CAPE BRETON UNIVERSITY

Shannon School of Business

FINC 5401:20 (Finance)
Course Outline – Winter 2024

Instructor: Sergiy Pysarenko Office: SB120, MS Teams E-mail: Sergiy_Pysarenko@cbu.ca

Lectures: Thursday 13:00 – 15:30 (CPLX3)

Office Hours (SB120) and/or MS Teams (preliminary):

Monday 11:30 - 12:30
Friday 10:00 - 11:00
By appointment

McGraw-Hill Connect Link (PLEASE USE YOUR CBU E-MAIL):

https://connect.mheducation.com/class/s-pysarenko-24w-finc5401-20-th1

Registration guide: https://www.mheducation.com/highered/support/connect/first-day-of-class/moodle-

mhcampus.html

Textbook: Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 7th (Canadian) Edition,

Authors: Richard Brealey, Stewart Myers, Alan Marcus, Devashis Mitra, Dinesh Gajurel
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2020
ISBN: 9781259268861

Chapter Lecture_____________________________________________
1 Goals and Governance of the Firm
2 Financial Markets and Institutions
3 Accounting and Finance
4 Measuring Corporate Performance
Test 1 (Chapters 1-4)__ February 15___ _

5 The Time Value of Money

6 Valuing Bonds
7 Valuing Stocks
Test 2 (Chapters 5-7)__ March 21 _______

8 Net Present Value and Other Investment Criteria

10 Project Analysis
19 Long-term Financial Planning
Final Exam (Chapters 1-8,10,19) _ April, TBA ___________

Evaluation (everything is online):

 Connect Smartbook Readings 14%
 Quizzes = Home Assignment(s) 36% (best 9 of 10 assignments)
 Two midterm Tests 30%, 15% each (Multiple Choice)
 Final Exam 20% (Multiple Choice)
 Possible bonus 5%

There is no supplementary exam for this course.

Recommended calculators: Any financial calculator authorized by the CFA Institute
https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/about/governance/policies/cfa-calculator-policy

Course Description:
This course aims to provide an overview of financial management theory with a focus on the application of
project evaluation methods and financing decisions. The course covers financial analysis and planning,
valuation of assets, long-term capital budgeting, capital structure decisions, and the effect of taxes on the firm’s
financing and investment decisions.

Students are expected to have a reasonable knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles and/or
International Financial Reporting Standards prior to enrolling in the course. Students who successfully
complete this course will have the necessary knowledge to assess financial decisions analytically, in both the
corporate, as well as in the community development settings.

Instruction Method:
Lectures, in-class discussions, problem-solving, and written exams. A good understanding of the course
material together with individual effort in solving end-of-chapter problems is necessary for successful
completion of this course. Students are therefore urged to work conscientiously on all assigned problems,
questions, and readings. Students should note that historically, students’ grades in this course display a strong
positive correlation between class attendance and performance. I believe, for online delivery this correlation
persists.

Course Goals and Outcomes:

This is an introductory course in financial management, covering basic concepts, principles and theories in
business finance. Topics covered include: cash flows, financial statement analysis, asset valuation, and long-
term investment decisions.
Learning Objectives:
 Be aware of investment and financing decisions that financial managers make.
 Explain why value maximization is the logical financial goal of the corporation.
 Describe how financial markets and institutions channel savings to corporate investment.
 Know the functions of financial markets and institutions.
 Be able to analyse financial statements calculating cash flows from assets, financing flow and free cash
flow.
 Be able to calculate and interpret measures of a firm’s operating efficiency, leverage and liquidity.
 Be able to link a company’s sustainable growth to its payout policy and its return on equity.
 Be able to time value of money concepts to evaluate financial assets.
 Be able to find the present value of corporate bonds, and find the yield to maturity.
 Understand how interest rate risk and interest rates affect the shape of the yield curve.
 Use and interpret stock valuation formulas.
 Use net present value and other investment criteria to evaluate and choose investment opportunities for
a firm.
 Identify relevant cash flows to use in the evaluation of investment opportunities for a firm.
 Describe the practical problems of capital budgeting in corporations.
 Use what if analysis to access the relevancy of capital budgeting techniques in the selection of
investment opportunities.
 Describe the contents and uses of a financial plan.
 Construct a simple financial planning model.

E-mail communication:
Please contact me by e-mail first (not Moodle, not MS Teams). To make sure that e-mails are answered
promptly, please put the code of the course in the subject line. For example, an e-mail about office hours may
have a subject line as follows: “MBAC6103:10 - Office hours” or “FINC5401:30 – Home assignment”, etc. I
teach more than one class, so putting the section number (MBAC6103:11, FINC5401:29, etc) is very helpful.

Accommodating Students:
Students who need special accommodation should inform the instructor of the type of accommodation required
at the beginning of the course. Note the Jennifer Keeping Access Ability Centre provided services to students
who need accommodation. Check https://www.cbu.ca/current-students/student-services/accessibility-support-services/ for
available resources.

Electronic Device Policy:

This course requires personal computer (or a laptop), and a high-speed and stable internet connection. The
usage of any other electronic devices in class (during online lectures and testing periods), can lead to
distractions for the instructors and students and is not allowed in the academic class unless specified by the
instructor. Electronic devices include, but are not limited to, cell phones, portable radio and music devices,
electronic translators, and secondary laptop computers (a.k.a. No Netflix during lectures!). Regular, financial,
and scientific calculators are permitted during tests and exams.
Our courses offer the convenience of learning in your own home environment. You will need regular access to
a computer with an internet connection and a camera and microphone. You should be using a desktop
computer or laptop (NOTE: tablets, Chromebooks and cell phones do not meet course requirements). High
speed broadband internet access is highly recommended for the optimal learning experience. It is your
responsibility to make sure that you have the access to MH Connect using Chrome browser regardless of your
location. The computer should have a webcam (or build in webcam in the laptop). The computer should be a
PC/ laptop with Windows 11. The Chrome browser is preferred for optimal use of CBU’s Moodle learning
management system. All CBU students can access Microsoft Office 365, including Word, Excel, Access,
PowerPoint, etc., for Windows. All courses require submission of documents created with word processing
software, like Word, while some courses require the use of Excel, Access, and PowerPoint as well.

Academic Dishonesty
Students are responsible to read and familiarize themselves with all of the academic regulations that are
presented in the current edition of the academic calendar. In particular, students must review the section on
ethical behaviour in academic matters which may be found at https://www.cbu.ca/future-students/academic-
integrity/
It is important that students understand the consequences of their actions should they plagiarize, cheat, or
commit any other form of academic misconduct.

Midterm Exams/Final Exam. As in all other exams in this course please make sure that:

1. Your full face is visible to the camera at all times (if we use MH Platform).

2. Your lips don't move, even when "questions are being read for yourself", and there is no other person near
you.

3. No secondary electronic devices are being used, including phones, tablets, computers, etc.

4. You can use either a Financial (easier) or a scientific calculator (if one likes applying formulas posted on
Moodle).

5. Please feel free to use the formulas sheet posted on Moodle and the e-book within the testing system (on
the side you will be able to see the link to the e-book).

Intellectual Property:

All online material is the intellectual property of the Publisher (McGraw-Hill) or the faculty member (Sergiy
Pysarenko) and cannot be recorded, reproduced and rebroadcasted without the expressed permission of the
Publisher and the faculty member.