75617 - Principles of Finance

Learning outcomes

On completion of the class students should be able to: 1) describe the key aspects of corporate finance theory; 2) describe the main financial assets of a company and how to evaluate them; 3) understand the risk-return trade-off; 4) solve basic problems in finance.

Course contents

1. The key concepts in corporate finance

2. Ratio analysis

3. Investment appraisal methods

4. Cost of capital and capital structure

5. Dividend policy

Readings/Bibliography

Essential text: Corporate Finance: Principles and Practice. Watson D. and Head A., 7th ed. Pearson Education, 2016. (The 6th – or earlier – edition is fine and can be obtained more cheaply).

Or alternatively: Corporate Finance Principles and Practice in Europe. Watson D., Head A., Mantovani G., and Rossi E., e-book only. Pearson Education, 2016. (This text builds on the essential text above – do not acquire both).

Supplementary text: Principles of Corporate Finance. Brealey R., Myers S., and Allen F., 12th ed. McGraw-Hill Education, 2016.

Teaching methods

Lectures, tutorials and group works

Assessment methods

Group assignments and written examination

Teaching tools

Slide set, lecture handouts

Office hours

See the website of Luca Baccolini