Course Number and Title: Finance 333 - Introduction to Financial Management

Catalog Description: The role of finance in the modern business organization with emphasis on the decision process. Prerequisites: ACC 232; MTH 220 or equivalent (MTH 220 may be taken concurrently).

Learning Objectives : On successful completion of this course, a student should be able to:

Identify the goal of financial management and tell why it is superior to other possible goals.

Describe the functions and operations of the financial markets, the role of institutions, expectations, and taxes and the relation of the financial markets to the economy and financial management.

Construct and use the tools of financial analysis and forecasting, including ratios, pro-forma financial statements, and cash budgets.

Explain the concepts of risk, return, and time value of money, including the application of these concepts to securities, to portfolios, and to capital budgeting by the corporation.

Describe and calculate the value of or rate of return on the different types of securities issued by a corporation.

Explain and calculate the cost of capital, including the component costs and the overall cost of capital, for a firm (including its marginal cost), its relation to the firm's capital structure, and how it interacts with the capital budgeting decision.

Describe and compare the sources of funds which a company might use to finance its operations.

Most of these objectives require quantitative analysis, problem solving, critical thinking, and/or computer skills.

Specific Topics:

Required:

            An Overview of Managerial Finance
            Analysis of Financial Statements
            The Financial Environment: Markets, Institutions, Interest Rates, and Taxes
            Risk and Rates of Return
            Time Value of Money
            Bond and Stock Valuation
            Financial Forecasting
            Financial Planning and Control
            Capital Budgeting Techniques
            Project Cash Flows and Risk
            The Cost of Capital

Optional:

Working Capital Policy (including Cash and Marketable Securities, Credit Management, and Short-Term Financing)
            Capital Structure and Leverage
            Dividend Policy
            Common Stock and the Investment Banking Process
            Long-Term Debt and Hybrid Financing: Preferred Stock, Leasing, and Option Securities
            Mergers, Divestitures, Holding Companies, and LBOs
            Multinational Managerial Finance

 

Current Textbook: Gitman, Principles of Managerial Finance, Brief 3rd Edition

Evaluation: Students are evaluated on the basis of one or more exams, including questions or problems other than multiple choice, and on outside problems and/or projects.

Curriculum Coordinator: Dr. John Lewis