FIN 451: Intermediate Financial Management

Textbook Information

  • Required – Corporate Finance: Core Principles and Applications 7th edition by Ross, Westerfield, Jaffe, and Jordan, 2024. ISBN# 978-1-264-41311-9

Published Remarks

  • None

Hardware Requirements

  • Financial Calculator – Texas Instruments BA-II Plus is recommended

Software Requirements

  • Microsoft Office Suite (Excel and Word). These are provided for Penn State students with their student accounts.

Proctored Exams

Yes. Course will make use of Honorlock for major exams.

Course Description

Course Objectives

This course is designed to reinforce and extend the principles from its prerequisite, FIN 301, Corporation Finance.

Students will develop skills necessary to solve a variety of complex financial problems by applying statistical and analytical techniques and utilizing electronic spreadsheets. The course will enable students to develop a firm foundation in the principles of financial management and an understanding of how concepts in financial management are used in the valuation process. The topics are consistent with the knowledge required to prepare students for the relevant portions of Level I of the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) Exam.

The course will address important financial management topics, including the methods of analyzing capital budgeting decisions and the unique problems they pose, long-term capital structure and dividend policy decisions, corporate financial analysis and forecasting, working capital management, and additional special topics in financial management.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Solve a variety of complex financial problems by applying statistical and analytical techniques and utilizing electronic spreadsheets
  • Develop a firm foundation in the principles of financial management and how concepts in financial management are used in the valuation process
  • Analyze methods of analyzing capital budgeting decisions and the unique problems they pose
  • Examine long-term capital structure and dividend policy decisions
  • Interpret corporate financial analysis and forecasting
  • Simulate working capital management
  • Examine special topics in financial management

The topics are consistent with the knowledge required to prepare students for the relevant portions of Level I of the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) Exam.

Assignments

Assignment Breakdown

Assignment Name

Points

Exams 1 & 2 (100 pts each)

200

Exam 3 (120 pts)

120

Excel Projects (3 x 40 pts each)

120

Homework (12 x 15 pts each)

180

Discussion Forums (10 x 10 pts each)

100

Total Points

720

 

Exams:  All three exams will be given in Canvas. They will be due on Sunday in the week labeled for the exam (unless otherwise indicated). You can choose when to take the exam anytime during exam week. However, all exams will be automatically submitted at 11:59p ET on the listed due date on the course schedule, so make sure that you begin the exam in enough time to finish.

The exam should be completed in one sitting, and questions will be delivered one at a time. There is no save button on the exams, but navigation is enabled so that you will be able to move between questions as you take the exam. Late submission of any timed assignment will be subject to the posted late policy on this syllabus.

*The third exam is cumulative.

Homework: There will be twelve homework assignments. Homework will be given in Canvas, is not timed, and you can submit each homework assignment up to three times. After each attempt, you will be given your score, along with the correct answers. Subsequent attempts will be the same problems with different input variables. Because you have three attempts on all homework assignments, you should be asking questions on anything that is unclear before you take your second and third attempts. Only the highest score for each homework assignment will count and there will be no late homework assignments accepted.

Excel Projects: There will be three Excel projects. Full details will be presented in each project’s instructions.

Discussion Forums: There will be ten weekly discussion forums throughout the semester. The discussion forums are conducted in Canvas. The grading rubric for these forums is posted in Canvas. Please make sure that you read and completely understand the grading rubric and the expectations for your posts. The purpose of these forums is for you to have a chance to discuss topics related to the lesson during a given week. In addition to your personal research on these topics, you are encouraged to draw from your own experiences.

Each student will be required to post at least five responses throughout the week. You may respond to another student’s comments, but you will need to post at least 1-2 original threads to get full credit.

Please make sure that all of your responses are professional in nature. I have outlined, in the grading rubric, the conduct that I expect to see from all students, along with the grading template that I will be using for these forums. You must stay on topic and not stray from the subject being discussed. You may also pose a related question that will further the discussion. I may participate in these forums by making comments when it appears appropriate, but I generally stay out of them.