Module Information

Module Identifier
AC10710
Module Title
Introduction to Financial Management
Academic Year
2020/2021
Co-ordinator
Mr Iain Mcdougall
Semester
Semester 2
Also available in
Summer

Course Delivery

 

Assessment

Due to Covid-19 students should refer to the module Blackboard pages for assessment details

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Describe, explain and illustrate the business finance environment, the key questions in finance, and the basic theories and techniques of financial analysis

2. List, describe, explain, illustrate, compare and contrast alternative business financing sources/approaches and techniques for investment appraisal and valuation.;

3. Cite, explain, select and apply appropriate theory and models to solve related questions and numerical problems

4. Derive, criticise and challenge selected finance models.

Aims

This module is a core module to the School's Accounting and Finance degree schemes (single, major, joint and minor) and N310 (Business Finance); it is also core to Financial Mathematics. It is also available to other students within the University who are looking for a finance 10 credit module.

Brief description

The module introduces the fundamental concepts and techniques of financial management. This serves as a prerequisite for other UG finance modules in the following two years, namely AC30420 (Investments) in Part 2.

The module provides an introduction to the theories concepts and techniques pertaining to the finance and financial management disciplines.

Further, the module contributes to the maintenance of (or is anticipated to contribute to the achievement of [further]) accreditation from professional accountancy bodies, including:

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland

Content

1. Introduction to Financial Management

2. The Business Finance Environment

  • Corporate objectives
  • Organisation of business
  • Limited liability
  • Shareholders and directors
  • Capital structure
  • Types of finance
  • Ownership and agency problems
3. Time Value of Money

  • Present value formulae and calculations
  • Future value formulae and calculations
  • Compounding / discounting
  • Continuous compounding / discounting
  • Annuities and perpetuities
  • APR

4. Raising Finance-Stock and Bond Markets

  • Main sources of finance
  • External vs Internal
  • Debt vs Equity
  • Long-term vs Short-term
  • Roles to stock markets
  • Methods for issuing equity
  • Loan capital / bonds
5. Cost of Capital

  • Cost of debt
  • Cost of preference shares
  • Cost of ordinary shares
  • Weighted average cost of capital (WACC)
  • Gearing
  • Optimal capital structure
6. Bond and Security Valuation

  • Valuation of financial instruments
  • Valuation of bonds (perpetual, zero-coupon, coupon bonds with maturity)
  • Valuation of shares (preference and ordinary)
7. Investment Appraisal

  • The investment decision making process
  • Methods of investment appraisal
  • Non-discounted cash flow and discounted methods
  • Issues in calculating and applying on investment appraisal techniques
8. Mergers and Acquisitions

  • Factors contributing to M&A
  • Specific motives for M&A
  • Financing M&A
  • Benefits of M&A
  • Failures of M&A
  • Defensive measures
9. Corporate Governance

  • Importance of CG
  • Development of a CG code
  • Principles of the combined code
10. Review

Transferable skills

This module also aims to assist students to develop their personal transferable skills by encouraging them to

  • Identify and distil key issues covered by lectures and tutorials
  • Develop basic information accessing and researching skills
  • Analyse data and apply relevant financial models

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number Develop an easy familiarity with numerical data sources and numerical data. Apply numerical data to problem solving with care and accuracy. Assess the reasonableness of and interpret numerical solutions. Support assertions/arguments with appropriately developed and presented numerical data. Calculate and use descriptive statistics
Communication Develop confidence in and clarity of oral communication via example class/tutorial participation. Develop clarity and focus of written communication via development of answers to tutorial questions. Develop and use appropriate subject-specific vocabulary in oral and written communication.
Improving own Learning and Performance Identify and distil the key issues covered by lectures and tutorials. Identify and use a range of learning resources. Investigate benefits of small group working on tutorial preparation. Structure study to accommodate intensive learning.
Information Technology Use a variety of electronic web- and library-based resources to review available information and retrieve pertinent information. Use software (Excel) to complete elements of the tutorial questions (e.g., spreadsheets for ease of tabulated numerical calculations, production of summary statistics, production of graphs, etc.)
Personal Development and Career planning Develop skills in financial analysis and decision making which are essential to the aspiring general manager. Identify a variety of potential career routes within the financial and professional services sector
Problem solving Identify the precise problem to be solved. Assess which data are pertinent to the problem. Recognize that alternative solution methods might be available. Select and apply appropriate methods for solving the problem. Assess the reasonableness of problem solutions and interpret those solutions.
Research skills Develop basic information accessing and reaching skills. Properly reference/attribute information sources. Select the most pertinent information for retrieval. Retrieve information. Re-assess the pertinence and assess the credibility of retrieved information.
Subject Specific Skills Develop competence in understanding and appropriately applying investment/financial mathematics. Understand, analyze, interpret and synthesize between financial accounting, management accounting and market-based financial information. Make well-based financial recommendations and decisions Bring financial analysis and decision making skills to the service of the business in strategizing, marketing, operating, etc.
Team work Develop experience of team work and develop team working skills via small group working on tutorial preparation.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4