Students

ACCG350 – Financial Statement Analysis

2017 – S1 Evening

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit covener
Philip Sinnadurai
Contact via email
E4A-213
TBA
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(39cp at 100 level or above) including (ACCG252 or ACCG253 or AFIN250 or AFIN252 or AFIN253)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
The unit aims to equip students to undertake financial analysis and the valuation of listed companies. Students are taught the following steps in financial analysis and valuation: (i) evaluating the state of the economy, the industry and a company, (ii) analysing the company's accounting policies, evaluating its financial position using financial ratios and other analytical tools, (iii) forecasting the company's financial statements, and (iv) using a variety of techniques to value the company so that an investment decision can be made. Students will develop graduate capabilities in a range of areas, including: analytical skills in information management and analysis; problem-solving skills in sourcing and identifying relevant information and interpreting output; and communication skills through the presentation of group reports.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Application of the following fundamentals principles: basic relations in financial accounting, spreadsheet usage, discounting, equity valuation, cost of capital and the Efficient Market Hypothesis.
  • Analyse the macroeconomic, industry and firm-specific factors that constitute the context in which financial statements are produced and interpreted.
  • Assess the extent to which the analyst can rely on financial statements, and related firm- initiated disclosures, for the purpose of financial statement analysis and valuation. Interpret key ratios and indices, to evaluate a company's profitability, efficiency, leverage and liquidity.
  • Forecast the re-cast versions of the three principal financial statements, for each year up to the forecasting horizon, for listed companies. Students need to argue and substantiate their forecast assumptions and approach to estimating forecast parameters.
  • Perform equity- and asset-based valuations of a listed company. Most of the valuation approaches involve discounting forecasts of future expected flows. Students need to investigate the sensitivity of their valuations to changes in the key input parameters.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Summaries and tute assignments 10% No Ongoing
In-class tests 10% No Weeks 4 and 11
Major assignment 30% No Weeks 8 / 9, 11 and 13
Final examination 50% No Final examination period

Summaries and tute assignments

Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 10%

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the session, you will be set weekly tutorial assignments.  Four of your weekly tutorial assignments will be collected for the purpose of assessing your ongoing effort in the unit. Advance notice will NOT be given that a particular tutorial assignment is to be collected. You should note that it is only possible for you to submit your tutorial assignment in the tutorial in which you are enrolled and to which the tutorial assignment relates. For each of these four tutorial assignments, 2.5 marks will be awarded for a satisfactory attempt. Where the student has made a moderate attempt of the tutorial questions, 1 mark will be awarded. 0 marks will be awarded for a non-satisfactory attempt or a non-submission.  The tutorial assignments will be marked for effort, rather than correctness.

 

Students who do not obtain satisfactory grades for a weekly assignment may compensate via submission of a three to four page summary of the textbook chapter(s) and other relevant material, related to the topic.  The summaries, like the tutorial assignments, will be marked for effort.  Summaries may be submitted at any time during the session, prior to the start of Week 13.  A student will not obtain credit for submitting more than one summary of the same topic. Receipt of four satisfactory grades for tutorial assignments and / or summaries will result in a student receiving full marks for this assessment item.

 

Extensions Not applicable.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Application of the following fundamentals principles: basic relations in financial accounting, spreadsheet usage, discounting, equity valuation, cost of capital and the Efficient Market Hypothesis.
  • Analyse the macroeconomic, industry and firm-specific factors that constitute the context in which financial statements are produced and interpreted.
  • Assess the extent to which the analyst can rely on financial statements, and related firm- initiated disclosures, for the purpose of financial statement analysis and valuation. Interpret key ratios and indices, to evaluate a company's profitability, efficiency, leverage and liquidity.
  • Forecast the re-cast versions of the three principal financial statements, for each year up to the forecasting horizon, for listed companies. Students need to argue and substantiate their forecast assumptions and approach to estimating forecast parameters.
  • Perform equity- and asset-based valuations of a listed company. Most of the valuation approaches involve discounting forecasts of future expected flows. Students need to investigate the sensitivity of their valuations to changes in the key input parameters.

In-class tests

Due: Weeks 4 and 11
Weighting: 10%

Nature and content of the tests

In-class tests will be distributed in tutorial classes in Week 4 and 11 for the purpose of providing you with feedback on your progress in the unit.  Each test is worth five percent of the total assessment.

 

The test in Week 4 will be of 45 minutes' duration.  The test will be revisionary, covering the four aforementioned topics from 200-level finance units. Past experience has shown that students tend to neglect revising 200-level finance.  They tend to forget that this action should be an integral part of their study program, even though the material is assumed knowledge and hence not the focus of lectures and tutorials.

 

The second test will be of one-hour's duration.  The test will be quantitative, requiring students to forecast financial statements for a hypothetical company, using data and assumptions provided.  The purpose of the test is to help students become familiar with basic principles and approaches for forecasting.  Prior experience suggest that students do forecasts and valuations poorly.

 

Questions in both tests are closed book, and answered under examination conditions. You will receive feedback from your tutor in the following weeks. Further details about the tests will be announced in due course on the unit iLearn website.

 

Extensions

You must sit for the tests in your assigned tutorial, unless prevented from doing so due to illness or misadventure. Students in this situation must apply for Disruption to Studies. If your application for Disruption to Studies is approved, you will be required to sit a supplementary in-class test.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Application of the following fundamentals principles: basic relations in financial accounting, spreadsheet usage, discounting, equity valuation, cost of capital and the Efficient Market Hypothesis.
  • Forecast the re-cast versions of the three principal financial statements, for each year up to the forecasting horizon, for listed companies. Students need to argue and substantiate their forecast assumptions and approach to estimating forecast parameters.

Major assignment

Due: Weeks 8 / 9, 11 and 13
Weighting: 30%

The major assignment is a sell-side report for a listed Australian company.  The students take the viewpoint of sell-side analysts.  The markers of the major assignment take the viewpoint of shareholders educated in accounting and finance but not necessarily intimately familiar with the company subject to analysis.  Detailed information will be released on iLearn.  There are three components to this assessment task: the group presentations, the group report and the individual report.  The group components are to be completed in syndicate groups of three or four students, from the same tutorial.    

 

Group presentations

During the tutorials in Weeks 8 and 9, students will deliver presentations of work-in-progress on their major assignments.  The presentations are worth 3% of the total assignment.  The presentations will be on the strategic and business analysis, accounting analysis and financial analysis.  There are two principal purposes of the presentation.  The first purpose is to enable students to obtain feedback, on their work to date, from the tutor and their fellow students.  The second purpose is to discipline the students to work of the major assignment.  

 

Each presentation should last for 12 – 15 minutes.  All members of the group are required to contribute.  After each presentation, there will be a short group discussion, to provide the presenters with feedback.  It would be a practical impossibility to adequately cover all aspects of the aforementioned topics during the time allocated.  Hence, each group should select up to four issues for which they would most like feedback.  Their presentation should focus on these issues. Students are welcome to use visual aids.

 

Four presentations will be scheduled during each tutorial.  Inevitably, it will not be possible for all students to do their presentations in the tutorials.  Hence, special out-of-tutorial sessions will be arranged for the additional presentations.  Students unable to deliver their presentations during the tutorial must make themselves available to attend one of the out-of-tutorial sessions.

 

The presentations will be marked out of 25.  The marking criteria for the presentations are as follows: explanation of the issues for which the group would like feedback (15 marks), presentation and communication skills (4 marks), structure (4 marks) and timing (2 marks). Marking templates will be provided on iLearn.

 

Extensions Not applicable.  No extensions will be granted.

 

 

Group reports

The group reports relate to the retrospective analysis for the major assignment.  The group report is worth 12% of the total assessment.  The reports are to be submitted online, via the Faculty’s system, in soft copy format.  The report should canvass all of the retrospective stages of sell-side analysis covered during the semester: strategic and business analysis, accounting analysis and financial analysis.  The report is to be approximately 15 – 20 1.5-lined spacing pages in length, excluding references and appendices.   The reports will be marked out of 50.  Further details will be provided on iLearn.

 

Extensions Extensions will not be granted, without prior consultation with the Unit Convener.

 

 

Penalties

•  A report that exceeds 25 pages will be penalised.

•  A deduction of 10% of the total assignment mark will be imposed each day for late submission. This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for Disruption to Studies is made and approved. Students who do not submit the group report will be awarded a mark of 0.

 

 

Individual reports

The individual reports relate to the prospective analysis for the major assignment.  The individual report is worth 15% of the total assessment.  The reports are to be submitted online, in soft copy format, via the Faculty’s system.  The individual report for the major assignment is worth 15% of the total assessment. The report is to be up to 15 pages in length, excluding references and appendices.  The reports are to be in 1.5 spacing.  The reports will be marked out of 50.  Naturally students are required to conduct the prospective analysis for the same company allocated for the retrospective analysis.   The prospective analysis presented in the individual report is expected to be grounded in and follow from the retrospective analysis in the group reports. 

 

Extensions Extensions will not be granted, without prior consultation with the Unit Convener.

 

Penalties

•  A report that exceeds 20 pages will be penalised.

•  A deduction of 20% of the total assignment mark will be imposed each day for late submission. This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for Disruption to Studies is made and approved. Students who do not submit the group report will be awarded a mark of 0.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Application of the following fundamentals principles: basic relations in financial accounting, spreadsheet usage, discounting, equity valuation, cost of capital and the Efficient Market Hypothesis.
  • Analyse the macroeconomic, industry and firm-specific factors that constitute the context in which financial statements are produced and interpreted.
  • Assess the extent to which the analyst can rely on financial statements, and related firm- initiated disclosures, for the purpose of financial statement analysis and valuation. Interpret key ratios and indices, to evaluate a company's profitability, efficiency, leverage and liquidity.
  • Forecast the re-cast versions of the three principal financial statements, for each year up to the forecasting horizon, for listed companies. Students need to argue and substantiate their forecast assumptions and approach to estimating forecast parameters.
  • Perform equity- and asset-based valuations of a listed company. Most of the valuation approaches involve discounting forecasts of future expected flows. Students need to investigate the sensitivity of their valuations to changes in the key input parameters.

Final examination

Due: Final examination period
Weighting: 50%

You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The timetable will be available in draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations.

 

The Macquarie University examination policy details the principles and conduct of examinations at the University. The policy is available at: http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/examination/ policy.html. The only exception to not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for Disruption to Studies. The University’s policy on Disruption to Studies is available at http://www.students.mq.edu.au/student_admin/manage_your_study_program/disruption_to_studies/

 

If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Disruption to Studies process, the examination will be scheduled as per the Supplementary Examination timetable of the Faculty.  Please note that the supplementary examination will be of the similar format as the final examination.

 

Examination conditions

•  Closed book

•  Non-programmable calculators with no text-retrieval capacity are permitted.

•  No dictionaries permitted

•  The duration of the examination will be two-and-a-half hours plus 10 minutes reading time.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Application of the following fundamentals principles: basic relations in financial accounting, spreadsheet usage, discounting, equity valuation, cost of capital and the Efficient Market Hypothesis.
  • Assess the extent to which the analyst can rely on financial statements, and related firm- initiated disclosures, for the purpose of financial statement analysis and valuation. Interpret key ratios and indices, to evaluate a company's profitability, efficiency, leverage and liquidity.
  • Forecast the re-cast versions of the three principal financial statements, for each year up to the forecasting horizon, for listed companies. Students need to argue and substantiate their forecast assumptions and approach to estimating forecast parameters.
  • Perform equity- and asset-based valuations of a listed company. Most of the valuation approaches involve discounting forecasts of future expected flows. Students need to investigate the sensitivity of their valuations to changes in the key input parameters.

Delivery and Resources

Classes

There are 3 hours of face-to-face teaching per week consisting of one 1.5 hour lecture and one 1.5 hour tutorial. It is a requirement that students attend both lectures and tutorials.  The reason for this requirement is that the unit is demanding.  In order to maximise the quality of learning experience, there is no substitute for attending classes.  The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at:   http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/

 

Changes to lecture and tutorial times are managed by the on-line enrolment system. It is not necessary to contact members of staff about tutorial changes. On-line enrolment changes to tutorials will be shut down at the end of Week 3 so all changes must be made by then.

 

Consultation Times

The consultation timetable will be posted on the unit iLearn webpage at the beginning of the session.  The unit convener is available at other times by appointment. You are encouraged to seek help at a time that is convenient to you from a staff member teaching on this unit during their regular consultation hours. In special circumstances, an appointment may be made outside regular consultation hours.  Staff will not conduct consultations by email or over the phone.

 

 

Required Texts

Palepu, Healy, Wright, Bradbury and Lee, Business Analysis and Valuation Using Financial Statements – Text and Cases, Second Asia-Pacific Edition, Cengage Learning, 2015.

 

The prescribed textbook can be purchased from the Macquarie University Co-op Bookshop.

 

 

Technology Used and Required

During lectures, the WWW and The Microsoft Office will be used to facilitate delivery.  Students are expected to be proficient at locating publicly available information on the  WWW.   Proficiency at using Microsoft Excel and Word is assumed.

 

 

Unit Web Page

Course material is available on the learning management system (iLearn).  The web page for this unit can be found at:   https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/ from where you need to login to iLearn.

Unit Schedule

 

 

 

Week

 

 

 

Commencing

 

 

 

Lecture Topic

 

 

 

Reading (from Palepu et al. (2015) unless otherwise advised)

 

 

 

Assessment

 

Tasks

 

 

 

Tutorial

 

Questions

 

 

 

1

 

 

 

27 February

 

 

 

Introduction for Business Analysis

 

and Valuation

 

 

 

Chapter 1

 

 

 

 

No Tutorials in Week 1

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

6 March

 

 

 

Strategic and Business Analysis

 

 

 

Chapter 2

 

 

 

 

Questions

 

1.1, 1.2 and

 

1.5

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

13 March

 

 

 

Accounting

 

Analysis

 

 

 

Chapters 3 and

 

4

 

 

 

 

Questions

 

2.13, 2.11,

 

2.10 and 2.8

 

 

 

4

 

 

20 March

 

 

 

Financial

 

Analysis

 

 

 

Chapter 5

 

 

 

In-Class Test

 

1

 

 

 

Questions

3.6, 4.4, and

additional questions

 

 

 

5

 

 

27 March

 

 

 

Financial Analysis [CONT'D]

 

 

 

Chapter 5

 

 

 

 

Questions

 

5.1, 5.10,

 

5.11 and

 

5.5

 

 

 

6

 

 

3 April

 

 

 

Forecasting

 

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

 

 

Questions

 

5.3, 5.6 and 5.4

 

 

 

7

 

 

 

10 April

 

 

 

Forecasting

 

[CONT'D]

 

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

Additional Questions, Question

 

6.6

 

 

 

8

 

 

 

1 May

 

 

 

Valuation Theory and Concepts

 

 

 

Chapter 7

 

 

 

Group presentations

Lennard (2010) and Ronen (2008)

9

 

 

 

8 May

 

 

 

Valuation

 

Implementation

 

 

 

Chapter 8

 

 

 

Group presentations (Contd.)

 

 

 

10

 

 

 

15 May

 

 

 

Market-Based

 

Ratios

 

 

 

Chapter 7

 

 

 

 

Questions

 

7.1, 7.8

 

Additional

 

Questions

 

 

 

11

 

 

 

22 May

 

 

 

Equity Security

 

Analysis

 

 

 

Chapter 9

 

 

 

Group report due Tuesday 5pm. 

 

In-Class Test 2

 

 

 

Additional Questions (market- based ratios)

 

 

 

12

 

 

 

29 May

 

 

 

Mergers and

 

Acquisitions

 

 

 

Chapter 11

 

 

 

 

Questions

 

9.1, 9.6 and 9.9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

13

 

 

 

5 June

 

 

 

Revision

 

 

Individual report due by 5pm Tuesday.

 

 

 

Questions

 

11.5, 11.7, and

11.9

Learning and Teaching Activities

Lectures

Each weekly lecture and the accompanying lecture notes provide a broad outline of the unit material for that week. The lecture notes are a guide to assist self-directed learning from other materials.

Tutorials

Students are required to attempt the tutorial assignment in advance of each week’s tutorial. The tutorials are forums for small-group learning, in which material and concepts from the lectures, textbook and readings are discussed. Tutorial exercises are not simulated exam questions. Rather, their principal purposes are as follows. Firstly, the tutorial questions are designed to prompt deeper understanding of the material. The second purpose is to give students ideas and suggestions for their major assignment.

Major assignment

A unique feature of the unit is that much of the delivery (from the lectures, textbook and tutorials) is directed at the major assignment, in addition to the final examination. It would be impossible to effectively teach a unit on Financial Statement Analysis without a major assignment of this nature. Students are expected to remain abreast of the financial news and developments in the Australian corporate sector.

Journal readings, set for Weeks 8 and 9

Lennard, A., 2010, “The Case for Entry Values: A Defence of Replacement Costs”, Abacus 46 (1), 97-103. Ronen, J., 2008, “To Fair Value or not to Fair Value: A Broader Perspective”, Abacus 44 (2), 181-208.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Application of the following fundamentals principles: basic relations in financial accounting, spreadsheet usage, discounting, equity valuation, cost of capital and the Efficient Market Hypothesis.
  • Analyse the macroeconomic, industry and firm-specific factors that constitute the context in which financial statements are produced and interpreted.
  • Assess the extent to which the analyst can rely on financial statements, and related firm- initiated disclosures, for the purpose of financial statement analysis and valuation. Interpret key ratios and indices, to evaluate a company's profitability, efficiency, leverage and liquidity.
  • Forecast the re-cast versions of the three principal financial statements, for each year up to the forecasting horizon, for listed companies. Students need to argue and substantiate their forecast assumptions and approach to estimating forecast parameters.
  • Perform equity- and asset-based valuations of a listed company. Most of the valuation approaches involve discounting forecasts of future expected flows. Students need to investigate the sensitivity of their valuations to changes in the key input parameters.

Assessment tasks

  • Summaries and tute assignments
  • In-class tests
  • Major assignment
  • Final examination

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Application of the following fundamentals principles: basic relations in financial accounting, spreadsheet usage, discounting, equity valuation, cost of capital and the Efficient Market Hypothesis.
  • Analyse the macroeconomic, industry and firm-specific factors that constitute the context in which financial statements are produced and interpreted.
  • Assess the extent to which the analyst can rely on financial statements, and related firm- initiated disclosures, for the purpose of financial statement analysis and valuation. Interpret key ratios and indices, to evaluate a company's profitability, efficiency, leverage and liquidity.
  • Forecast the re-cast versions of the three principal financial statements, for each year up to the forecasting horizon, for listed companies. Students need to argue and substantiate their forecast assumptions and approach to estimating forecast parameters.
  • Perform equity- and asset-based valuations of a listed company. Most of the valuation approaches involve discounting forecasts of future expected flows. Students need to investigate the sensitivity of their valuations to changes in the key input parameters.

Assessment tasks

  • Summaries and tute assignments
  • In-class tests
  • Major assignment
  • Final examination

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Application of the following fundamentals principles: basic relations in financial accounting, spreadsheet usage, discounting, equity valuation, cost of capital and the Efficient Market Hypothesis.
  • Analyse the macroeconomic, industry and firm-specific factors that constitute the context in which financial statements are produced and interpreted.
  • Forecast the re-cast versions of the three principal financial statements, for each year up to the forecasting horizon, for listed companies. Students need to argue and substantiate their forecast assumptions and approach to estimating forecast parameters.
  • Perform equity- and asset-based valuations of a listed company. Most of the valuation approaches involve discounting forecasts of future expected flows. Students need to investigate the sensitivity of their valuations to changes in the key input parameters.

Assessment tasks

  • Summaries and tute assignments
  • In-class tests
  • Major assignment
  • Final examination

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Analyse the macroeconomic, industry and firm-specific factors that constitute the context in which financial statements are produced and interpreted.
  • Assess the extent to which the analyst can rely on financial statements, and related firm- initiated disclosures, for the purpose of financial statement analysis and valuation. Interpret key ratios and indices, to evaluate a company's profitability, efficiency, leverage and liquidity.
  • Forecast the re-cast versions of the three principal financial statements, for each year up to the forecasting horizon, for listed companies. Students need to argue and substantiate their forecast assumptions and approach to estimating forecast parameters.
  • Perform equity- and asset-based valuations of a listed company. Most of the valuation approaches involve discounting forecasts of future expected flows. Students need to investigate the sensitivity of their valuations to changes in the key input parameters.

Assessment tasks

  • Summaries and tute assignments
  • In-class tests
  • Major assignment
  • Final examination

Changes from Previous Offering

The principal differences between the current offering of the unit and the most recently previous offering relate to the within-semester assessment.  In the previous offering, the 10% allocated to tutorial work comprised eight percent for tutorial assignments and two percent for participation.  In the current offering, the entire 10% will relate to tutorial submissions.  In the current offering, unlike the previous offering, students may submit summaries of the reading, in lieu of the tutorial assignments.  The in-class tests also differ between the two offerings.  In the current offering, there are two in-class tests, each worth five percent.  In the previous offering there was one in-class test, worth 10%.

Advice on how to study

In order to achieve the learning outcomes and pass the unit, students are advised to study as follows. The total time commitment for the unit is approximately 150 hours. Students should allocate six to nine hours to self-study per week (i.e., excluding time spent in lectures and tutorials). They are encouraged to divide this time into three roughly equal blocks:

 

1. Active revision from 200-level finance units, particularly the aforementioned topics. Students should obtain and re-work examples from their 200-level textbooks. Each student should be his / her own judge as to how many examples to work through, before an adequate grasp of content is attained. In preparing for the topic of forecasting financial statements, students are similarly advised to actively revise 100-level financial accounting.

 

2. Re-working materials provided in lectures

Throughout the semester, students will be provided with spreadsheet and Word documents, illustrating the steps of the sell-side analysis for the company that will be analysed as an ongoing lecture example. Students should save the original versions of these documents, and then use the "Save As" function to save another copy. They should re-work the analyses conducted in lectures, making notes of steps that they would have performed differently. They should then conduct a trial analysis of the same steps, for their major assignment companies.

 

3. Preparation for the tutorial

This block should be sub-divided into two components, to be completed prior to the tutorial:  - Actively read the prescribed textbook chapter(s). In order to adequately read the materials, students are advised to produce their own three- to four-page summary of the reading for each week.  - Attempt the tutorial exercises, using the theory developed, as summarised in the previous step.