lecturing and, it is hoped, discussion. Students will be pointed towards or given two or three papers in advance to read or at least look at before the relevant seminar. These papers are starred in the programme.
The learning occurs primarily through reading and thinking about the papers or chapters of books recommended. Some of the papers employ algebra in presenting arguments, and the empirical studies often use statistical analysis, but you do not need an advanced knowledge of mathematics or statistics to understand them. The reading is supported by the programme of ten lectures. An overview of each topic is presented and two or three papers are reviewed in some detail. Students are required to write an assessed essay, which enables feedback to be given on understanding of the topic and essay organisation.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students must have at least 4 Business courses at grade B or above. This MUST INCLUDE at least one Finance course at intermediate level. This course cannot be taken alongside BUST08003 Principles of Finance or BUST08030 Introduction to Corporate Finance. We will only consider University/College level courses.
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| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2020/21, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Revision Session Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework 30% - individual presentation.
Degree examination 70%. |
| Feedback |
Generic feedback on your coursework, together with individual marks, will be available on Learn 15 working days from the submission date. You can also look at your group feedback at the Business School Undergraduate Reception (outside Room 1.11, Business School, 29 Buccleuch Place) and take away a copy of the feedback form, but you will not be able to take away the original piece of coursework, as it may be required by the Board of Examiners.
Your examination marks will be posted on Learn (together with generic feedback and examination statistics) as soon as possible after the Boards of Examiners' meeting (normally early-mid June). During the summer months (i.e. mid/end June - end August), you may come to the Business School Undergraduate Reception (outside Room 1.11, Business School, 29 Buccleuch Place) to look at your examination scripts. Note that you will not be able to remove any examination scripts from the UG Office as they may be required by the Board of Examiners. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Corporate Finance | 3:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and discuss critically arguments and debates concerning the topics covered.
- Understand and discuss critically theoretical and empirical research in corporate finance.
- Understand and critically evaluate the financing arrangements of companies.
- Understand advanced methods of research in finance, for example analysis of numerical data.
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Reading List
| A reading list will be provided for each session at the start of the course. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Cognitive skills:
On completion of the module, students should have developed their ability to
(a) understand complex lines of argument and reasoning of the sort found in journal papers in corporate finance;
(b) write answers to essay-style questions. |
| Keywords | CF |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Seth Armitage
Tel:
Email: Seth.Armitage@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Jen Wood
Tel: (0131 6)50 8335
Email: J.Wood@ed.ac.uk |
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