BU8201 BUSINESS FINANCE

Special Term I 2013/14

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE
The objective of this course is to provide non-business and non-accounting students with a
broad understanding of the theory and practice of financial management or business
finance. In this knowledge-based economy, whatever the shape and size of a corporation
is, a major factor in determining success is the ability of management to control its finance.
Therefore, it is essential for non-business and non-accounting graduates to have sufficient
financial knowledge to understand the various financial aspects of a corporation.

The course covers financial principles, concepts and analytical tools. Topics include the
understanding and analysis of financial statements, fundamental concepts of risk and
return, time value of money, bond and stock valuation, corporate financing choices
including techniques for investment analysis, dividend policy and financial risk
management. Non-business and non-accounting students need to have a good grounding in
this course in order to better prepare themselves for other advanced courses such as
International Financial Management.

METHOD OF INSTRUCTION
Seminar style, 3.5 hours per lesson and 2 lessons per week for 5 weeks.

COURSE ASSESSMENT
Coursework 40%
Class Participation 10%
Quiz 30%
Final Examination* 60%
Total 100%
*Final examination is closed book exam. Only a list of related equations (found in the Appendix C of the
textbook) will be provided in the exam. No Mathematical Tables will be provided. Students are required to
bring their own financial calculators for the final exam.

TEXTBOOK
Brigham, Eugene F., Joel F. Houston, Jun-ming Hsu, Yoon Kee Kong, and A.N.
Bany Ariffin, Essentials of Financial Management, 3rd edition, Cengage Learning Asia.
ISBN-13: 9789814441377.

FINANCIAL CALCULATORS
Students are required to use a financial calculator for the course. The official financial
calculator is Texas Instrument BA II Plus, which can be purchased at the NTU Yunnan
Bookstore.
Students may also use other approved financial calculators. The following website (login
required) provides a list of the approved calculators:
http://www.nanyangbusinessschool.ntu.edu.sg/undergrad/intranet/Exam/Calculator.asp

The above website also lists other non-financial calculators that students may use in the
examination, in additional to the financial calculators. All calculators (whether financial or
non-financial) should bear the approved sticker issued by Nanyang Business School for use
in the examination.

INSTRUCTOR
INSTRUCTOR E-mail Address
Daniel Ong dspong@ntu.edu.sg

PROPOSED LECTURE SCHEDULE

Compulsory
Lesson Date Topics Readings
Overview of Financial Management C1
Financial Markets and Institutions C2 (only 2-1)
1 15-May-14
Financial Statement, Cash Flow, and C3 (only 3-1 to 3-7)
Taxes
17-May-14
2 (make-up)
Analysis of Financial Statements C4
3 20-May-14 Time Value of Money C5
Interest Rates C7 (excludes 7-6)
4 22-May-14
Risk and Rates of Return C8
5 27-May-14 Bonds and Their Valuation C9
6 29-May-14 Stocks and Their Valuation C10
(Quiz)
7 3-Jun-14 The Cost of Capital C11
Capital Structure and Leverage C15 (excludes 15-2)
The Basics of Capital Budgeting C12
8 5-Jun-14
and Unequal Project Lives C13 (only 13-7)
Cash Flow Estimation and Risk Analysis C13
9 10-Jun-14
Dividend and Share Repurchases C16
C18 (only 18-1 to
10 12-Jun-14 Derivatives and Risk Management
18-3, and 18-6)
Date TBA
(2 hrs)
FINAL EXAMINATION