FIN 926: Advanced Managerial

Finance
6 credit points

Subject Information
Trimester 3, 2017 Sydney On Campus

TEACHING STAFF

Teaching Role Coordinator, Lecturer and Tutor

Name Dr Bin Liu
Telephone (02) 4221 5901
Email liub@uow.edu.au
Room Visiting Faculty Office, Level 8
Consultation Times Tuesday 13:30 - 15:30

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL STUDENTS

This important information must be read together with the Sydney Business School Student Handbook which
contains relevant information on University of Wollongong (UOW) and Sydney Business School Policies. The
handbook is found at https://business.uow.edu.au/businesscentral/student-resources/UOW100614. It is your
responsibility to comply with these policies and processes.

The Sydney Business School is the graduate school of the Faculty of Business at University of Wollongong. Our
courses are delivered from campuses located at Circular Quay in Sydney and Wollongong.
Email Etiquette: Consultation with your subject coordinator and/or teachers via email

Your teachers receive many emails each day. Unless the email is of a personal nature, students should post their
query on the subject Moodle forum site so all students can benefit from the information provided in the answer.

If emailing directly, in order to enable them to respond to your emails appropriately and in a timely fashion,
students are asked to observe basic requirements of professional communication:

Consider what the communication is about

 Is your question addressed elsewhere (e.g. in this subject outline or, where applicable, on the subject's
eLearning site)?
 Is it something that is better discussed in person or by telephone? This may be the case if your query
requires a lengthy response or a dialogue in order to address. If so, see consultation times above and/or
schedule an appointment.
 Are you addressing your request to the most appropriate person?

Specific email title/header to enable easy identification of subject related/student emails

 Identify the subject code of the subject you are enquiring about (as your teacher may be involved in
more than one subject) in the email header. Add a brief, specific header after the subject code where
appropriate.

Professional courtesy

 Address your teacher appropriately by name (and formal title if you do not yet know them).
 Use full words (avoid 'text-speak' abbreviations), correct grammar and correct spelling.
 Be respectful and courteous.
 Academics will normally respond within 1-2 business days. If the matter is urgent, you may wish to
telephone the teaching staff whose contact details are given in this subject outline or contact the School.
 Please ensure that you include your full name and identify your seminar or tutorial group in your email
so that your teachers know who they are communicating with and can follow-up personally where
appropriate.

A guide to eLearning 'Netiquette' is available at https://www.uow.edu.au/student/elearning/netiquette/index.html.

The basic principles of Netiquette also apply to email communication.

Copyright
Commonwealth of Australia

Copyright Regulations 1969

© 2017 University of Wollongong

The original material prepared for this guide is covered by copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of
private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by
any process without written permission.
SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION

SUBJECT DESCRIPTION
This subject examines advanced aspects of corporate finance within the contemporary business environment.
The subject first analyses the impact of capital markets, information asymmetries and principal-agent conflicts
on practical decision-making in the firm. It then investigates several specialised areas receiving increased
scrutiny from corporate stakeholders including financial distress and restructuring, corporate governance,
managerial compensation, organisational architecture and risk management, debt and equity strategies, mergers
and acquisitions and emerging market corporate finance.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this subject, students will be able to:

1. Critically examine the assumptions, models and concepts underlying relevant finance theories.
2. Critique the theories underlying corporate finance and funding decisions.
3. Identify the practical problems faced by managers in maximising firm value.
4. Recommend the appropriate sources of financing for firm growth.
5. Analyse empirical research in finance.

UPDATES TO THIS SUBJECT

The School is committed to continual improvement in teaching and learning. In assessing teaching and learning
practices in a subject, the School takes into consideration student feedback from many sources. These sources
include direct student feedback to tutors and lecturers, feedback through Student Services and Business Central,
responses to the Subject and Course Evaluation Surveys. These important student responses are used to make
ongoing changes to subjects and courses. This information is also used to inform systemic comprehensive
reviews of subjects and courses.

While every effort is made to keep the subject database current, students may find that occasionally, the
assessment information in the subject outline differs from the information on the subject database. In such
instances, the Subject Coordinator will make appropriate announcements in the first class of the session.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

Course Learning Outcomes can be found in the Course Handbook
https://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/yr2016/index.html.

GRADE DESCRIPTORS
Grade Descriptors for final grades can be found at https://www.uow.edu.au/curriculum-
transformation/aqc/uowgradedescriptors/index.html

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS
The Faculty of Business expects all students to attend lectures and tutorials as we strongly believe that students
who attend lectures and tutorials usually learn more and perform better in assignments and examinations.

REQUIRED TEXT(S)
Brealey R, Myers S & Allen F 2017, Principles of Corporate Finance, 12th edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New
York. ISBN: 9781743769034 Price: $197.95

Textbooks are available online from the University Bookshop at https://unicentre.uow.edu.au/unishop/

KEY REFERENCES
The recommended readings below are not intended as an exhaustive list of references. Students should also use
the library catalogue and databases to locate additional resources.

1) Bodie Z, Kane A & Marcus A 2013, Investments, 10th edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York.
2) Booth L, Cleary W & Drake P 2013, Corporate Finance, Wiley, New Jersey.
3) Jordan B, Miller T & Dolvin S 2014, Fundamentals of Investments, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New
York.
4) Ross S, Westerfield R & Jaffe J 2012, Corporate Finance, 10th edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York.

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Barberis N & Thaler R 2003, 'A survey of behavioral finance', Handbook of the Economics of Finance, vol 1,
pp.1053-1128.
Loughran T, Ritter J & Rydqvist K 1994, 'Initial public offerings: International insights', Pacific-Basin Finance
Journal, vol 2, no. 2, pp.165-199.

LECTURES

Lecture Times
Lectures will be held on:

Day Start Time End Time Room

Tuesday 09:30 11:30 SR 5, Level 9

Trimester 3

Week Date Topics Covered Readings

Emergency Evacuation Procedures
Subject Outline
1 22 Aug 2017 Subject Outline
Chapter 14
An Overview of Corporate Financing
Chapter 15 & Loughran, Ritter and Rydqvist
2 29 Aug 2017 How Corporations Issue Securities
(1994)
Payout Policy
3 05 Sep 2017 Chapter 16 & 17
Does Debt Policy Matter?
4 12 Sep 2017 Managing International Risks Chapter 27 & Hedging case study
5 19 Sep 2017 In-Session Test
FIN926: Bloomberg Instructions & Chapter 27
6 26 Sep 2017 Bloomberg workshop
Finance on The Web question
7 03 Oct 2017 Financing and Valuation Chapter 19
Financial Analysis
8 10 Oct 2017 Chapter 28 & 31
Mergers
 Chapter 13 & Barberis and Thaler (2003)
9 17 Oct 2017 Efficient Markets and Behavioral Finance
Page 1053-1063
10 24 Oct 2017 Subject revision and feedback

TUTORIALS

Tutorial/Seminar/Workshop Times
The School uses the SMP Online Tutorial System and tutorial times and locations can be found at
https://business.uow.edu.au/sydney-bschool/current/tutorials/index.html.

Please note that tutorial times on the timetable are provisional and may change.

Trimester 3

Week
Week Topics Covered Readings and Activities
Commencing
1 21 Aug 2017 No tutorial
2 28 Aug 2017 An Overview of Corporate Financing Chapter 14: 4, 5, 7, 8, 9
3 04 Sep 2017 How Corporations Issue Securities Chapter 15: 3, 4, 5, 7, 14
Payout Policy Chapter 16: 1, 2, 13, 21
4 11 Sep 2017
Does Debt Policy Matter? Chapter 17: 2, 3, 14
5 18 Sep 2017 In-Session Test week No tutorial: self-study
6 25 Sep 2017 Managing International Risks Chapter 27: 1, 2, 5, 20, 21
7 02 Oct 2017 Bloomberg Workshop FIN926: Bloomberg Instructions & Chapter 27
8 09 Oct 2017 Financing and Valuation Chapter 19: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 16
Financial Analysis Chapter 28: 6, 10, 15, 26
9 16 Oct 2017
Mergers Chapter 31: 2, 5, 9
10 23 Oct 2017 Efficient Markets and Behavioral Finance Chapter 13: 1, 5, 7, 8, 9

EXTRAORDINARY CHANGES TO THE SUBJECT OUTLINE

In extraordinary circumstances the provisions stipulated in this Subject Outline may require amendment after
the Subject Outline has been distributed. All students enrolled in the subject must be notified and have the
opportunity to provide feedback in relation to the proposed amendment, prior to the amendment being finalised.
SECTION B: ASSESSMENT

Assessment Form of Assessment %

Assessment 1 In session tests 25%
Assessment 2 Authentic tasks 15%
Assessment 3 Final exam 60%
TOTAL 100%

Past exam papers may be available for student review, subject to release by the library
(https://ereadingsprd.uow.edu.au/). Solutions and marking guides are not included. The structure and/or content
of the papers may change from session to session.

Assessment 1 In session tests - Multiple choice

Topic Mid-session exam
Length 1 hour 20 minutes
Weighting 25%
Due Date 19 Sep 2017 (In lecture in Trimester 3 Week 5)
Type of Collaboration Individual assessment
Marking Criteria Marks awarded for the best answer to multiple choice questions
Style and Format 40 Multiple-Choice questions that consist of conceptual, numerical and
calculative questions.

Assessment Submission
Assessment Return
Detailed Information
The mid-session test will be held during the lecture time in Week 5 in the
lecture theatre.
The exam papers will not be returned. The exam marks will be released via
SOLS within 2 weeks after the exam.
The mid-session test will cover the first three lectures (up to and including
Week 3 lecture).

Assessment 2 Authentic tasks - Case study analysis report

Topic Analysis report
Length Maximum five pages or 3000 words
Weighting 15%
Due Date 10 Oct 2017 (Tuesday in Trimester 3 Week 8)
Final submission time: 1:00pm
Type of
Group work
Collaboration
Marking Criteria Marks will be awarded for quality of research, analysis and presentation.
This report should include the following five sections:

 Executive summary - 5%
 Introduction - 20%
 Forward hedging strategy - 30%
 Forward hedging strategy implementation discussion - 30%
 Conclusion - 15%

Detailed marking criteria is available on FIN926 Moodle site.

Style and Format Use 12 point font size, 1.5 line spacing and standard margins. You may refer to the
 following website for general advice on how to write a report:
www.uow.edu.au/content/groups/public/@web/@stsv/@ld/documents/doc/uow195620.pdf
Referenced according to the guidelines outlined in the subject outline.
Assessment Online Via Moodle
Submission
This assessment task has been set up to be checked by Turnitin, a tool for checking if it has
unreferenced content. You can submit your assessment task to Turnitin prior to the due
date and Turnitin will give you an originality report. You can then make any changes that
may be required and re-submit your final version by the due date.
Assessment Return Marked assignments will be returned in Week 10 tutorials.
Detailed This is a group assignment. Each group will consist of two students from the same tutorial
Information and each group will submit one joint report. A list of group members selected within the
tutorial should be submitted by each group to the tutor in the tutorial by Week 3. Group
members are expected to actively discuss and work among themselves but not refer to the
work of any other groups. Any collusion of this form will be treated seriously and
penalised according to the UOW policy on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism. Each
member in a group is expected to contribute equally to the assessment task and any
concerns or issues among the group must be discussed with the subject coordinator prior to
submission.
In the event of any problems in the group (such as illness, differences between group
members), the subject coordinator is the final arbitrator of any issues arising in the group
work.
Case study analysis report topic summary:
Sharp exchange rate movements can make large impact to corporate profits. Exacta, S.A.,
a major French producer based in Lyons, export its products to the European Union and
the US. The company believes that its North American business is large enough, and it has
decided to establish a plant in South Carolina. The South Carolina plant will be in
operation in 2018. According to Exacta's own profit estimate, the South Carolina plant is
expected to generate profit in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Half of the profits will be transferred
to Exacta in French. Exacta’s CFO Mr Pangloss has contacted the FX division of
Standford Investment Consultation Pty Ltd seeking advices regarding the FX transaction
exposure they are exposing to. General manager of the FX division has assigned this
assignment to your team. Please write a professional report to provide advice to Mr
Pangloss regarding Exacta’s transaction exposures that may arise from its North American
operation. The following three tasks must be addressed in your report.

1. Identify Exacta's transaction exposures

2. Hedging strategy discussion
3. Hedging strategy implementation

In order to complete task 3, students are required to download and interpret the relevant
data from Bloomberg in the report. Students will receive zero mark for task 3 if the correct
Bloomberg data is not included in their report. Bloomberg operation will be discussed in
the Bloomberg workshops scheduled in week 6 and 7 and the Bloomberg workshops will
be conducted in Computer Lab 2 on level 18. More information regarding the Bloomberg
workshop is available under LECTURES and TUTORIALS sections of this subject
outline.
Detailed instruction about the assignment including content, marking criteria, and any
other necessary information are available on FIN926 Moodle site.

Assessment 3 Final exam - Short and long answer questions

Topic Final exam
Length 3 hours
Weighting 60%
Due Date The final exam will be held during the UOW exam period. It is your
responsibility to source the time and date of the final examination via SOLS
(Student ONLINE Services) when details become available.
Type of Collaboration
Marking Criteria
Style and Format
Assessment Submission
Assessment Return
Detailed Information
Individual assessment
Marks awarded for correct technical knowledge and understanding of
theoretical concepts.
Short answer questions with calculation and discussion.
The final exam will cover all topics covered in this subject. The final
examination date will be published on SOLS before the examination period.

ASSESSMENT LEARNING OUTCOME MATRIX

Measures - Assessment weighting
Mid-session Analysis Final
Learning Outcomes exam report exam

(25%) (15%) (60%)

Critically examine the assumptions, models and concepts underlying
✔ ✔ ✔
relevant finance theories.
Critique the theories underlying corporate finance and funding
✔ ✔ ✔
decisions.
Identify the practical problems faced by managers in maximising firm
✔ ✔ ✔
value.
Recommend the appropriate sources of financing for firm growth. ✔ ✔ ✔
Analyse empirical research in finance. ✔ ✔

LATE SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENT TASKS

Assessed work submitted late will be penalised by the deduction of 10 percent of the maximum possible mark
for that assessment per working day or part thereof. The operation of this rule will not result in a negative mark
being carried forward.

This penalty for late submission may be waived upon presentation of a medical certificate of illness for a
relevant period, or upon evidence of untoward or approved circumstances that fall under the Student Academic
Consideration Policy (see Sydney Business School Student Handbook).

ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

Students are required to go through the tutorial questions prior to each tutorial class. The tutorial questions will
be discussed between tutor and students. Informal feedbacks will be provided to students during or at the
conclusion of each tutorial class.

SUPPLEMENTARY ASSESSMENTS
Supplementary assessment may be offered to students whose performance in this subject is close to that required
to pass the subject, and are otherwise identified as meriting an offer of a supplementary assessment. The Subject
Coordinator will determine the precise form of supplementary assessment at the time the offer of a
supplementary is made. In some circumstances you may be offered a supplementary exam. For more
information about Supplementary Exams refer to
https://www.uow.edu.au/student/exams/timetabledates/index.html

SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATIONS
Students who suffer illness or other circumstances beyond their control which are likely to affect their academic
performance on the day of an examination should not attempt the exam. These students should obtain a Medical
Certificate or other approved supporting documentation and follow the University's Academic Consideration
application process to apply for a supplementary exam. The School will not approve students to re-sit an
examination. See Section C, Student Academic Consideration Policy for further details.

Students approved for a supplementary examination will receive a minimum of five (5) days' notice via
SOLSMail, regarding the examination date, time and location. Supplementary exam period dates can be found
at https://www.uow.edu.au/student/exams/timetabledates/index.html.

MINIMUM PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible to pass this subject, students must complete all assessment tasks for this subject. In addition, you
must achieve a total mark of 50% or over and obtain a minimum of 50% in the final examination or major piece
of assessment (where there is no final exam). Students who do not meet these minimum performance level
requirements will be given a Fail grade (F) on their academic transcript, in accordance with the general course
rules.

Where a student gains a mark of 50 or greater and does not meet the specified level in an assessment task
required to pass the subject a Technical Fail (TF) grade will be given. Where a Technical Fail is given the
following applies:

a. Failure of the subject;

b. a TF without a mark will be granted;
c. a TF will be presented on the student's academic transcript;
d. The allocated mark of 49 will be used as the WAM calculation for subjects at all levels.

Students who fail a subject will not normally be eligible for a supplementary exam but may be approved if
extenuating circumstances exist. Approval for a supplementary exam in these circumstances needs to be given
by the relevant Head of School and Faculty Assessment Committee. Students who believe they may be eligible,
and who have not already been advised accordingly, should consult their Lecturer or Subject Coordinator.

ASSESSMENT QUALITY CYCLE

The University of Wollongong is committed to the quality assurance and quality enhancement of assessment.
The University will meet its legislative and regulatory obligations, to ensure consistent and appropriate
assessment through course management and coordination, including assessment quality assurance procedures.
An Assessment Quality Cycle is used to describe quality assurance at the points of assessment design,
assessment delivery, the declaration of marks and grades, and review and improvement activities.

DATA RETENTION AND USE

The Faculty of Business will retain appropriate records in line with the State Records Act 1998 (NSW), other
relevant legislation, standards and University of Wollongong policies.

Data on student performance and engagement (such as Moodle and University Library usage, task marks, use of
SOLS) will be available to the Subject Coordinator to assist in analysing student engagement, and to identify
and recommend support to students who may be at risk of failure. If you have questions about the kinds of data
the University uses, how we collect it, and how we protect your privacy in the use of this data, please refer to
https://www.uow.edu.au/dvca/bala/analytics/index.html

Please note: Copies of student work may be retained by the University in order to facilitate quality assurance of
assessment processes.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND PLAGIARISM
The University's Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy, faculty handbooks and subject guides clearly set out
the University's expectation that students submit only their own original work for assessment and avoid
plagiarising the work of others or cheating. Re-using any of your own work (either in part or in full) which you
have submitted previously for assessment is not permitted without appropriate acknowledgement. Plagiarism
can be detected and has led to students being expelled from the University.

The use by students of any website that provides access to essays or other assessment items (sometimes
marketed as 'resources'), is extremely unwise. Students who provide an assessment item (or provide access to an
assessment item) to others, either directly or indirectly (for example by uploading an assessment item to a
website) are considered by the university to be intentionally or recklessly helping other students to cheat.
Uploading an assessment task, subject outline or other course materials without express permission of the
University is considered academic misconduct and students place themselves at risk of being expelled from the
University.

Students should visit the following University website and become familiar with the University's policy on
plagiarism https://www.uow.edu.au/about/policy/UOW058648.html.

Plagiarism Prevention
The School has an e-learning module which aims to orientate you with the knowledge and resources to:

 avoid problems related to plagiarism

 develop your capacity to integrate evidence into your arguments
 reference correctly.

The online module is openly available for use by students at any stage in their degree. You are strongly
encouraged to use the module to help in assessing the academic integrity of your written work. The module can
be accessed via https://moodle.uowplatform.edu.au/course/view.php?id=5679.

TURNITIN
Turnitin is a service used by UOW as a tool educating students about the importance of correct citations and
referencing techniques in addition to identifying where students have copied or reused the work of others -
known as plagiarism. For tips about writing with academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism please see above:
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism and https://www.uow.edu.au/student/services/ld/students/UOW021315.html

The Turnitin system checks each student's written assessment against electronic text;

 on the publicly accessible Internet,

 in published works (including ABI/Inform, Periodical Abstracts, Business dateline, and electronic
books),
 on the ProQuest and Gale commercial databases, and
 in every assignment previously submitted to Turnitin

When a student submits his/her written assessment, the system generates an 'originality report' that highlights
the similarity found between the assessment and all the sources checked by Turnitin. Turnitin does not check
that references are in the correct Harvard format. It is the student's responsibility to check that all references
follow the Harvard format detailed on https://www.library.uow.edu.au/referencing/.

It is compulsory for all students to submit all written assignments (final version) in a word (.doc/.docx) format
into the Turnitin system regardless of whether it is electronic or paper based. Your lecturer will advise whether a
hard copy of the report is required with any paper based assignment submission.

Students are encouraged to submit drafts of their assignment to Turnitin before the due date, thus enabling
students to check their referencing and rectify any issues before submission of the final version.
 1. Use one document name only for each assignment that includes your UOW student number
2. Any resubmissions must use the same document name as the original submission
3. References must be included in your Turnitin submission
4. Do not include the assignment topic question at the beginning of your submission
5. Where a paper based copy is required with the assignment submission, the originality report provided
with the assignment submission must be consistent with your last submission to Turnitin

Failure to comply with these requirements may result in penalties being applied.

ACADEMIC COMPLAINTS
In accordance with the Coursework Student Academic Complaints Policy, a student may request an explanation
of a mark for an assessment task or a final grade for a subject consistent with the student's right to appropriate
and useful feedback on their performance in an assessment task. Refer to the Coursework Student Academic
Complaints Policy for further information - http://www.uow.edu.au/about/policy/UOW058653.html

SECTION C: GENERAL ADVICE TO STUDENTS

For general information on university policies and procedures relevant to students, and for details about the
range of student services available, please see General Advice for Students which can be accessed online at
https://business.uow.edu.au/UOW144987.html.

For further information please refer to the student handbook at

http://sydneybusinessschool.edu.au/current/student-handbook/index.html