COURSE SYLLABUS - FINANCE 351 Fall 2012[1]

INSTRUCTOR: Donglin Li ()

OFFICE: BUS 315 (415-405-0981)

OFFICE HOUR: M WF 4-5:20pm

CLASSROOM: FIN351-01: BUS213 MWF 3:10-4pm

HOMEPAGE : http://online.sfsu.edu/~donglin/courses.html

RECOMMENDED

TEXT: “Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 6th Edition, by Richard A. Brealey, Stewart C. Myers and Alan J. Marcus, published by Irwin McGraw-Hill.”

Or

“Fundamentals of Financial Management” Brigham and Houston, Thomas Southwestern Publisher, concise edition.

Course Overview:

This is a second course in financial management. Students learn tools and concepts about how to make financial decisions such as capital budgeting and financing. Topics include valuation of financial and real assets, risk- return analysis, capital budgeting, capital structure, valuation, and cost of capital.

Prerequisites:

FIN 350 with a grade of C- or better; enrollment priority for finance majors and minors. It is the business school’s policy that all the students taking this course must satisfy this prerequisite requirement. If you didn’t take these prerequisite courses, please drop the course as soon as possible so that the qualified students on the waiting list can enroll in this course.

Course Objectives:

The primary purpose of the course is to provide students with some conceptual, analytical and institutional aspects of financial decision making at an introductory level. Specifically, the topics may include Financial Analysis, Capital Budgeting, Capital Structure, Valuation, Cost of Capital and Risk Analysis.

Calculators

A financial calculator is required for this course. You will use a calculator in other finance

courses as well as in the real world. Present Value/future value tables will not be furnished

with the examinations. It should be emphasized that the calculator cannot replace an

understanding of the problem solving process. Be sure to learn how to use your calculator long before the

scheduled quizzes and the final exam. (The instructor is most familiar with the TI BA II PLUS and HP 10B II but there are numerous calculators on the market). You cannot share calculators with others during the quizzes and the final exam. No PC or phone is allowed in exams.

Class Web Page:

There is a web page for this class at http://online.sfsu.edu/~donglin/courses.html. This web contains a lot of useful and very important information such as syllabus, lecture notes, homework solutions, exam solutions, and other useful links.

I also use iLearn to post lecture notes, homework assignments and solutions, quiz and exam scores,

and other important information and announcements. Please check this website frequently.

https://ilearn.sfsu.edu/login/index.php

Homework

I will post homework problems on the iLearn website. The purpose of homework is to help you

review the materials lectured. Homework will not be graded but their solutions will be posted on the iLearn website. You are expected to complete the assigned homework. No credit is assigned for homework.

Class Performance

Class Performance can be enhanced by behaving well in class. Full attendance helps but does not guarantee full credit on class performance. Examples that may hurt class performance include but are not limited to the following: disturbing classroom; wasting other students’ time; poor attendance; and attempting to seek undue favor from the instructor.

In Class Work

There are a total of 4 projects that are done in class or left as homework. These in-class projects are not graded, but they may be relevant for preparing the quizzes. There are absolutely no make-ups. Yes, you can discuss with others in doing these projects. The schedule of the 4 in-class-work projects is not announced in advance.

Cases

We will discuss two or three cases in class. Before the case discussion, students are required to spend time reading and getting familiar with the case. Case problems are closely related to quizzes/final exam. So it is highly recommended that you come to each case discussion to learn and get prepared.

Quiz, Final and Grading:

There will be 4 quizzes and one final exam during the semester. These quizzes will be closed book. You cannot communicate with others during quizzes or the final.

Out of the 4 quizzes, you may drop the one with the lowest score. The schedule of these quizzes is not fixed; however the instructor might alert you one week in advance, at his option. Please bring your SFSU ID or a driver license to class, as well as scantrons.

The quizzes and final exams will be held in class. The quizzes are in the form of multiple choice questions, consisting of a mix of conceptual questions and numerical problems. The final might be also multiple choices or a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions.

The final exam will be cumulative, although some topics may be off the coverage. In general, the coverage will reflect the amount of time spent in class on the different chapters.

There are absolutely no make-up tests or in-advance tests. Giving tests before or after the assigned dates is not possible. No “incomplete” grade will be given. If you anticipate missing many classes, please take the course at a later date.

Total available points will be broken down as follows:

Class performance 9

Quizzes 51

Final Exam 40

Total 100

The grade that will appear on your transcript is based on the ranking of your total scores in class:

Above 85% of class / Above 60% of class / Above 15% of class / Bottom 15%
A range / B range / C range / D, and F range

Please note that the grading is on a curve. Plus (+) and minus (-) grading will be employed.

The instructor reserves the right to make minor adjustment if necessary.

Disability Programs and Resource Center

Students with disabilities who need reasonable accommodations are encouraged to contact the instructor. TheDisability Programs and Resource Center is available to facilitate the reasonable accommodations process.

Academic Integrity Rules

Any students caught cheating in exams, will receive a failing grade. During exams, it is helpful to sit as far as possible between each other. It helps to look at the classroom ceiling, your shoes, or the blackboard rather than your neighbors when you need to rest your eyes.

Any attempt to seek undue favor from the instructor will automatically inflict a student’s class performance points. The instructor cannot assign extra work to any individual to improve her/his grade. I impose this policy just to be fair to the whole class.

FAME The Financial Analysis and Management Education (FAME) is an organization made up of

business students, who seek an understanding of finance and management combining learned

classroom ideas with a real-world approach. If you are interested, contact:

Tentative Course Outline (Subject to Change)

Week of

/ /

Topic

8.27, 8.29,8.31, / Introduction to Financial Management
9.3 (no class), 9.5, 9.7 / Time value of money
9.10,9.12,9.14 / Time value of money
9.17,9.19,9.21 / Bonds and their valuation; Interest rates
9.24,9.26,9.28 / Bonds and their valuation; Interest rates
10.1,10.3,10.5 / Risk and Return
10.8,10.10,10.12 / Risk and Return
10.15,10.17,10.19 / Stocks and their Valuation; Market Efficiency
10.22,10.24,10.26 / Stocks and their Valuation; Market Efficiency
10.29,10.31,11.2 / Cost of Capital
11.5,11.7,11.9 / NPV and Other Investment Criteria
11.12(no class),11.14,11.16 / NPV and Other Investment Criteria
11.19,11.21,11.23 / No class
11.26,11.28,11.30 / Financial Statements, Taxes, and Free Cash Flow
12.3,12.5,12.7 / Cash Flow Estimation and Risk Analysis
12.10,12.12,12,14 / Capital Structure and Debt Policy (if time permits), Slack, Catchup, and Review
12.17
12.22 / Final Exam / Regular class room
Saturday December 22 1:30-4:00

Administrative issues for add, drop and withdrawal

September 10 (Monday midnight) / Last day to DROP a course without receiving a “W.” Also, last day to sign up to Audit a course.
September 10 (Monday midnight)
September 24 (Monday midnight) / Last day to ADD a course using 1st Round and 2nd Round of Permit Numbers, respectively
No Adds after September 24, 2012
October 23 (Tuesday midnight) / Last day to elect CR/NC option.
Once elected, the option cannot be changed a later date.
November 26 (Monday midnight) / Last day for student Withdrawals.
Only ONE withdrawal per COB course is permitted.

3

[1] Tentative and subject to change.