Bachelor
2020/2021![Learning Objectives](/f/src/global/i/edu/objectives.svg)
![Expected Learning Outcomes](/f/src/global/i/edu/results.svg)
![Course Contents](/f/src/global/i/edu/sections.svg)
![Assessment Elements](/f/src/global/i/edu/controls.svg)
![Interim Assessment](/f/src/global/i/edu/intermediate_certification.svg)
![Bibliography](/f/src/global/i/edu/library.svg)
Corporate Finance
Type:
Elective course (HSE/NES Programme in Economics)
Area of studies:
Economics
Delivered by:
School of Finance
Where:
Faculty of Economic Sciences
When:
3 year, 3, 4 module
Mode of studies:
offline
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
6
Contact hours:
64
Course Syllabus
Abstract
The main objective of the course is to present the modern approach to the financial analysis of a company and to teach the principles and techniques of evaluating the most important corporate decisions. The core of the course is the analysis of investment (capital budgeting) and financing (capital structure) decisions of a firm. We will first discuss the principles and techniques of selecting investment projects. Secondly, we will examine the determinants of the capital structure choices by firms as well as the notion of the optimal capital structure. We will then discuss how to value a company, taking into account its capital structure. We will also analyze how firms decide on their payouts to shareholders and what the optimal payout policy should be. Finally, time permitting, we will cover some special topics, such as initial public offerings, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, behavioral corporate finance.
Learning Objectives
- To present the modern approach to the financial analysis of a company
- To teach the principles and techniques of evaluating the most important corporate decisions: investment, capital structure, payout policy.
- To provide understanding of factors/forces that affect firm value
- To develop fundamental valuation skills
Expected Learning Outcomes
- Understanding of the concept of real options, knowledge of techniques of real option valuation
- Understanding of the basic principles and concepts of accounting
- Understanding of firms’ motives to go public, IPO mechanisms, IPO pricing and performance.
- Comprehension of various approaches to assess the value of a company, ability to compare these approaches.
- Ability to build valuation models.
- Understanding of the payout policy choices of firms, ability to evaluate payout policies
- Understanding of the key corporate governance mechanisms and their effect on the cost of external capital and value of companies
- Understanding the motives, sources of value creation/destruction, and negotiation aspects of M&A transactions.
- Understanding of the Modigliani-Miller theorem and the effect of leverage on the cost of equity.
- Ability to compute tax advantage of debt, understanding of the trade-off theory of capital structure.
- Comprehension of the effects of agency problems and asymmetric information on capital structure
- Understanding of the impact of managers’ and investors’ behavioral biases on corporate policies.
Course Contents
- Introduction to corporate finance. Notion of corporation, financial statements and financial ratios
- 2. Fundamentals of capital budgeting2.1. Refresher on time value of money, discounting, stocks and bonds valuation, risk and return, CAPM 2.2. Basic investment decision rules (NPV, IRR, payback period, etc.) 2.3. Projects with unequal lives: matching cycle, Equivalent Annual Cost (Benefit) method, replacement problem 2.4. Evaluating a project: forecasting earnings, determining cash flows, computing NPV 2.5. Sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis
- Advanced capital budgeting: real options3.1. Financial options: notion, properties, pricing (binomial model, Black and Scholes formula, Monte-Carlo simulations) 3.2. Real options: types and examples, valuation of projects with real options
- Capital structure4.1. Sources of long-term financing, types of equity and debt financing 4.2. Capital structure in a perfect market (Modigliani-Miller propositions) 4.3. Impact of taxes and costs of financial distress 4.4. Impact of agency costs of equity and debt 4.5. Impact of information asymmetries 4.6. Firms’ choices of capital structure: empirical evidence
- Initial public offerings5.1. Motives for going public 5.2. Short- and long-run performance of IPOs
- Capital budgeting and valuation with leverage6.1. Establishing required rates of return. WACC, APV and FTE (ER) methods 6.2. Valuing a firm: building the financial model, estimating the cost of capital, using DCF to value the firm 6.3. Valuation by comparables (multiples)
- Payout policy (dividends and stock repurchases)7.1. Payout policy in a perfect market 7.2. Effects of taxes, agency problems and information asymmetries on payout policy
- Corporate governance
- Mergers and Acquisitions9.1. Motives for M&A 9.2. Hostile and friendly takeovers, takeover defenses, bidding strategies 9.3. Announcement returns and long-run performance of M&A
- Behavioral corporate finance
Assessment Elements
- Problem sets5-6 problem sets to be solved individually.
- Cases3-4 cases to be solved in groups of 3 to 4 people, with subsequent student presentations in class. Cases are real-life situations in which you will have to put yourselves in the shoes of managers taking real-life decisions.
- Midterm testThere will be no re-take for the midterm. If you have to skip the midterm due to a valid documented reason, the final will automatically carry 56% weight. If you skip the midterm for no valid reason, you simply get 0 points for it.
- Final test
Interim Assessment
- Interim assessment (4 module)0.22 * Cases + 0.34 * Final test + 0.22 * Midterm test + 0.22 * Problem sets
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Corporate finance, Berk, J., 2014
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- Baker, M., & Wurgler, J. (2013). Behavioral Corporate Finance: An Updated Survey. Handbook of the Economics of Finance, 357. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.h.eee.finchp.2.a.357.424
- Financial markets and corporate strategy, Hillier, D., 2012
- Financial theory and corporate policy, Copeland, T. E., 2005
- Malmendier, U., 2018. Behavioral corporate finance. In Handbook of Behavioral Economics: Applications and Foundations 1 (Vol. 1, pp. 277-379). North-Holland.