| Syllabus |
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Professor Gordon Bodnar T.A.s for Corporate Finance : | ||
click here to download a copy of the syllabus | ||||
| This course is a graduate-level introductory course in finance. It serves two purposes. First it is an introduction to the tools and concepts of corporate finance and provides a framework for understanding and analyzing financial decisions. Second, it introduces topics in the investments area of finance that are important for the understanding of how prices are set and markets behave. Lectures, readings and problem sets/cases will provide an introduction to basic accounting concepts and financial statement analysis, present value techniques, risk and return tradeoffs, portfolio theory, capital budgeting, financial market efficiency, capital structure decisions, cost of capital issues, option theory, risk management, and corporate governance. The focus of the course is on fundamental principles and quantitative tools of finance, so the approach is rigorous and analytical. The goal is to provide students with a solid conceptual understanding of the basic ideas of modern financial theory as well as the quantitative tools necessary to participate in the modern financial world and upper level finance courses at SAIS. Back to top. | ||||||||
Each student will be responsible for writing two exams. The first will be TUESDAY MARCH 4, 2008 during class and the second will be during the final exam period, 9:00am TUESDAY MAY 6, 2008. Students will also be responsible as part of a study group of 3 to 5 students for completing EIGHT quantitative problem sets and TWO case studies. The final grade will be determined by the following weights:
For those who show an exceptional improvement in performance on the final exam (an increase of at least 10% in relative score) the weights will be shifted to 10% for the midterm and 50% for the final. Back to top. | ||||||||
| Auditing is allowed only if space if available and with the permission of the instructor. To receive an official audit for this course on your transcript, you must individually or as part of a study group of other auditors complete and turn in ONE of the two cases and at least HALF of the questions on FOUR problem sets or complete all the requirements as part of a regular study group. It is your responsibility to alter the TA or Professor when and how this requirement has been met. Failure to do will result in no audit credit on the transcript. Back to top. | ||||||||
Textbook The materials for the course consist of a required textbook and lecture notes available for download on the course website (see below), and a financial calculator. The text for the course is:
This is a new book that has been out only for a year. Most students find it a great book and I think it is a significant improvement on the previous text, the drawback is that there are few used or international editions as of yet, so it must be purchased new. While the book is expensive, it should be thought of as an investment rather than an expense. Many seasoned financial professionals still keep their copy of their Corp Finance text on the shelf behind their desk. Purchase of the book also gives you access to a web portal call My Finance Lab, designed largely around this book. While I have not had time to fully investigate the possibilities with this site, it does allow for students to do sample problems and take sample quizzes to see if they are getting the material for from the chapters. I highly recommend that students take a look at this. As I have time to better understand how it works and its full range of offerings, I might make some use of it in the later portions of the course. Additional readings that are assigned are available either on reserve or on the web. In addition to the textbook and required readings, students are encouraged to read popular financial press articles during the term. The course will occasionally discuss relevant current events. Recommended sources include:
Student subscription rates are available for some of these publications. Click here for more info. Calculator In order to carry out quickly the complex calculations often done in modern finance, each student will need to have a financial calculator. I recommend the Texas Instruments® BA II PLUS Financial Calculator (approx $35) or the Texas Instruments® BA-II Plus Professional Calculator (approx $65). Other financial calculators can be used (financial calcualtor can be identified by 5 important fuction keys (PV, FV, I/Y, PMT and N) but the TA's will only provide user support for the TI calculators mentioned above.These can be ordered online or be found in most office supply or general electronics store or can be ordered on-line (be sure to look for the best deal). While it is possible to do financial calculation without a financial calculator, these require substantially more key stroking (with the resulting greater possibilities for errors) and students with such calculators may be at a significant disadvantage on the exams. In addition to a calculator, students will need to be functional in a computer spreadsheet such as MS EXCEL. If you have no experience in these programs, see the computer center for basic instruction courses. Twice during the term, I will hold Excel sessions on more advanced topics such as building spreadsheets and doing regressions and graphing. Back to top. | ||||||||
| Both exams are closed book. Students need only bring a calculator and writing utensils to class. All information other than your own knowledge will be provided with the exams. Absences from exams are allowed only for validated medical reasons. Unexcused absences from exams will result in a zero score in the calculation of the final grade. The first exam is scheduled for TUESDAY MARCH 4, 2008 during class and the second will be during the final exam period, 9:00am TUESDAY MAY 6, 2008. Scheduling conflicts with exam dates must be cleared well in advance with the instructor. Any rescheduled exams must be taken earlier than the scheduled exam. Back to top. | ||||||||
Homework: Cases and Problem Sets Students are required (except with special permission of the instructor) to work on the problem sets and cases in study groups. These groups should consist of three or five individuals enrolled in the course. Study groups should be formed in the first weeks of class and identified to me in advance of turning in the first problem set. Please email me a list of the members and a catchy name for your group. The group name should be included an all group work. Once established, groups can only change membership with the pre-notification of the instructor and agreement by all concerned parties. I must be notified in advance of any changes in group membership. If there are problems within a group that cannot be reconciled satisfactorily by all members of the group, they should be brought to my attention. At the end of the course, all students will be required to confidentially evaluate the contribution of their group members. These evaluations will play a role in the class participation portion of the grade. Back to top. | ||||||||
My office hours are Monday 10:30 - 12:00 pm and Wednesday 10:45 – 12:15 pm in my office, Rm 704, Suite 704 BOB (1717 Mass). You can also stop by at other times for short questions if my door is open. For longer contacts, please call to make an arrangement. My office phone is 663-7731. I also answer questions via e-mail. My email address is bodnar@jhu.edu . If I am in the office, I typically respond to email quickly. Also, please refer to the course announcement page on the course website for items of interest such as changes in due dates, hints/clarifications about homeworks or other breaking information about the course. The course website can be accessed from my website, http://www.sais-jhu.edu/faculty/bodnar. Follow the link for Corp Fin on the left. info on how to access the protected page will be provided in class. Back to top. | ||||||||
Tutorials and T.A. office hours TAs and session times are as follows:
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Last updates: 1/22/07