82160 - Corporate Governance and Corporate Finance

Academic Year 2024/2025

  • Moduli: Barbara Petracci (Modulo 1) Massimo Spisni (Modulo 2)
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures (Modulo 1) Traditional lectures (Modulo 2)
  • Campus: Forli
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Economics and business (cod. 9202)

Learning outcomes

The aim of this course is to provide the students with a set of analytical tools and techniques necessary to explore the most important investment and financing decisions taken by firms at different stages of their life cycle and to understand international corporate governance systems. At the end of the course the student will be able to: - select the best business investment strategies a firm should undertake; - identify the main financing sources available to companies; - understand how to structure an effective corporate governance system and analyse how the corporate governance system can affect corporate performances.

Course contents

Module I

- The role of corporate finance in corporations

- Maximization of shareholder value as a company objective

- Financial analysis

- Principles of mathematical finance

- Evaluation of bonds and shares

- Investment assessment methods

- Risk – return relationship

- The Capital Asset Pricing Model

Module II

- Estimation of the opportunity cost of capital

- Financing decisions

- Risk capital financing: Venture capital and IPO

- Seasoned equity offerings

- Dividend policy

- The adjusted present value

Readings/Bibliography

- Lecture notes. The notes will be available on the platform “virtuale.unibo.it”.

R. Brealey, S. Myers, F. Allen, S. Sandri, Principi di Finanza Aziendale , McGraw Hill Libri Italia, 2020. Chapters 1-3, 5-10, 12-19. As attending the course is not mandatory, there is no difference between attending students and not attending students.

Module I (Program for the first partial exam): Chapters 1-3 and 5-9.

Module II (Program for the second partial exam): Chapters 10 and 12-19.

- Some suggestions

E. Bajo, M. Barbi, S. Sandri, Esercizi di Finanza Aziendale, Apogeo, 2017.

Teaching methods

The program will be presented in-depth in class. Theoretical and practical lessons will be provided. Practical lessons will be based on the resolution of exercises and the presentation of corporate case studies.

Assessment methods

Valuation is based on a written exam.

The partial exam (the first one usually set at the end of October/beginning of November, the second one in January) is based on 1 exercise and 11 Multiple Choice Questions. The partial exam lasts 50 minutes. It is possible to access to the second partial exam, set in January, with a minimum score of 14.

The total exam is composed of 2 exercises and 22 Multiple Choice Questions that is 1 exercise and 11 Multiple Choice Questions  for each module. The total exam lasts 100 minutes. The weight of the vote obtained in each module is 50%.

Concerning both the partial exam and the total exam, the correct answer to a Multiple Choice Question gives 2 points. There is no penalty for the wrong answer and there is only one correct answer. If the exercise is solved correctly, the student obtains 10 points. The final mark is expressed in the thirties.

Graduation grid of marks:

- 18-23: sufficient preparation and analytical skills on a limited number of topics covered in the course.

- 24-27: adequate preparation and analytical skills but with some limitations; good operational skills, even if not particularly articulated.

- 28-30: very good knowledge of many topics covered in the course; good operational and critical skills.

- 30L: excellent and exhaustive knowledge of the topics covered in the course; critical analysis and connection skills.

During the exam, the students are not allowed to use notes or books except for a list of the most important formulas provided by the professors.

The course will be taught during the first semester. Two calls will be set during the winter period (January-February) and a third and a fourth call will be set in June and September respectively. The second partial exam and the first total take place on the same day.

Teaching tools

The teaching tools are the projector and the blackboard.

Office hours

See the website of Barbara Petracci

See the website of Massimo Spisni

SDGs

Decent work and economic growth

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.