Students

AFIN3053 – Advanced Corporate Finance

2022 – Session 1, In person/Online-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor, teacher
Keith Woodward
Contact via Finance forum on ilearn
See ilearn
Clara Zhou
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
20cp at 2000 level including (AFIN250 or AFIN2050 or AFIN252 or AFIN253 or AFIN2053)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit challenges the student to consider a comprehensive set of factors that influence organisations in raising equity, payout policy, investment and finance decisions within a dynamic framework. Students need to be able to appreciate the theoretical and practical implications of the multifaceted nature of corporate finance; the different issues (including flexibility) to be considered, and the different approaches available, in valuing project cash flows; determining capital structure; assessing the costs and benefits of mergers and acquisitions, real options; and the link between corporate governance and finance.

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:

  • ULO1: Interpret market data and accounting reports and identify suitable valuation techniques to conduct asset valuation.
  • ULO2: Examine alternative quantitative approaches available in corporate finance in valuating companies and/or projects.
  • ULO3: Analyse the factors that influence companies in their financial decisions.
  • ULO4: Investigate the cost and benefits of mergers and acquisitions and real options.
  • ULO5: Work collaboratively within a team to prepare a business valuation.

General Assessment Information

Late submissions of assessments

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, no extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available assessment-task marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24-hour period or part thereof that the submission is late. Late submissions will only be accepted up to 96 hours after the due date and time.

No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g., quizzes, online tests.

Table 1: Penalty calculation based on submission time

Submission time after the due date (including weekends)

Penalty (% of available assessment task mark)

Example: for a non-timed assessment task marked out of 30

<  24 hours

10%

10% x 30 marks = 3-mark deduction

24-48 hours

20%

20% x 30 marks = 6-mark deduction

48-72 hours

30%

30% x 30 marks = 9-mark deduction

72-96 hours

40%

40%  x 30 marks = 12-mark deduction

> 96 hours

100%

Assignment won't be accepted

Other assessment criteria for assessment tasks will be provided on the unit iLearn site.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online Quiz 5% No Friday 18 Mar, 45 mins, start between 12:00 to 23:10 AEDT
Mid Session Test 20% No Friday 29 Apr, 1hr, start between 17:00 and 17:30 AEST
Group Assignment 25% No See ilearn for details
Final Examination 50% No University Examination period

Online Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 1 hours
Due: Friday 18 Mar, 45 mins, start between 12:00 to 23:10 AEDT
Weighting: 5%

 

The online quiz will consist of 5 to 10 questions and will be available on iLearn. Please use the quiz result as an indicator of whether you are progressing satisfactorily in the unit.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Interpret market data and accounting reports and identify suitable valuation techniques to conduct asset valuation.

Mid Session Test

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Friday 29 Apr, 1hr, start between 17:00 and 17:30 AEST
Weighting: 20%

 

A mid session test of 60 minutes will be held to give students practice on a summative task and to provide feedback on their progress midway through the session.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Interpret market data and accounting reports and identify suitable valuation techniques to conduct asset valuation.
  • Examine alternative quantitative approaches available in corporate finance in valuating companies and/or projects.
  • Analyse the factors that influence companies in their financial decisions.

Group Assignment

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: See ilearn for details
Weighting: 25%

 

The assignment will involve group work (including a case study and presentation) worth 15% and an individual task (separate spreadsheet case study) worth 10%.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Interpret market data and accounting reports and identify suitable valuation techniques to conduct asset valuation.
  • Examine alternative quantitative approaches available in corporate finance in valuating companies and/or projects.
  • Analyse the factors that influence companies in their financial decisions.
  • Investigate the cost and benefits of mergers and acquisitions and real options.
  • Work collaboratively within a team to prepare a business valuation.

Final Examination

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: University Examination period
Weighting: 50%

 

A two hour exam will be held during the University Examination Period.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Interpret market data and accounting reports and identify suitable valuation techniques to conduct asset valuation.
  • Examine alternative quantitative approaches available in corporate finance in valuating companies and/or projects.
  • Analyse the factors that influence companies in their financial decisions.
  • Investigate the cost and benefits of mergers and acquisitions and real options.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Learning and Teaching Activities

The content for each week will comprise a live lecture which will be recorded and a set of tutorial questions (Problem Sets). 

Lectures

A lecture recording will be uploaded each week. Lecture notes will be available on iLearn.

Tutorials

Students will need to register for a tutorial. Tutorials are considered compulsory but no marks are allocated. Tutorials will be available for most, but not all weeks of the session. In weeks where there aren't any live (on-campus or online) tutorials, a recording will be provided to cover the relevant material.

The tutorial schedule will be made available on iLearn.

Tutorial enrolment or change of tutorial can be made through eStudent in the first two weeks of the session. No tutorial changes are allowed after Week 2.  Students should attend their allocated tutorial, but exceptions may occur on a one-off basis. That is, where circumstances prevent you from attending your own tutorial in a given week, you may attend an alternative tutorial if room available.

Students are expected to complete the ‘Tutorial Questions’ as a self-directed study activity before attending a tutorial. Additional learning support will be available in tutor consultation times.

Timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at:  Timetable 2022

Recommended Text

Berk J. and P. DeMarzo. 2019. Corporate Finance. Global Edition, 5th Edition, Harlow, Pearson Higher Ed USA. ISBN 9781292304151

Communication Channels

For discussion of subject materials please speak to the lecturer and tutors on ilearn or in consultation. 

Academic Consultation

Staff will be available for academic consultation throughout the session in teaching weeks. A schedule of consultation times and locations will be available on iLearn from Week 2.

Technology Used and Required

The unit will use an online learning and teaching facility known as iLearn, accessed through the following link https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/

Students should monitor iLearn content frequently to ensure timely access to announcements, unit material, and assessment information.

To complete the assignment, students will be required to use Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word software.

Calculators will be allowed in the class tests and the final examination but a clear indication of the steps involved in every calculation must be shown. Non-programmable calculators with no text-retrieval capacity are allowed. Financial calculators are allowed. Calculators that have a full alphabet on the keyboard are not allowed. Graphics calculators are not allowed.

Unit Schedule

Week

Week date (Wednesday)

Lecture topic

1

23 Feb 2022

Topic 1: Terminal values using multiples and perpetuities. Inflation-linked bonds (ILB's) and other market-based valuation inputs.

2

2 Mar 2022

Topic 2: Bottom-up analysis: cash flows, profits and balance sheets. Integrated pro-forma financial statement modeling using spreadsheets.

3

9 Mar 2022

Topic 3: Debt, taxes, capital budgeting and valuation with leverage.

4

16 Mar 2022

Topic 4: Examples of analysts' models and reports. Online quiz Friday 18 Mar, 45 mins, start between 12:00 to 23:10 AEDT

5

23 Mar 2022

Topic 5: Top-down analysis.

6

30 Mar 2022

Topic 6: Raising equity.

7 6 Apr 2022

Topic 7: Payout policy.

Mid-semester break from Monday 11 Apr 2022 to Friday 22 Apr 2022

8

27 Apr 2022

Mid session test Friday 29 Apr, 1hr, start between 17:00 and 17:30 AEST.

9

4 May 2022

Topic 8: Mergers and acquisitions.

10

11 May 2022

Topic 9: Options.

11

18 May 2022

Topic 10: Real options.

12

25 May 2022

Topic 11: Corporate governance.

13

1 June 2022

Final exam revision.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

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.


Unit information based on version 2022.03 of the Handbook