Student guide Facoltà di Economia A.A. 2011/12

1. To provide an introduction to the core concepts and key topic areas of corporate finance and to give general  framework of financial problems within the company.

2. To understand the relationship between firm and financial market with reference to investment and financing policies.

3. To identify the decision criteria for maximising corporate’s capital structure.

4. To analyse the M&A activity and company’s valuation methods.

5. To examine bank’s activity.

1.     Financial statements analysis:

1.1   asset conversion cycle and Working Capital management;

1.2   introduction to financial ratio analysis;

1.3   cash flow calculation and interpretation.

 

2.     The investment decision:

2.1   time value of money;

2.2   actualization and capitalization;

2.3   capital budgeting tecniques: NPV, IRR.

 

3.     The financial decision:

3.1   risk and return relationship. Portfolio Theory and Capital Asset Pricing Model: basics;

3.2   the cost of capital: cost of debt, equity and WACC;

3.3   the optimal capital structure: theory and empirical evidence;

3.4   the use of leverage: leveraged buyouts.

 

4.     Basics of company’s valuation:

4.1   the Mergers and Acquisitions market: an overview;

4.2   company’s valuation techniques: Discounted Cash Flow analysis and Comparables analysis.

 

5.     Enterprises and financial institutions:

5.1   banks;

5.2   commercial bank operations.

-         attending students that took the first written exam (mid-term written exam) can take the second written exam ONLY IF the mark of the first exam is at least equal to 16/30;

 

-         attending students, whose mark in the mid-term written exam is not sufficient, have to take a global oral exam;

 

-         it is possible to take global oral exam 21^st December, during the second written exam.

 

-         students that don’t pass second written exam have to take a global oral exam. The date for them will be communicated as soon as possible.

 

Brealey R., Myers S., Principles of Corporate Finance, McGraw Hill, 2000.

Additional readings will be suggested during the course.

Course overheads will be available on the website.