Course

ESG Issues in Finance (MSB312)

ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues has become central in modern finance. Sustainability affects corporate operations, either as an opportunity (e.g. green investment) or as a constraint (e.g. carbon pricing). It also affect financial capital markets. For example, a corporations' cost of capital is driven by the ESG properties of the corporations. For investors, ESG enters as a separate factor beyond risk and return when making asset allocations. To accommodate all these changes, the firms' corporate governance must adjust.

Corporate governance is the system of rules, practices, and processes by which a company is directed and controlled. Corporate governance balances the interests of a company's many stakeholders, which can include shareholders, senior management, customers, suppliers, lenders, the government, and the community. Corporate governance is concerned with every sphere of management.

NB! This is an elective course and may be cancelled if fewer than 10 students are enrolled by August 20th for the autumn semester.


Dette er emnebeskrivelsen for studieåret 2024-2025. Merk at det kan komme endringer.

See course description and exam/assesment information for this semester (2024-2025)

Semesters

Fakta

Emnekode

MSB312

Vekting (stp)

10

Semester undervisningsstart

Autumn

Undervisningsspråk

English

Antall semestre

1

Vurderingssemester

Autumn

Timeplan

Vis timeplan

Litteratur

Søk etter pensumlitteratur i Leganto

Content

This course will consist of two parts

Corporate governance

Sustainable finance

The corporate governance part studies how firm objectives interacts with social responsibility, the need to design incentives to achieve necessary changes to firms adjusting to the new circular economy. Corporate governance considers how power is distributed among the firms stakeholders, and the need to consider behavioral finance.

The sustainable finance part look at topics like: What do we mean by sustainability? What is Environmental economics, particularly the concept of externalities? How to incorporate sustainability in valuation models to value "green" projects and companies? How does sustainability affect financing decisions and possibilities for firms?

Learning outcome

Knowledge

Upon completion of the course, students will have knowledge of

  • assessing the objectives of the firm, including value and social responsibility
  • designing proper incentives for managers to achieve the firm's goal
  • analyzing the voting power of different stakeholders
  • applying behavioral concepts associated with the governance of firms
  • the concepts involved in sustainability challenges, particularly those linked to finance
  • sustainability risks and opportunities
  • metrics related to sustainability from a finance perspective
  • the EU taxonomy and UN sustainability goals and their implications for finance and investments

Skills

Upon completion of the course, the candidate will be able to

  • apply critical thinking on the pros and cons of the different governance mechanisms present in different markets (domestic and international)
  • use statistical skills in support of governance mechanisms
  • present in a professional manner their recommendations to enhance the governance of firms
  • the ability to measure and manage the exposure of corporations and financial assets to sustainability risk, such as climate change
  • the ability to identify sustainability issues related to corporate finance issues, such as valuation, corporate transactions, and investment financing
  • the ability to identify sustainability issues in specific corporate cases

Forkunnskapskrav

Corporate Finance (MSB309)

Exam

Form of assessment Weight Duration Marks Aid Exam system Withdrawal deadline Exam date
Handins of cases in groups 2/5 Letter grades Inspera assessment 04.11.2024 —
Written 4 hour exam 3/5 4 Hours Letter grades Inspera assessment 04.12.2024 18.12.2024


Vilkår for å gå opp til eksamen/vurdering

80% obligatory presence in all case presentations
Further details about course requirements are given in the syllabus available at the beginning of the teaching semester.

Fagperson(er)

Study Program Director:

Ingeborg Foldøy Solli

Course coordinator:

Jean Paul Rabanal Sobrino

Overlapping

Emne Reduksjon (SP)
Corporate Governance (MSB310A_1) , ESG Issues in Finance (MSB312_1) 5
ESG Issues in Finance (MSB312_1) , Sustainable Finance (MSB371_1) 5

Åpent for

Admission to Single Courses at UiS Business School
Industrial Economics - Master of Science Degree Programme Master of Science in Accounting and Auditing Business Administration - Master of Science
Exchange programmes at UIS Business School

Emneevaluering

There must be an early dialogue between the course supervisor, the student union representative and the students. The purpose is feedback from the students for changes and adjustments in the course for the current semester.In addition, a digital subject evaluation must be carried out at least every three years. Its purpose is to gather the students experiences with the course.

Kontakt

Study Program Director:

Ingeborg Foldøy Solli

Course coordinator:

Jean Paul Rabanal Sobrino

Tilbys av

UiS Business School

UiS School of Business and Law

The course description is retrieved from FS (Felles studentsystem). Version 1