Corporate Finance

Corporate finance is an introductory finance course. It is a central course for students taking the international finance track of the International Finance and Economic Policy (IFEP) concentration. The course is designed to cover those areas of business finance which are important for all managers, whether they specialize in finance or not. Three fundamental questions will be addressed in this course: How much funding does a firm require to carry out its business plan? How should the firm acquire the necessary funds? Even if the funds are available, is the business plan worthwhile? In considering these questions, the following topics will be covered: analyzing historical uses of funds; formulating and projecting funding needs; analyzing working capital management; choosing among alternative sources of external funding for company operations; identifying costs of funds from various sources; valuing simple securities; evaluating investment opportunities; valuing a company based on its projected free cash flow The course will combine lecture time and in-class case discussions, for which students should prepare fully. The goal of the course is to provide students with an understanding of both sound theoretical principles of finance and the practical environment in which financial decisions are made.