Advanced Financial Management module (BU30002)

This module introduces you to different goals of the firm and many key theories in financial management.

These theories include modern portfolio theory, the Capital Asset Pricing Model, the Efficient Markets Hypothesis, dividend theory, and capital structure theory.

This module also considers project risk management and how investment decisions are made in practice.

What you will learn

In this module you will:

• understand the different objectives for management
• understand the theoretical underpinning of discounted cash-flow (DCF) techniques
• understand the complexity involved in making investment decisions when capital is rationed
• learn to analyse project risk and understand the way in which risk is handled in practice.
• learn key theories in financial management, including modern theories of portfolio diversification (i.e. international diversification)
• discuss the capital asset pricing model and recent critiques of its underlying assumptions
• discuss the different forms and implications of market efficiency and volatility
• discuss the work of Modigliani and Miller on dividends and the cost of capital

By the end of this module you will be able to:

• understand the link between key corporate decisions about financing and investment
• appreciate the interaction and information flow between firms and the capital market to make informed choices about the overall goals adopted by firms
• apply theory to real-world financial management problems faced by large firms and understand the difficulties involved with applying such academic theories to the real world
• advise corporate management on the likely implications of alternative courses of action
• evaluate the contribution of academic research to decisions faced by companies and be able to contribute to debates in tutorials about corporate decision-making in practice
• synthesise information from a number of sources and be able to compare and contrast alternative theoretical viewpoints, and express this understanding in essays in order to communicate in a clear, concise, and coherent manner
• manage time effectively and further develop the study techniques learned in previous years by applying them to the more complex problems set in this module
   

Assignments / assessment

• coursework (20%)
• final written examination (80%)

Teaching methods / timetable

This module will be delivered via on-campus (face-to-face) lecture sessions and tutorials.

A typical week in this module will have the following sessions:

• two hour lecture
• one hour tutorial

In some weeks, the timetable may be different, but the module lecturer(s) will make you aware of the timetable change.