Course Syllabus

Fall 2021

Course Name:
Prerequisite(s): Introduction
ACCT to210Finance for Engineers
and INDE 301
Course Number: FINA 211 Credit Hours: 3
Course Description: This course introduces basic principles of finance to engineers and provides
Instructor: Wassim Dbouk Office No: 304
practical tools for financial decisions and valuation in a corporate context,
Email: wd08@aub.edu.lb Office
including financial Hours: analysis,
statement MW 9:30-11:00 am or budgeting
valuation, capital by appoitnment
under
Section: 1 uncertainty, cost of capital, capitalMW:
Time: structure, dividend
11:00- policy, lease
Location: OSBfinance,
236
options, and acquisition. 12:15 pm
Required Text: Corporate Finance by Ross, Westerfield, Jaffe, and Jordan, McGraw-Hill
Relationship to Other It is an introductory level finance course for all engineering major students.
Education, 12th edition
Coursework: In this course, students learn financial statement analysis and what is the
Connect Class Link: will be shared via Moodle
basis for valuation of the different financial instruments. They are taught
Required Tool: Financial Calculator:
investment Texas
and Instruments™
financing BAand
decisions II Plus
howortoequivalent
choose among several
investment opportunities. They also study how to consider the risk element in
making investment decisions. They are also introduced with special topics
such as derivatives and mergers and acquisitions. The knowledge acquired in
this course serves as the platform for more advanced analysis in finance.

BBA Program This course is a foundation course in Finance for students in the
Learning Goals (LG) undergraduate program. To this end most of the BBA program learning goals
are addressed throughout the course as follows:
 B-LG1: Business Professional Knowledge & Competence -
throughout this course students will be able to apply strategies that
will allow a firm to make sound investment decisions. In formulating
these strategies students will use concepts, principles and theories
from core business professional knowledge and competence both
from generic and specific business areas. They will gain a deep
understanding of the key areas of financial management: investment
decision-making, (NPV, IRR, etc.), financial optimal structure
(capital structure, debt and equity financing), and dividend policy.
These topics are central to decisions made by financial managers
regarding the goals and financial strategy of a corporation, financial
statements and their analysis, and financial forecasting and planning.
Performance will be assessed by the instructor mainly through
multiple choice exams, and a case study analysis.

 B-LG2: Decision Making - through an integrated case study, students

will recognize and describe analytical-quantitative approaches to
business and managerial decision-making situations. They will also
demonstrate competency in the application of these analytical-
quantitative approaches. They will be able to understand and apply
 financial analysis principles and methodologies to a listed/publicly
traded firm. They will use the results of the analysis to make an
informed, well-justified judgment concerning the financial health of
the company being analyzed and, if appropriate, recommend
corrective courses of action for the firm.

 B-LG3: Ethics - OSB graduates will understand and explain ethical

principles/rules/codes of conduct and situational variables bearing
upon business/managerial ethical dilemmas. They will learn and
understand the responsibility of the firm towards its stakeholders
among which the social environment in which it operates.

 B-LG4: Teamwork – In this course, the student will demonstrate

appropriate teamwork behavior in a group case analysis exercise.

Specific Learning The Specific Learning Objectives (SLOs) for this course that map to the
Objectives (SLO) for BBA program learning goals mentioned above are as follows:
the Course:
B-LG1: Business Professional Knowledge & Competence
1. Recognize the characteristics and compute the value of financial
assets.
2. Generate a company’s cost of capital and use it to carry out capital
budgeting analysis for new investment proposals.
3. Describe and compute risk and return of assets and well-diversified
portfolios.
4. Explain the basics of capital structure theory, dividend policy, and
lease financing.
5. Describe the basics of options and acquisition.

B-LG2: Decision Making & B-LG4: Teamwork

6. Apply financial statement analysis, risk and return, and valuation
methodologies in a group setting to a listed/publicly traded firm and
use the results of the analysis to make an informed, well-justified
judgment concerning the financial health and value of the company.

B-LG3: Ethics
7. Acknowledge the agency problem between the firm and its
stakeholders.

Instructional Lecture, class discussion, in-class group exercises, and group case analysis.
Methodology:
Performance Midterm Exam (1-9)/Oct 15,2021 30%
Evaluation and Final Exam (Non cumulative) 35%
Grading: Quizzes 10%
Group Project 10%
Connect Home Works 10%
Attendance and Participation 5%
Total 100%
Summary of Topical SLO Hours % of
Coverage: referenced Time
Introduction to Corporate Finance (Ch. 1) 7 2.00 hrs 5.33%
Financial Statement Analysis (Ch. 3) 6 3.50 hrs. 9.33%
Capital Budgeting (Ch. 5, 6, 7) 1, 2, 6 4.50 hrs 12.00%
Bond Valuation (Ch. 8) 1, 6 3.25 hrs. 8.67%
Stock Valuation (Ch. 9) 1, 6 4.25 hrs. 11.33%
Risk, Return, and CAPM (Ch. 11) 3 3.25 hrs. 8.67%
Cost of Capital (Ch. 13) 2 2.50 hrs. 6.67%
Capital Structure (Ch. 16) 4 3.25 hrs. 8.67%
Dividends (Ch. 19) 4 2.75 hrs. 7.33%
Leasing (Ch. 21) 4 2.75 hrs. 7.33%
Options (Ch. 22) 5 2.75 hrs. 7.33%
Mergers and Acquisitions (Ch. 29) 5 2.75 hrs. 7.33%
Total Hours 37.50 100%
(based on 15 weeks per semester @ 2.5 hours per hrs.
week)

Use of Technology: Students will be expected to use MS word, and MS excel in completing their
projects.

Academic Honesty: Academic honor, trust and integrity are fundamental to The Olayan School of
Business community. They contribute directly to the quality of your
education and reach far beyond the campus to your overall standing within
the business community. Students are expected to complete all work with the
highest standard of integrity in line with AUB’s Student Code of Conduct
and OSB’s Honor Code. Plagiarism, forgery, cheating or any form of
academic misconduct will not be tolerated. In other words, examinations are
to be the work of the individual student using only the material permitted
during the examination.

Other Course Policies:  Attendance: Students missing classes will be penalized. Students
missing more than 6 classes may be dropped without notice. If your
absences accumulate after the drop deadline, you risk failing the
course. No student is allowed to enter the class after five minutes
from its official starting time unless he or she has the prior consent of
the instructor.

 Turn-it-In: Students must submit all written projects to turnitin.com

on the same day that they submit their work to their instructors.
Turnitin.com is simply an aid to ensure that a student’s work is their
own. Further details concerning turnitin.com will be provided in class
  Deadlines and Due Dates: These will be strictly enforced.
Assignments are administered through Connect online management
system. Assignments are due on the fixed date, to enhance student
learning. Late submissions will not be authorized. Missing a required
assignment will be assigned a grade of zero.

 Group work: Individuals must contribute their fair share to any group
effort resulting in a deliverable to the instructor. In addition, everyone
in the group will be held accountable for the quality, originality and
proper sourcing of the entire group product.

 Exams: Students are not allowed to miss any official exam, including
Mid-Term Exam, at the risk of receiving a grade of zero/100 on the
exam. OSB rules and regulations apply and are enforced in this
respect.

Additional  Quizzes: Two pre-scheduled quizzes will be administered during the

Information: semester; any student missing a quiz may receive a 0/100 grade on
that quiz.

 Connect Home Works: Students must complete all Connect home

works for each chapter immediately after it is covered in class. 3
attempts for each home work is allowed and the best attempt will be
graded. One must complete all 3 attempts to view the solution.

 Group Project: A group project is required for the purpose of

assessing competency of students in the application of analytical-
quantitative approaches as related to Financial Statements Analysis,
Valuation, and in the ability to adapt to team work. This project is due
(via Moodle) on the last day of class.

 Calculators: the use of a financial calculator (preferably a Ti BA II

plus) is required for in-class problem solving sessions and during
exams. The exams will be corrected taking into consideration that the
student has access to this calculation tool.

 Use of Electronic Device in Class: During class meetings, you may

use your laptop for course-related purposes only. All cell phones
must be turned off and out of sight during class meetings.

 Communication: I will often send notification / information via

 Moodle to your AUB email address. It is your responsibility to check
your AUB email account on a regular basis.

 Accommodation: The Accessible Education Office (AEO)

coordinates academic accommodations and services for all eligible
AUB students with disabilities (such as ADHD, learning difficulties,
mental health conditions, chronic or temporary medical conditions,
and others). If you have a disability for which you wish to request
accommodations at the department, faculty or university level, please
contact AEO as soon as possible. Once you register with our office,
we will assist you in receiving appropriate accommodations and will
liaise with your instructors and any related entity to best support your
needs. AEO is located in West Hall room 314, and can be reached by
phone at 1-350000 ext. 3246 or by email: accessibility@aub.edu.lb.
Information about our services can be found at:
https://www.aub.edu.lb/SAO/Pages/Accessible-Education.aspx

 Non-Discrimination – Title IX - AUB: In line with its commitment to

the principle of equal opportunity in education and employment,
AUB policies protect you from discrimination on the basis of
protected characteristics, including discriminatory harassment and
sexual harassment. Protected characteristics include: race, color,
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identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, disability,
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 The policies are applicable to all the AUB Community including:
officers, faculty, staff, academic appointees, students (including
medical interns and residents), visiting students, alumni, trainees,
visitors, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, located on campus and
at AUB Medical Center, Advancing Research Enabling Communities
Center (AREC), or any other facility or program affiliated with the
University. The “AUB community” also includes the dependents and
domestic employees of faculty and staff dwelling on campus and at
AREC.
 If you think you have experienced discrimination, discriminatory
harassment, or sexual harassment, we encourage you to inform the
Equity/Title IX Coordinator, Mitra Tauk at 01-350000 ext. 2514,
titleix@aub.edu.lb, report to a Title IX deputy at your faculty or at
any other faculty (www.aub.edu.lb/titleix), or report online
(www.aub.ethicspoint.com). Reports may be submitted anonymously
or not. Please know that the University will maintain the
confidentiality of the complaint and privacy of the persons involved
 to the greatest extent possible, consistent with its goal of conducting a
thorough and complete investigation and to the extent permitted by
law.
 You need to also know that the University has designated academic
and administrative department/unit heads, managerial level staff,
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staff/monitors, as responsible employees or “mandatory reporters”,
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