Students

AFCX6016 – Finance Principles

2023 – Term 3, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Fan Yu
fan.yu@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to GradCertFin (OUA)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit provides students with the key building blocks of finance within a single unifying conceptual framework. Students will be introduced to three of the key ideas in finance: the analysis of trade-offs over time, asset valuation and risk management. These concepts will then be applied to the following sub-fields of finance: corporate finance, investments, and financial markets and institutions.

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: Explain the role of financial institutions and markets in the economy and evaluate their effectiveness in allocating resources over time and transferring risk.
  • ULO2: Explain and demonstrate how time value of money concepts and discounted cash flow techniques are used in the analysis of financial decisions of individuals and firms.
  • ULO3: Explain and assess the key theories, concepts and models used in asset valuation, risk management, and portfolio theory.
  • ULO4: Apply key theories, concepts and models to develop solutions to problems in asset valuation, risk management, and portfolio theory.
  • ULO5: Explain and assess the key theories and concepts used in the analysis of a firm's financing decision.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty (written assessments)  Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration. 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online Quizzes 20% No Refer to iLearn
Assignment 20% No Refer to iLearn
Online Participation 20% No Refer to iLearn
Final exam 40% No Refer to iLearn

Online Quizzes

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 3 hours
Due: Refer to iLearn
Weighting: 20%

A number of short online topic quizzes.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain and demonstrate how time value of money concepts and discounted cash flow techniques are used in the analysis of financial decisions of individuals and firms.
  • Explain and assess the key theories, concepts and models used in asset valuation, risk management, and portfolio theory.
  • Apply key theories, concepts and models to develop solutions to problems in asset valuation, risk management, and portfolio theory.

Assignment

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Refer to iLearn
Weighting: 20%

Assignment on a unit topic set by the unit convenor.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain and demonstrate how time value of money concepts and discounted cash flow techniques are used in the analysis of financial decisions of individuals and firms.
  • Explain and assess the key theories, concepts and models used in asset valuation, risk management, and portfolio theory.
  • Apply key theories, concepts and models to develop solutions to problems in asset valuation, risk management, and portfolio theory.
  • Explain and assess the key theories and concepts used in the analysis of a firm's financing decision.

Online Participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: Refer to iLearn
Weighting: 20%

Participation in online discussion forums.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the role of financial institutions and markets in the economy and evaluate their effectiveness in allocating resources over time and transferring risk.
  • Explain and assess the key theories, concepts and models used in asset valuation, risk management, and portfolio theory.
  • Apply key theories, concepts and models to develop solutions to problems in asset valuation, risk management, and portfolio theory.

Final exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Refer to iLearn
Weighting: 40%

A 3-hour online exam on all topics covered during the session.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the role of financial institutions and markets in the economy and evaluate their effectiveness in allocating resources over time and transferring risk.
  • Explain and demonstrate how time value of money concepts and discounted cash flow techniques are used in the analysis of financial decisions of individuals and firms.
  • Explain and assess the key theories, concepts and models used in asset valuation, risk management, and portfolio theory.
  • Apply key theories, concepts and models to develop solutions to problems in asset valuation, risk management, and portfolio theory.
  • Explain and assess the key theories and concepts used in the analysis of a firm's financing decision.

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

REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED TEXTS AND/OR MATERIALS

Required Text:

The required textbook for this unit is Finance Principles 3e published by McGraw-Hill. This is a customised textbook for use in the Finance Principles unit, based on chapters from Principles of Corporate Finance, 13th edition by Brealey, Myers, Allen, 2019, McGraw-Hill and Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 10th edition by Brealey, Myers, Marcus, 2019, McGraw- Hill.

Additional Readings:

  • Additional readings are included in iLearn.
  • Students should assume these readings are assessable unless otherwiseadvised.

Calculators:

  • Financial calculations can be performed in either Excel or a financialcalculator.
  • If you purchase a financial calculator, it must be able to handle time value of money, logs and power calculations. The Hewlett Packard calculator hp17bII+, Hewlett Packard hp12C-PT and Texas Instruments BA II Plus are suitable for thisunit.

Assumed Knowledge: Mathematical content

  • Finance has a high level of numerate content. Consequently this unit is, in parts, mathematical and arithmetical. The applied nature of this unit means the focus is on application of knowledge rather than complex mathematical derivations. What's important is that you are comfortable working with numbers and are not afraid to use formulas to solve problems infinance.
  • The "Essential Maths" document in iLearn can be used to revise your maths skills.

Assumed Access: Access to a computer with word processing and spreadsheet capability is assumed, as is general student computer literacy. A recent version of Excel is the preferred choice of spreadsheet.

TECHNOLOGY USED AND REQUIRED

This is an online unit which will make use of the University's iLearn system.

Unit's iLearn Site:

  • Found by logging on to iLearn ilearn.mq.edu.au, then clicking on AFCP6016 Finance Principles.
  • This is where you will find forums, downloadable resources and links to important pages.
  • The forum allows you to communicate with other students and lecturer(s) and may provide supplementarymaterial.
  • You are requested to post your questions on the forums at least 24 hours prior to the assignment submission date or the examination date. Questions posted after that time maynotbeanswered.Please try to not leave your questions to the last few days.

Important:

  • It is important that you familiarise yourself with the unit’s iLearnsite.
  • All students should check iLearn regularly and look for updates and distribution of materials related to the unit or assessments and participate in forum discussions.

Unit Schedule

The following schedule is a guide to the timing of each topic. Details of the required readings are provided in iLearn.

Week Topic Date when you should have started working on this topic
0 Topic 0: Essential pre-work 19 June 2023
1 Topic 1: Introduction to finance 26 June 2023
2 Topic 2: Financial markets and institutions 3 July 2023
3 Topic 3: Time value of money 10 July 2023
4 Topic 4: Valuation of financial assets 17 July 2023
5 Topic 4: Valuation of financial assets 24 July 2023
6 Topic 5: Analysing the firm's investment decision 31 July 2023
7 Topic 6: Analysing the firm's financing decision 7 August 2023
8 Topic 7: Risk management 14 August 2023
9 Topic 8: Portfolio theory 21 August 2023
10 Exam preparation 28 August 2023

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 2023.01R of the Handbook