Corporate Finance (MSB309)

The course is a Master level corporate finance class that emphasizes real-life decision-making. To make insightful financial decisions, it is important to comprehend the implications of various financial theories. Thus, the first half of the course covers important financial theories, corporate governance systems and mechanisms, the functioning of financial markets and risk assessments. An emphasis is put on managerial financial decision-making, and the roles of information asymmetries, economic incentives and behavioral biases.

From here follows more in-depth analyses of classic corporate finance decisions such as capital structure, payout policy and investment appraisals. This leads on to more specialized decisions including various forms of corporate restructurings.

Course participants learn to analyze and critically assess real-life problems and situations. Solutions are to be presented and discussed in written and verbal formats at numerous seminars.

The course is taught both for students in the Master program in Business Administration and the Master program of Accounting and Auditing. For this reason, a particular emphasis is given to accounting aspects of financial problems. This includes, for example, the roles of auditors and financial analysts within the corporate governance system, disclosure regulations and interactions between financial decisions and disclosure rules.

The course is taught in English.

Knowledge: At completion, a student has knowledge of

• The theories necessary to understand various financial decisions.
• The structuring and functioning of corporate governance systems used to control widely held companies.
• The functioning of financial markets, and how managers use them in financial decision-making.
• The key drivers of important financial policy decisions, including capital structure, payout, risk management, and investment decisions.
• The role of information asymmetries, economic incentives and behavioral biases for financial decision-making.

Skills: At completion, a student has the skills to

• Independently analyze and assess the financial and governance positions of real-life companies.
• Analyze, assess and make suggestions of what are appropriate financials decisions of real-life companies, including the capital structure, the payout policy and capital allocation decisions.
• Present and discuss remedies to concrete financial problems; and in so doing, integrating different perspectives to produce a balanced overall decision.
• Solve problems through group work and present case solutions.
• Set up and use basic financial modelling tools.

Fagperson(er)

Study Program Director:

Course coordinator:

Course coordinator:

Book

Corporate finance Berk, Jonathan, DeMarzo, Peter M., Harlow, Pearson Education, 1181 s., cop. 2020, isbn:9781292304151,