This module aims to provide a sound grounding in the principles, concepts, analytical techniques and practical applications of the financial management in the context of a modern firm.
The first half of the module introduces the basic financial concepts such as financial markets and instruments, identification of financing needs and alternative sources of finance, time value of money, basics of financial securities and project valuations.
The second half of the module aims to cover some of the more advanced building-blocks of finance that are of primary concern to corporate managers focusing on financial decisions both inside and outside the firm. The module will extensively consider the fundamental relationship between risk and return, concept of an efficient market and the theory and practice of financing and dividend decisions.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Explain the goals of financial management, working of financial market and the main financial instruments;
Identify and apply the principles underlying time value of money;
Compare and contrast the main sources of financing for a company;
Understand and apply basic valuation techniques in investment decisions and valuation of financial securities;
apply the quantitative techniques, and explain the principles, underlying portfolio selection and diversification;
use and explain the capital-asset-pricing-model and other factor models and the principles underlying asset valuation and market efficiency;
Critically appraise the major models proposed to explain corporate capital structure and dividend policies and practices.