Dr Cristina Scherrer

This course is available on the CEMS Exchange, Global MSc in Management, Global MSc in Management (CEMS MIM), Global MSc in Management (MBA Exchange), MBA Exchange, MSc in Accounting, Organisations and Institutions, MSc in Financial History, MSc in Management and Strategy, MSc in Management of Information Systems and Digital Innovation, MSc in Regulation and Master of Public Policy. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

• This course is not open to students in the MSc Accounting and Finance and students from the following departments: Economics, Finance, Mathematics, and Statistics.
• Students on the Diploma in Accounting and Finance need permission from the Programme Director to enrol in this course.
• This course cannot be combined with FM431 Corporate Finance A.

This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access). In previous years we have been able to provide places for all students that apply but that may not continue to be the case.

This course does not permit auditing students.

This course is a self-contained introduction to finance and it covers roughly the same topics as FM431. The aim of the course is to provide a comprehensive overview of firms' financial decision making. The course is designed to provide an applied and practical approach to finance, enabling the students to address topical issues that modern corporations face.  In particular, the course builds on concepts such as valuation and capital structure theories, and applies those tools in a systematic and rigorous way to real-life financial management problems. After a brief introduction to financial markets, the course focuses on corporate finance and business valuation. Topics such as initial public offerings will also be covered.

The course is also related to FM473 (Financial Markets): both are introductory courses in Finance. FM473 focuses mostly on understanding the workings of financial markets, the determination of asset prices, and the decisions made by financial investors.  FM474 studies financial decisions from the perspective of firms (i.e., “Corporate Finance”). Although there is some small amount of overlap between FM473 and FM474, both courses can be taken simultaneously or sequentially, in any order.

30 hours of lectures in the WT.

• This course is taught in the interactive lecturing format. There is no distinction between lectures and classes/seminars; there are “sessions” only, and the pedagogical approach in each session is interactive.
• This course will be taught in two or three separate groups. Each group will meet for a single block of three hours once a week. Each student will be assigned to one group. Students will not be allowed to choose their groups or to switch groups.
• The course requires weekly in-class activities and discussions. Students must prepare for class activities in advance. Attendance is required.

Weekly homeworks.

Berk and DeMarzo, Corporate Finance, ed. Pearson.

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the spring exam period.