MNM3G018: Corporate Finance Elective

Module code: MNM3G018

Module provider: Business Informatics, Systems and Accounting; Henley Business School

Credits: 10

Level: Postgraduate Masters Stage 3

When you'll be taught: Full year

Module convenor: Mrs Clare Calderan, email: clare.calderan@henley.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: No placement specified

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students:

Talis reading list:

Last updated: 28 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The Corporate Finance elective is designed for those who, having studied MFR, want to know more about the corporate life cycle, how businesses grow and how that growth is financed.  An understanding of some of the key turning points in the life of a corporation from seeking a listing on a stock exchange to restructuring debt and equity financing and acquiring other businesses is a key requirement for anyone hoping to progress to senior roles where siloed knowledge of one’s own area of specialisation is no longer enough to interpret the strategic corporate choices on offer.  To address this, the key topics cover equity and debt structuring, business valuation and business portfolio revision expansion through mergers and acquisitions.  An understanding of these vital areas of finance will enable managers to participate in and challenge thinking behind expansion and funding strategies.

Aims:

• The module is designed for practising managers to enable them to:

• Appraise the choices for business expansion through organic growth and mergers and acquisitions by challenging the influencing factors

• Value a business using a variety of techniques

• Break down the logic behind the funding structure of an organisation from both a theoretical and practical standpoint

• Distinguish between the major categories of business funding and identify the main products in each category.

The key objectives are to:

• Enable participants to understand the corporate path from listing through to portfolio and financial restructuring

• Introduce key concepts and theories of deriving a cost of finance for an organisation using relevant corporate finance theory to understand decisions about financial structure.

• Introduce the key concepts and theories of corporate valuation in relation to mergers and acquisitions

• Enable participants to develop confidence in discussing corporate actions from a financial and strategic point of view.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

•1. Understand the relevance of corporate finance and value creation to the corporate life cycle and the link to corporate actions and business financing.

•2. Critically describe, analyse and evaluate corporate finance decisions (such as capital structure and mergers and acquisitions) using appropriate models and frameworks from the elective, supported by suitable evidence.

•3. Evaluate the cost of capital and the capital structure alternatives for a firm by developing an awareness and working financial literacy of the main debt and equity products used by corporates to finance their activities and how they impact both cost of funding and firm value.

•4. Be able to value a business using a variety of techniques and critique the use of each of the methodologies.

•5. Use knowledge developed over the module to analyse and to identify and make recommendations that will address a chosen corporate finance issue/challenge and/or respond to a corporate finance opportunity.

Module content

Session 1 – Financial decision making and the corporate life cycle
Session 2 - Key financing decisions and their impact on value
Session 3 – Mergers and acquisitions
Session 4 – Strategic cash flow management and its relation to debt finance for listed organisations
Session 5 – Assignment briefing

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module is delivered across the world as an elective module, in various formats of delivery.  Participants are expected to have an interest in shareholder wealth maximising organisations operating in the global marketplace, using a variety of growth and funding mechanisms.  The concepts covered have global applicability.

This is a blended learning study module, comprising an online study guide with core and further readings, supported by practice application exercises and tutor support.  There is also a one-day workshop.

Study hours

At least 7 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

50% pass mark - Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

This module is subject to the Penalties for late submission for Postgraduate Flexible programmes policy, which can be found at:

https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmissionpgflexible.pdf

The Module Convenor will apply the following penalties to work submitted late:

• where the piece of work is submitted up to one calendar month after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark; 
• where the piece of work is submitted more than one calendar month after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative assessments are available in the core text book for all topics in the module to enable programme members to gain the necessary practice. In addition, the module includes a series of practical applications designed to help develop a deeper understanding of module concepts and frameworks by applying them to contexts/problems identified by the programme member. An online discussion forum monitored by a Henley based tutor supports these activities.

Reassessment

Additional costs