California State University, Chico

College of Business

Department of Finance and Marketing

 

FIN 150-04

Finance 150: Survey of Finance

Fall 2004

 

 

Instructor:                     Jeff Zeller

Office Location:            Tehama 453

Office Hours:                W 2:00-3:00pm or by appointment

Office phone:                (530) 898- 5138

E-mail:                         jzeller@csuchico.edu

 

Class meets:                  Glenn 214 MWF 12:00pm-12:50pm

 

Course Description:

This course will provide the student a working ability to make financial decisions. The focus will be on how companies invest in real assets and how they raise money to pay for these investments. The course will provide a framework for financial management and how to apply them to the main decisions made by a financial manager.

 

Course Goals:

The objective of this course is to provide knowledge about the basic issues in corporate finance.  The course is designed primarily for the student who has had no previous course work in finance and will provide satisfactory background for students who elect to study business in more advanced courses.

 

At the end of this class, you should…

  • Know the role of the financial manager and the financial markets in which the manager operates
  • Know valuation, the concept that drives financial decisions
  • Understand the relationship between risk and return

 

Course Prerequisite: 

  • Intro to Financial Accounting (BADM 015)
  • Working knowledge of EXCEL and WORD.
  • Calculator: A financial calculator is required.  Your calculator must have net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and cash flow (CF) functions.

 

Course Materials:

  • Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, Fourth Edition by Brealey, Myers and Marcus. Required.
  • Study Guide to Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, Fourth Edition by Brealey, Myers and Marcus. Optional.

 

Exams:

There will be two midterm examinations and a comprehensive final exam. Each exam will consist of two parts. The first part will consist of questions and the other part will consist of problems. Each student must bring a Scantron form 882 and a financial calculator described above to each examination. No make-ups will be allowed for missed exams unless the student can present a serious compelling reason (e.g. a doctor’s note) for the absence. A missed exam will receive zero credit. All exams are closed book.

 

Quizzes:

There will be one quiz given for each chapter outlined in the course schedule, except from the chapters scheduled immediately before an exam. There will be a total of 9 quizzes throughout the semester but only the 7 highest scores will be recorded towards the final grade in the course. The dates for the various quizzes will be available on the class WebCT calendar. No make-ups will be allowed for missed quizzes unless the student can present a serious compelling reason (e.g. a doctor’s note) for the absence.  A missed quiz will receive zero credit. All quizzes are closed book.

 

Case studies:

Students will be assigned to groups which will solve 3 case studies throughout the semester. These groups will be presented with business/financial environments where students must apply their skills and knowledge obtained in the course to solve the case. Late work will receive zero credit.

 

Weekly problems

Homework practice problems are listed in the course schedule. These problems will not be collected or graded by the instructor but this work should still be considered to be an important part of the learning process in this course.

 

Academic Honesty:

You are expected to maintain a high standard of academic honesty. Dishonesty may bring grade reduction or other sanctions as provided in Section IV-A of the University Code. Copies of the University Code are available from the Office of the Coordinator for Student Judicial Affairs, Kendall Hall 110. Also see the chapter titled "Student Judicial Affairs" in the 2003-2005 University Catalog.

 

Drop Policies:

Students who miss the first two class meetings without prior notification of their planned absence will be dropped from the class.

  • If you want to drop the class after the first week, it is your responsibility to initiate and follow through on the action.  Do not assume an instructor will drop you from a course if you quit attending class. 
  • If you intend to drop a course, do it right away, or you may miss a critical cutoff date.
  • University regulations specify several conditions for dropping a class and the relevant cutoff dates.  These are covered on page 152 of the 2003-2005 University Catalog. 

 

 

Attendance and participation:

Regular attendance and class participation is very important for your ability to succeed in this course. I will take roll at my discretion and students who have a perfect attendance throughout the semester will be rewarded with bonus points.

 

Grading criteria:

 

Quizzes (7, 10 pts each)             70 pts               14%

Case Studies (3, 50 pts each)     150 pts             30%

Midterm 1                                75 pts               15%

Midterm 2                                75 pts               15%

Final Exam                               130 pts             26%

           

Percentage of points accumulated and the corresponding grade:

 

93 %    = A                  77 %    = C +               60 %    = D-

90 %    = A-                 73 %    = C                  >60      = F

87 %    = B+                70 %    = C -

83 %    = B                  67 %    = D +

80 %    = B -                63 %    = D

Course Schedule:

 

 

Week               Lecture/Discussion                             Chapter                       Practice  Problems

 

1                      The Firm and the Financial Manager             1                      1,6,7,13

2                      Accounting and Finance                                 3                      1,8,12,15

3, 4                  Financial Statement Analysis                         17                    1,2,4,6,10-12,17

5, 6                  Time Value of Money                         4                     5,6,9,10,14,20,21

                        Midterm Exam October 1st                                   24,27,36,37,51

7                      Valuing Bonds                                     5                     1-3,6,7,15

8                      Valuing Stocks                                               6                     1,3,4,6,7,10,16

9                      Corporate Financing                                      13                    1-4,6-9,11

10, 11              Investment Criteria                                         7                      1-8,13,18,23,27,28

                        Midterm Exam November 5th

12                    Risk and Return                                              10                    1,3,8,9,14,18,20

13                    Capital Budgeting                                          11                    1,5-7,13,21

14                    Cost of Capital                                               12                    1-5,7,13

15                    Working Cap. Mngmt. & ST Planning         19                    1,46,10,12,18,20,23

 

Final Exam: Wednesday December 15, 2004  Glenn 214  12:00-1:50pm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THIS SYLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT THE INSTRUCTOR’S DISCRETION!!!