BA 340 - Finance
Spring 2005

[Schedule] [Course Materials]

Instructor: Madeleine Brady Romero
Office: Bexell Hall 311
Office Hours:
Tuesday 3:50-4:50 p.m.
Thursday 3:50-5:50 p.m.

E-mail: Madeleine.Romero@bus.oregonstate.edu
Text Website: www.aw.com/gitman

COURSE CATALOG DESCRIPTION

Role and functions of a financial manager in the modern business environment in which a manager operates; formulation of financial objectives and policies; financial analysis, forecasting, planning, and control; asset management; capital budgeting; acquisition of funds through borrowing, stock issue, and by internal means; dividend policy; and international aspects of finance.

PREREQUISITES

(1) ECON 201: Introduction to Microeconomics

(2)BA 213 or BA 215: Managerial Accounting or Fundamentals of Financial Accounting

(3) Junior Standing

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

Understand how and when to apply the basic concepts of financial analysis in a business setting, demonstrated through your ability to:

Evaluate the financial health of firms through financial statement analysis & forecasting

· Use future and present value techniques to solve valuation problems

· Forecast cash flow and evaluate planned capital expenditures

· Understand and quantify the relationship of investment risk to investment returns

· Understand short-term and long-term issues in financial management of firm

· Use calculators & spreadsheets to present, analyze, and solve financial problems.

CONCEPTS AND APPLICATIONS REVIEWED IN THE COURSE

This course will enable you to perform the following financial decision making analyses:

· understand time value of money calculations and applications in financial problems

· use valuation and returns models to analyze securities and capital investments

· understand cash flow and market value concepts

· construct ,analyze, and forecast financial statements

· calculate and interpret basic financial ratios

· understand how to construct and assess a proposed capital budgeting project

· understand the capital markets and determine value for debt & equity instruments

· understand basic history of securities performance and learn how to measure and interpret historical returns

· understand the relationship between risk and returns: both in theory and application

· understand how companies measure their cost of capital

· understand the fundamentals of working capital management

More specific daily learning objectives are itemized in the attached course outline.

REQUIRED TEXT & MATERIALS

1) Principles of Managerial Finance, Brief, 3^rd Edition, by Lawrence Gitman

2) Lecture Cases and In-Class Problems. Download In-Class Problems from instructor’s web site (340LectureProblems).

3) PMF CD-ROM Software (packaged with new texts and available on the text website) It contains 1) PMF Problem Solver, and 2) PMF Excel Spreadsheet Templates. (Software instructions are in Appendix D of text.) These spreadsheet models are needed to complete Excel homework assignments. It is assumed that the student has a rudimentary knowledge of Excel. (Open/save files, copying, moving, entering formulas, etc.) If refresher is needed, review my Excel tutorial on reserve in library. Other suggested website: www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/Excel/homepage.html

4) Financial Calculator. HP12C, HP10BII or TI BA2+ recommended. Calculator tutorials are available on my website. These same tutorials are also at: www.aw.com/gitman. Click on PMF Brief, then student resources, then download Financial Calculator Guide.

GRADING PROCEDURE

Activity	Points
Midterm exam #1	30%
Midterm exam #2	30%
Homework assignments	5%
Comprehensive final exam	35%
Total	100%

You are guaranteed at least the following grade if your weighted average course score falls within the following percentiles:

A 93-100	B+ 87-90	C+ 77-80	D+ 67-70
A- 90-93	B 83-87	C 73-77	D 60-67
	B- 80-83	C- 70-73	F below 60

Additionally, a curve may be applied to these scores. Class participation is encouraged, and may be used in the final grade evaluation if the student is border-line between two grades. It is necessary to pass the final exam to pass the course.

NO MAKE‑UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN. NO EXCUSES ACCEPTED. The course outline lists TENTATIVE dates for the exams. You are responsible to take the exam whenever it is given, even if the tentative date changes. You must take the exam with the section in which you are enrolled.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

Homework Assignments are detailed on the attached Course Outline. It is fully expected that the student will do all the homework in order to be prepared for class discussion, understand the material, and perform well on the exams. Solutions to assignments are available on the instructors’ web site.

Only those assignments in BOLD ITALICS are to be turned in for grading. With a few exceptions, the due date will be the week immediately after relevant chapter material is covered. Specific instructions will be announced in class. Once homework is turned in, subsequent additions or corrections will not be accepted. Late assignments will be penalized, and will ONLY be accepted at the beginning of the next class session.

Homework assignments can be done in groups of 2-3 students. All members must work together on them; do not simply allocate work. Only one paper should be turned in per group, with all group members’ names on the front page. Only printed hard-copies of homework (not electronic e-mailed versions) will be accepted. SHOW ALL YOUR WORK.

For EXCEL assignments, group members’ full names must be printed within the EXCEL spreadsheet (at top), or no credit will be given. Excel assignments must consist of two parts: (1) spreadsheet print-out including verbiage where appropriate, and (2) a diagnostic sheet print-out. A diagnostic sheet is a printing of the cell formulas rather than the results of those formulas, and can be created as follows:

Save your spreadsheet as a separate file.
Use the Tools menu and choose Options.
Choose the View tab and select Formulas to create the diagnostic sheet.
Widen the columns to show the entire formula in each cell.
Include Row and Column headings on your sheets by going to File on the main menu bar and then Page Setup.
Choose the Sheet tab and click in the box Row and Column Headings and Gridlines.

COURSE POLICIES

1. Dates and terms for class withdrawal are as outlined in the Spring 2005 OSU Course Schedule; note that April 8 is the last day to withdraw by the web.

2. OSU student ID must be displayed for all exams. Personal digital assistants or any other type of mini-computer or any calculator with text memory storage are NOT allowed for exams. Cell phones may not be on, out or used in the classroom during exams. Financial calculators ARE allowed (and required).

3. During class lectures, please TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES AND PAGERS.

4. Failing to demonstrate honesty and integrity will result in a grade of Zero on that exam. Academic dishonesty takes place whenever a student attempts to take credit for work that is not his/her own or violates test taking rules. Examples of academic dishonesty during test taking include looking at other student's work, passing answers among students, using unauthorized notes, or using a cell phone. When students sitting next to each other have identical answers, especially the same mistakes, this may indicate academic dishonesty.

5. Students are held responsible for all announcements and assignment instructions made in class.

BA 340 - Finance Spring 2005