FIN465– Finance Topics and Cases

Portland State University

School of Business Administration

Spring 2017

Professor: Michael DimondFaculty Website:

Email: inkedIn:

Phone: (503) 725-8182Facebook:

Office: KMC550FTwitter:

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Case studies of financial problems in business including working capital management, capital budgeting, and financing issues, as well as special topics covered at the discretion of the instructor.Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to independently perform analyses in unstructured settings. In simple language, students should be able to:

  1. Define a problem (or multiple problems) based on a somewhat unstructured “setting” (typically a written case study),
  2. Build appropriate analyses using frameworks of finance and financial analysis,
  3. Explain their analytic methodology clearly and succinctly,
  4. Present results of their analyses (in verbal and/or written form), and
  5. Make clear recommendations about the possible solutions to the problem based on the results of their analysis.

SBA Undergraduate Learning Goals:

  1. Problem Solving and Decision-Making: Constructing clear problem statements, analyzing data, evaluating solutions, and making sound business decisions.
  2. Sustainability: Possessing holistic perspectives, anticipating the long-term consequences of business decisions.
  3. Business Communications: Communicating complex information effectively with a variety of stakeholders to increase knowledge and achieve objectives.
  4. Integrative Learning: Taking theoretical concepts and synthesizing and transferring learning to new, complex business situations.

COURSE PREREQUISITES

The prerequisites for this course are FIN449 (Valuation) and, by extension, FIN 319 (Intermediate Finance), and ACTG 381 (Intermediate Accounting 1). Because this is a capstone class, students are also expected to have knowledge from the other courses in the finance major, particularly: Fin 352 (Investments), Fin 441 (Derivatives), and Fin 456 (International). In general,students are expected to apply knowledge from all prior business courseworkin this class. In the event they do not know or recall some specific skill or bit of knowledge, students should be prepared to look up the appropriate topic in their texts from previous classes.

TIME COMMITMENT

University courses require time and effort. The general guideline is for every credit hour you should spend 2-3 additional hours working on the coursework. This is not an easy course, so it tends towards 3 extra hours per credit. This means you should expect to spend 4 hours a week involved in class interactions PLUS another 12 hours studying, practicing and improving your skills. This course may be a commitment of 16-hour per week or more.

TEXT

The following is a required text for this course:

Case Studies in Finance (7th edition) by Bruner, EadesSchill

In addition, you should have access to several books as reference, including:

Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, by Brigham, Erhardt (or any good corporate finance textbook)

Intermediate Accounting, by Kieso, Weygandt & Warfield (or any good intermediate accounting textbook)

APPROACH

This is a participation-driven class and, as such, is fundamentally different than other finance courses in the curriculum. The emphasis is not on developing quantitative skills, but on applying those skills with other “soft” skills in ways which will develop a deeper understanding of financial topics and scenarios. Much of the benefit in a case-driven class comes from participation during class time and from interaction in a stable learning group outside of class.Participation is structured, and will take four basic forms: class exploration of a case (which frequently starts with what HBS refers to as “cold call” questions), individual analysis of a case (which will be done outside of class), team assignments and/or presentations, and immersionactivities (such as role play, panel discussions and asking questions of teams presenting).

GRADING PROCEDURE

Team assignments & presentations25%

Individual analysiswriteup25%

Class exploration25%

Immersion activities25%

Students are responsible to be familiar with all material in the course. Class participation is required and both the quality and quantity of participation will be used in determining the final grade.More than half of your grade is driven by participation.

Grading Scale:100-90=A, 89-80=B, 79-70=C, 69-60=D, Below 60=F

COURSE POLICIES

  1. Late work is not accepted.
  2. Professional demeanor is expected of students at all times. Treat this class as a professional meeting.
  3. Failing to demonstrate honesty and integrity will result in a grade of ZERO for that deliverable.
  4. Students are held responsible for all announcements regarding class.

PROPOSED SCHEDULEis posted to the course web page. Cases will be identified prior to assignments in class and on the course web page, and any supplementary documents will be posted to the course web page.

Academic Misconduct Policy:

Any academic misconduct, including, but not limited to, plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, aiding and abetting academic misconduct, falsification of records and documents, communication with fellow students during examination and quizzes and/or using the work of another student will immediately result in a failing grade for the course. Furthermore, students are not allowed to discuss the content of any test, quiz or homework with anyone. Additional sanctions by the School of Business Administration may also be imposed if it deems necessary.

Disability Services:

Students with disabilities should register with the PSU Disability Resources Center (503-725-4150 TTY or Relay 503-725-4178) to document their need for accommodations and obtain support services.

Diversity Policy:

In this class students are welcome to be themselves at all times. Students can share anything about their lives that they are comfortable sharing without fear of judgment or ridicule. The instructor shall appreciate everything that makes students unique. In that same vein, students must exhibit tolerance and acceptance of others even if their words, life choices, or personal attributes do not agree with their own moral preferences. Everyone is different and that is acceptable. Students must refrain from writing something that judges someone, or potentially offends them. There is zero tolerance for the lack of compassion and understanding. If at any time students notice a questionable post, please make sure to notify the instructor. Individuality makes life exciting and should be celebrated!

Title IX Reporting Obligations:

Portland State is committed to providing an environment free of all forms of prohibited discrimination and sexual harassment (sexual assault, domestic and dating violence, and gender or sex-based harassment and stalking). If you have experienced any form of gender or sex-based discrimination or sexual harassment, know that help and support are available. PSU has staff members trained to support survivors in navigating campus life, accessing health and counseling services, providing academic and on-housing accommodations, helping with legal protective orders, and more.

Information about PSU’s support services on campus, including confidential services and reporting options, can be found on PSU’s Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response website at: or you may call a confidential IPV Advocate at 503-725-5672. You may report any incident of discrimination or discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment, to either the Office of Equity and Compliance or the Office of the Dean of Student Life.

Please be aware that all PSU faculty members and instructors are required to report information of an incident that may constitute prohibited discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence. This means that if you tell me about a situation of sexual harassment or sexual violence that may have violated university policy or student code of conduct, I have to share the information with my supervisor, the University’s Title IX Coordinator or the Office of the Dean of Student Life. For more information about Title IX please complete the required student module Creating a Safe Campus in your D2L.