FIN 850 Strategic Financial Management

MBA Core Course - Integrated Skills Course

Profit is not a dirty word. As an MBA graduate, you will be expected to understand the concepts and applications of finance for business decision-making purposes. This course will provide you the tools to do so. By introducing decision models utilized by financial management practitioners, students will become acquainted with the current institutional details pertaining to, and also the terminology used by, the business financial world. A student successfully completing this course should understand the complexity of capital structure decisions, including how a firm's liquidity and cash policies, stability and forecastability of revenues and costs, the maturity of liabilities and associated indenture agreements, and its banking relationships, will influence a firm's complex optimal capital structure. In addition, this course will emphasize capital budgeting in an atmosphere of capital rationing. Students will be able to calculate divisional costs of capital and apply them to evaluate real investments, will be capable of using a variety of methods for calculating the costs of capital, and will understand the current theory and empirical findings with respect to dividend signaling and how these signals should affect dividend policy. With an overall course emphasis on deconstructing financial statements, students will focus on how the financial statements affect decision-making processes within the firm. Utilizing the case method technique, the course is designed to encourage students to analyze the information provided and present the logical conclusions to their fellow classmates. This class will not train you to become a financial expert; rather this class will provide you with the tools to be the manager who can analyze the data, understand it, and be able to explain the data to other employees in the firm or potential/present clients.

Course stresses:

• Oral and written communication.
• Critical thinking
• Problem solving

Catalog Description:

Case-oriented, in-depth exploration of capital budgeting, dividend analysis, capital structure, cash and liquidity management, financial forecasting and planning, current assets and liabilities management, and institutional structures for finance. Focus on deconstructing financial statements.

Course Prerequisites:

FIN 300 or FIN 824 or equivalent each with a minimum grade of "B-" and QMB 850.