COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST LOUIS FIN 3501 FINANCIAL POLICIES Spring, 2015 Instructor: Liuqing Mai, Ph.D. E-mail: mailiu@umsl.edu Phone: 314-516-5567 Office: 1114, Tower Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 3:30 PM --- 5:30 PM or by appointment Class Meetings: Tuesday and Thursday 2:00P.M. - 3:15 P. M., Room SSB 332. Course Objective: The intensification and application of the concepts developed in FINANCE 3500. Special emphasis is given to the development of top management policies and their application toward complex problems of finance. Techniques for identifying and dealing with these problems before they become acute will be investigated. Cases will be integrated with appropriate outside reading. Prerequisites: FINANCE 3500 and a 2.0 campus GPA. Course Materials: Textbook: Essentials of Corporate Finance 7 th ed. By Ross, Westerfield and Jordan, McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2011. ISBN 978-0-07-338246-3. Or one with instructor s approval. You are required to bring your textbook to class. A financial (Business) calculator is required. Texas Instrument BA II Plus and HP10B-II are recommended. Make sure that you bring your financial calculator to class. The manual that comes with the calculator is an excellent tool to help you understand the workings of a financial calculator. Students may not share calculators on exams. Access to Microsoft excel is also required. Recommended Readings: Newspapers and Magazines: The Wall Street Journal; Financial Time; the Economist. Web sources: finance.yahoo.com, businessweek.com, bloomberg.com. Home Page: I will be providing all course related items (syllabus, lecture notes, handouts, announcements, grades etc.) on MyGateWay. You need to log in to http://mygateway.umsl.edu to access FIN3501 course materials. FIN 3501 Financial Policies Spring 2015 Syllabus 1
Course Requirements: Classroom: Class participation is extremely important for this class. The in-class activities are designed to promote effective learning and emphasized on building problem-solving skills and application in the real world. The structure of this class makes your individual study and preparation outside class very important. The lecture will focus on clarification and application of concepts and principles introduced in the text. We will discuss many numerical examples and case studies in class. We will also learn how to use spreadsheet in finance. You are expected to read the relevant chapters and assigned materials before each class. Along the semester, we will watch several videos to learn about the development of top management policies and their application toward complex problems of finance in the real world. Out-of-Class Assignments: You are expected to read and attempt at your best effort all the relevant end-of-chapter problems before class. The solving techniques of these problems will also be covered in class. However, this does not mean that you can skip working homework assignments before you come to class. As you will see, working homework independently on a timely basis is crucial for you to understand the lecture in class. If you need assistance with the homework, please visit during office hours. There are 2-3 supplementary problem sets (covering multiple chapters) as class progresses. Problem sets are CFA oriented. The problem sets will be collected and graded. Case Study and Discussion Case study and term project require group effort. Groups will be assigned by instructor. Real-world cases will be given to students on an ongoing basis. Each group is responsible for leading one case discussion. All case studies are required to be submitted. Term Project & Presentation There will be a stock valuation project. Each group will select a publicly listed firm (subject to instructor's approval) and perform a comprehensive fundamental analysis. At the end of semester you are required to deliver a stock valuation report and presentation. Details of the project will be given in class. Term project presentation will be at the end of the semester. As in the real world, you are expected to explain how you complete your project and answer questions as they arise. To ensure individual understanding of the project and to prevent free ride problem, each individual is expected to talk to the class. I reserve the rights when a severe free rider problem is detected. Exams: There are two exams. Each exam has duration of 75 minutes. All exams will be closed book/closed notes. You will need a financial calculator in your exams and quizzes. You are not allowed to share a calculator in exams or quizzes. Please refer to the course outline for topics covered in each exam. FIN 3501 Financial Policies Spring 2015 Syllabus 2
It is your responsibility to attend all exams at the scheduled time. No make-up exams will be given without legitimate excuses and proof. If the legitimate excuses are foreseeable, they must be submitted in writing (email is OK) two weeks prior to the scheduled exam. If they are unanticipated such as medical emergencies, you should be able to produce documentation. Any student submitting work not his/her own, any student allowing other students to copy his/her work or any student cheating on an exam will receive a failing grade for the course. This same policy also applies to any other homework assignment of the course.. Grades: Grades will be based on two exams, quizzes, case study, project and participation. Your grade will be calculated as follows: Evaluation Standards: Exam I: 20% Exam II: 25% Case study & Discussion: 20% Project & presentation: 20% Problem Sets: 15% Total: 100% Grade Weighted Average A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F below 60 A modified 10-point scale will be used in assigning final grades. All students having a final average of 90 or more will receive an A (likewise 80 or more a B; 70 or more a C and 60 or more a D). Any reduction or modification in the minimum average to receive a particular grade will be made consistently across all students (e. g. a student with an 89.3 will not be awarded an A and one with an 89.6 a B). Determination of the final breakpoint (if lower than 90 for an A) will be made on the basis of difficulty of tests and distribution of final averages. The same is also true for B, C and D grades. Cell Phone Usage: Please turn off your cell phone when in the classroom. All cell phones must be turned off and stored during exams as you will not be allowed to use the calculator on your cell phone during exams. Please see me prior to class if there is an impending emergency that waiting until the end of class will materially alter. FIN 3501 Financial Policies Spring 2015 Syllabus 3
Standards of Conduct: Conduct including cheating, plagiarism, and furnishing false information to the University or faculty are addressed in the undergraduate and graduate bulletins. These standards apply to all students. Any student caught cheating will be assigned an F in the course. In most cases, a statement will also be made to that effect in the student s record. Americans with Disabilities Act: Any student whose disabilities fall within ADA must inform the instructor at the beginning of the term of any special needs or equipment necessary to accomplish the requirements for this course. Notes: Due to privacy issues, I do not e-mail grades and I do not give out grades over the telephone. Plagiarism, the unattributed use of someone else's work in any submitted work, will result a failing grade for the course. Extra work to improve your grade is not possible. In addition, you general academic situation cannot be considered (e.g. I need a C in this course to graduate ). The final grade in the course, once assigned, will not be changed except in the event of a recording error. You are encouraged to seek answers to your questions as they arise. The material discussed in class gets progressively more complex. Consequently, you will soon feel lost if you do not get clarification quickly. Study on a regular basis. Time commitment and diligent effort are essential to receive a good grade in this class. Work with team spirit in your term project. DO NOT complain to the professor about group members behind their backs. If a problem arises, please find a way to discuss the problem directly with the individual. Should a serious problem arise, make an appointment with me and the entire group in order to find a successful route forward. You are encouraged to give me feedback on how well you understand the material so that together we can create an effective learning environment. I also welcome your feedback about my teaching strategies and whether they are helping or hindering your learning. Please feel free to send me email or talk to me I would be delighted to hear from you. FIN 3501 Financial Policies Spring 2015 Syllabus 4
Course Outline: FIN 3501: Financial Policies Spring, 2015 *** I reserve the right to alter the schedule as circumstances dictate. Date Topic Assignment Week 1 (Jan.20& Jan.22) Introduction Chapter 1 Week 2 (Jan.27 & Jan.29) Financial Statements Chapter 2 Week 3 (Feb.3 & Feb.5) Ratio Analysis Chapter 3 Week 4 (Feb. 10 & Feb. 12) Time Value of Money Chapter 4 Week 5 (Feb. 17 & Feb. 19) DCF Valuation Chapter 5 Week 6 (Feb. 24 & Feb. 26) Interest rate and Bond valuation Chapter 6 Week 7 (Mar. 3 & Mar. 5) Stock Valuation Chapter 7 Week 8 (Mar.10 & Mar. 12) Review and Term Project Week 9 (Mar. 17 Mar.19) Exam I ( Mar. 19) Week 10 (Mar. 24&Mar.26) Spring Recess! Enjoy and relax! Week 11 (Mar.31 & Apr.2) NPV and other investment rules Chapter 8 Week 12 (Apr. 7 & Apr. 9) Capital budgeting Chapter 9 Week 13 (Apr. 14 & Apr.16) Risk and return Chapter 10 &11 Week 14 (Apr.21 & Apr.23) Cost of Capital Chapter 12 Week 15 (Apr.28 & Apr. 30) Week 16 (May. 5 & May. 7) Exam II (May 7) Review and Project Presentation The mid-term exam covers chapters 1-7 FIN 3501 Financial Policies Spring 2015 Syllabus 5