To be eligible to pass this unit, a pass is required in the final examination.

A Standardised Numerical Grade (SNG) gives you an indication of how you have performed within the band for your descriptive grade. The SNG is not a mark, and you may not be able to work it out based on your raw examination and other assessment marks. Nor are you able to determine you are “one mark away” from a different grade.”

It is the responsibility of students to view their marks for each within session assessment on iLearn within 20 working days of posting. If there are any discrepancies, students must contact the unit convenor immediately. Failure to do so will mean that queries received after the release of final results regarding assessment marks (not including the final exam mark) will not be addressed.

Classes

• For each topic there will be a two-hour lecture and a one-hour tutorial. You should attend all lectures and tutorials. Please note that tutorials start on 9th December 2015. Questions for Tutorial 1 will be posted on iLearn and sent to you by email. Tutorials cover material based on the lecture of the previous topic.  Extra tutorial questions will be issued for some tutorials, and will be posted on iLearn.
• Solutions to tutorial questions (both from the text book and the Extra Tutorial Problems) will be posted on iLearn.
• The timetable for classes can be found on the University web-site at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/ .
• Your attendance at lecture and tutorials is very important.

Required and Recommended Texts and/or Materials

The prescribed text is:

Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 6th edition,  by S. Ross, R. Bianchi, M. Christensen, M. Drew,  R. Westerfield and B. Jordan.

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2014.

ISBN: 9780071013192 (pbk.)

The text can be purchased from the Macquarie University Co-op Bookshop, and is available in the Macquarie University Library. Students are not required to buy the electronic resources which accompany the text book.

Technology Used and Required

During the semester, you may be asked to access web-sites of certain Australian companies and also the web-site for the Australian Securities Exchange at www.asx.com.au .

Calculators: Financial calculators may be used in any examination for this unit. A financial calculator is not essential, as a scientific one should meet all your needs. You will not be asked to calculate Internal Rate of Return (IRR) in an examination. Financial calculators are able to do this. Only non-programmable calculators are allowed in an examination

If you choose to buy a financial calculator and are planning to enrol in the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) course after you graduate from Macquarie University, you may wish to purchase a financial calculator that meets CFA examination requirements. For specific requirements, see the CFA Institute’s web-site, www.cfainstitute.org . The two CFA-approved calculators are:

• Texas Instruments BA II Plus (including BA II Plus Professional);
• Hewlett Packard 12C (including Hewlett Packard 12C Platinum).

Another recommended calculator is the Hewlett Packard HP17BII or HP17BII+. This is used in Macquarie University’s Master of Applied Finance program.

Unit Web Page

• Course material is available on iLearn.
• The web page for this unit can be found at: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/

Learning and Teaching Activities

Lecture and Tutorials

In the tutorial, the tutor will go through some of the questions set for that topic. They will be based on the lecture material for the preceding topic. It is important that you attempt the tutorial problems before you come to class.

What is expected of students?

To achieve the best possible results in this unit, students should:

• Attend all lectures.
• Attend all tutorials and do assigned problems before the class.
• Read the assigned chapters of the text book.
• Download a copy of each lecture’s PowerPoint slides which will be made available before each lecture. Make sure these are brought to lectures.
• Most of the tutorial problems will be drawn from the text book. There will be extra tutorial problems placed on iLearn requiring you to find out certain information about Australian companies and answer questions relating to what you have found.

Changes from previous offerings:

The main change is the nature of the Group Project.  It is worth 20% and is based on a listed Australian company.  In Semester 2 in 2014 the Group Project was split into two parts: Part A was an assignment based on the Australian banking sector and was worth 10%; Part B was a capital budgeting exercise and was also worth 10%.  There is an oral presentation component for the Group Project this semester; in Semester 2 in 2014 there was no oral presentation component.

In Semester 2 in 2014 students were allowed to take a Reference Sheet into the Final Examination (an A4 sheet of paper with formulae or written notes).  This is no longer allowed for this unit.  A formula sheet will be supplied in the Final Examination Resources Pack.

In Semester 2 in 2014 the Online Quiz was worth 5%; in this semester it is worth 0%.

In Semester 2 in 2014 the Class Test was worth 15%; in this semester it is worth 20%.

In Semester 2 in 2014 there was a written Supplementary Class Test; in this semester there is no written Supplementary Class Test.  It is replaced by a Viva Voce.

•This unit uses research by Macquarie University researchers (references will be given in the lectures, tutorials and assignment).

•This unit uses research from external sources (references will be given in the lectures, tutorials and assignment).

•This unit gives you practice in applying research findings in your tutorials and presentations.